Bill Longman wrote:
On 06/21/2010 12:01 PM, Dale wrote:
Alex Schuster wrote:
Dale writes:
I don't use genkernel anymore. I just roll my own. That way, I know
what is in there and what is not. Then if something doesn't work, I
know if it is the kernel or something else. With genkernel, you won't
have a clue what it is since you don't know much if anything about the
kernel and how it is configured.
That's not necessarily true. When I create a new kernel, I copy
/usr/src/linux/.config into the new kernel directory, make oldconfig and
menuconfig just as I like my kernel to be, and recreate the linux symlink
to the new kernel directory. Then I do a genkernel --install --lvm --luks
all&& emerge -a @module-rebuild, and am done.
I never noticed genkernel changing anything in my configuration, .config,
/proc/config.gz and the stuff in /etc/kernels/ are identical. Until not
long ago, I did not even know that genkernel was intended to create a
working kernel from scratch.
Wonko
I always do mine this way. I copy the .config from the old kernel to
the new kernel, run make oldconfig then afterwards make all&& make
modules_install and then copy the kernel to /boot with my own numbering
system. That way I know which version and series the kernel is. After
that, edit grub with the new kernel and I'm done. I have only had that
fail once in the past six years or so and the kernel made some serious
changes and I had to start from scratch that one time. They moved
things around and oldconfig couldn't reorganize things on the new kernel.
Point being, genkernal causes issues for people and they don't know how
to fix it because they expect genkernel to do everything. Problem with
that is that usually when someone has a kernel problem, they use
genkernel. If they do their own, it just works. Now someone new to
building a kernel may need some help but apparently genkernel needs some
help anyway. May as well learn how to roll your own. This is Gentoo
after all.
The only thing that genkernel would add is your initrd. The kernel is
exactly the same, whether you compile it with "make" or through
"genkernel". Do a test and you'll see. (I'm assuming we're both talking
about gentoo-sources, not vanilla-sources. Either way, they'd be the
same.) Some might be confused about what happens in the steps if they
haven't been down the "kernel compilation trail" more than once or
twice, but for folks who just want to compile their kernel and plop it
into place, along with a hands-off initrd, it's rather handy.
But only if it works. When I compile my kernel, I KNOW for sure what is
in there. When genkernel does one, especially on a new install, I have
no idea what is in it or what is not. If something goes wrong, I don't
know where to start. Is it a kernel problem or is it something else?
Who knows. Then you have to go back and start from the bottom, usually
the kernel, and work your way back up to find out what is broken.
Genkernel may work for you but that doesn't mean it does for everyone
else. Should I mention hal here? When someone comes for help, your
looking for the failure not the successes. If it was sucessful, they
wouldn't need help.
Dale
:-) :-)
