Here the basics of compling and installing the kernel will be presented. This is not to be construed as the definitive guide, but a brief overview of how to re-compile and install a new kernel for your system. The attached appendix is comprised of the most important sections of the Kernel-HOWTO and is included as a slightly better reference.

I. The Kernel Source Tree and Documentation

A. The source tree
 

1. /usr/src/linux
 

B. The documentation tree
 

1. /usr/src/linux/Documentation

II. Obtaining What You Need

A. rpm -ivh ftp://linux/linux/current/i386/RedHat/RPMS/kernel-source-2.0.35-2.i386.rpm or select during install.

III. Configuring the kernel - refer to The Kernel HOWTO, section 3.3 for a better description

A. After installing the kernel-source RPM package, cd to /usr/src/linux
 

1. Method 1 - make xconfig
 

a. Good to use if you have an X window session running at 800x600 or higher. Clicking on the "Help" button gives pretty good details on the option selected.
 

2. Method 2 - make menuconfig
 

a. Good for console interface, or if you don't have X installed, or can't get any higher than 800x600 resolution.

b. Navigation is via the arrow keys. The help button gives the same details on the options that the Help button does in xmenuconfig.
 

3. Method 3 - make config
 

a. Rudimentary text interface, no way to go back and undo things. It does provide help by entering "?" at the prompt.

IV. Compiling the Kernel - refer to The Kernel HOWTO, section 4 for a better description.

A. If you are comiling a SMP kernel then edit the Makefile and uncomment the SMP = 1 line. If you aren't, then just continue.

B. After saving the config file (by saving and exitting from the configuration utility, above), type the following:
 

make dep
make clean
make zImage
make modules
make modules_install


If you are building a kernel for a SCSI system disk and you are planning on using kernel modules, you will need to make an initrd image for the system to boot off. Read the mkinitrd man pages for a full description.

V. Installing the Kernel - refer to The Kernel HOWTO, section 4.4 for a more detailed description.

A. After the compilation is complete and assuming there were no errors, do the following:
 

cp /boot/vmlinuz-2.0.35-2 /boot/vmlinuz-2.0.35-2.orig
cd /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot
cp zImage /boot/vmlinuz-2.0.35-2


B. Edit the /etc/lilo.conf file and make it look something like this (this is only a guide, insert the appropriate /dev entry in root=/dev/hda1)
 

boot=/dev/hda
map=/boot/map
install=/boot/boot.b
prompt
timeout=50
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.0.35-2

label=test
root=/dev/hda1
read-only

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.0.35-2.orig

label=linux
root=/dev/hda1
read-only
 

C. Run 'lilo' to add the new kernel as one of the options in the Master Boot Record.

D. On reboot, at the LILO: prompt hit the Tab key to see if the other kernel is available and enter it at the prompt. Don't worry if this kernel fails, just reboot the system with the default kernel provided, and recompile, ad nauseum. :)