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 the index page at http://kernel.org , which links to the latest versions. If you are using FTP, go to ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/[version] -- these subdirectories all contain an empty file named LATEST_IS_[version] to help you find the latest. Kernel.org has almost-complete kernel archives back to version 0.99 if you're feeling really adventurous.

• Unpack the tarball in your home directory

         tar xivf linux-2.6.0.tar.bz2

• (Replace xivf with xzvf 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. With the newest kernels, the .config of the currently-running kernel is used by default if it's available, so you usually won't need this feature.)
  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 built 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..

         make install 

If your distribution uses lilo:

• 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 your distribution uses grub:

• Edit /boot/grub/grub.conf:

          title=Linux 2.6.0
          root (hd0,1) #  or whatever your current root is 
          kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26 root=/dev/hda1 # or whatever... 

• Most distributions have an installation routine that links a new /boot/vmlinuz-[version] to simply vmlinuz, so you may want to add a stanza like this to grub.conf:

          title=My very latest kernel install
          root (hd0,1) #  or whatever your current root is 
          kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 # or whatever... 

• This will let you boot fresh kernels for testing without constantly editing grub.conf.

  Note: This will work for lilo, too, but you still have to run /sbin/lilo after every install.

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]

["CategoryFAQ"]