• FAQ
• KernelCompilation

How do I compile a kernel?

(These instructions assume we are installing version 2.6.0 of the kernel, replace all instances with the version you are trying to build. These instructions are also x86-specific; other architecture's build procedures may differ.)

• Download your tarball from ftp.XX.kernel.org where XX is your country code. If there isn't a mirror for your country, just pick a near one.
• Unpack the tarball in your home directory

         bzip2 -dc linux-2.6.0.tar.bz2 | tar xvf -

• (Replace bzip2 with gzip if you downloaded the .gz)

• cd into the linux directory. You'll now need to configure the kernel to select the features you want/need. There are several ways to do this..
  1. make config
     • Command line questions.
  2. make oldconfig
     • (Useful only if you kept a .config from a previous kernel build)
  3. make menuconfig
     • (ncurses based)
  4. make gconfig
     • (GTK+ based X-Windows configuration)
  5. make xconfig
     • (QT based X-Windows configuration)
• Now we can build the kernel (for older kernel like 2.4.x first build the dependencies with "make dep").

         make

• Wait. When its finished, it will have build both the kernel (bzImage) and the modules (for older kernels like 2.4.x, you need to run "make bzImage ; make modules").
• Become root to be able to install modules and kernel. Everything before this point can and should be done as a normal user, there is really no need to be root to compile a kernel. It's actually a very bad idea to do everything as root because root is too powerful, one single mistake is enough to ruin your system completely.
• Install the modules.

         make modules_install

• Install the new kernel..

         cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.0
         cp System.map /boot/System.map-2.6.0

• Edit /etc/lilo.conf, and add these lines...

         image = /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.0
         label = 2.6.0

• Also copy your root=/dev/??? line here too.

• Run /sbin/lilo, reboot, and enjoy. If you get modversion problems (symbols ending in _Rxxxxxxxx), have a look at [http://www.tux.org/lkml/#s8-8 this question] in the linux-kernel mailing list FAQ to solve the problem.

Still not getting it? Try this [http://www.digitalhermit.com/linux/Kernel-Build-HOWTO.html more indepth tutorial]

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