Compiling custom kernel has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, new Linux user / admin find it difficult to compile Linux kernel. Compiling kernel needs to understand few things and then just type couple of commands. This step by step howto covers compiling Linux kernel version 2.6.xx under Debian GNU Linux. However, instructions remains the same for any other distribution except for apt-get command.
Step # 1 Get Latest Linux kernel code
Visit http://kernel.org/ and download the latest source code. File name would be linux-x.y.z.tar.bz2, where x.y.z is actual version number. For example file inux-2.6.25.tar.bz2 represents 2.6.25 kernel version. Use wget command to download kernel source code:
$ cd /tmp
$ wget http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/linux-x.y.z.tar.bz2
Note: Replace x.y.z with actual version number.
Step # 2 Extract tar (.tar.bz3) file
Type the following command:
# tar -xjvf linux-2.6.25.tar.bz2 -C /usr/src
# cd /usr/src
Step # 3 Configure kernel
Before you configure kernel make sure you have development tools (gcc compilers and related tools) are installed on your system. If gcc compiler and tools are not installed then use apt-get command under Debian Linux to install development tools.
# apt-get install gcc
Now you can start kernel configuration by typing any one of the command:
- $ make menuconfig - Text based color menus, radiolists & dialogs. This option also useful on remote server if you wanna compile kernel remotely.
- $ make xconfig - X windows (Qt) based configuration tool, works best under KDE desktop
- $ make gconfig - X windows (Gtk) based configuration tool, works best under Gnome Dekstop.
For example make menuconfig command launches following screen:
$ make menuconfig
You have to select different options as per your need. Each configuration option has HELP button associated with it so select help button to get help.
Step # 4 Compile kernel
Start compiling to create a compressed kernel image, enter:
$ make
Start compiling to kernel modules:
$ make modules
Install kernel modules (become a root user, use su command):
$ su -
# make modules_install
Step # 5 Install kernel
So far we have compiled kernel and installed kernel modules. It is time to install kernel itself.
# make install
It will install three files into /boot directory as well as modification to your kernel grub configuration file:
- System.map-2.6.25
- config-2.6.25
- vmlinuz-2.6.25
Step # 6: Create an initrd image
Type the following command at a shell prompt:
# cd /boot
# mkinitrd -o initrd.img-2.6.25 2.6.25
initrd images contains device driver which needed to load rest of the operating system later on. Not all computer requires initrd, but it is safe to create one.
Step # 7 Modify Grub configuration file - /boot/grub/menu.lst
Open file using vi:
# vi /boot/grub/menu.lst
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.25 Default root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb1 ro initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.25 savedefault boot
Remember to setup correct root=/dev/hdXX device. Save and close the file. If you think editing and writing all lines by hand is too much for you, try out update-grub command to update the lines for each kernel in /boot/grub/menu.lst file. Just type the command:
# update-grub
Neat. Huh?
Step # 8 : Reboot computer and boot into your new kernel
Just issue reboot command:
# reboot
For more information see:
- Our Exploring Linux kernel article and Compiling Linux Kernel module only.
- Official README file has more information on kernel and software requirement to compile it. This file is kernel source directory tree.
- Documentation/ directory has interesting kernel documentation for you in kernel source tree.
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{ 129 comments… read them below or add one }
According to the kernel documentation, the kernel should be compiled using gcc 2.95.x, with x >= 3. “apt-get install gcc” under debian gives you a recent gcc (version > 4).
It works with gcc version >= 4.0.
gcc –version
gcc (GCC) 4.0.3 20060212 (prerelease) (Debian 4.0.2-9)
uname -a
Linux debian 2.6.15.4 #1 PREEMPT Fri Feb 17 20:46:04 IST 2006 i686 GNU/Linux
I have compiled above kernel using gcc 4.0.2-9. INSTALL file may be not updated.
Thanks a lot Gabber Anna,
It’s works for me :-))
LOL
Note sure who are you?
But you bring back some old memories…
Take care buddy :)
any guess about boot loader?
After building the kernel and updating grub I’ve rebooted the new kernel successfully. Now I am wondering if this process includes updating the kernel header files in /usr/include/. If not, what is the best way to do that and should any new directories be added to ld.so.conf so I can update glibc?
If you also upgraded kernel-devel and headers package you should get updates. No need to upgrade ld.so.conf or cache
Info
—–
Kernel 2.6.23 has issues with kernel headers. If you have distro’s like fedora it gonna give up some wierd fixdep.c error messages.
Some forums say you need to have 2.4 headers for compiling it. Kernel header is a huge mess scattered around and well serious debates have gone down the drain…
http://kerneltrap.org/node/6536
Does this kernel support RHEL4 update 5
I am using kernel 2.6.9-55.EL can i upgade the
How much time does it take approximately?
i am trying it on mandriva 2008.i can not do “$ make menuconfig”.is there any option to do that.please help me to get out of this as soon as possible.i wonder there is no option of “make”.
Priya,
To make ‘make’ work, go inside the kernel directory ie., /usr/src/. There, u can find the make file. Now, just give “$make menuconfig”. It will work…. :)
Thanks for ur reply.I’m working fine now with the walk through given by you…
Krishba Priya bandyopadhyay
With 2.6 kernel there is no need for make modules. make builds kernel and modules. Have you ever read the README in kernel source directory?
It will take near about 1 to 1.30 hours. for complete
installation
I tried make 2.6.25 in my desktop (FC5, kernel version 2.6.15), everything goes okay, but failed to boot the new kernel image with the follow error messages:
PCI: BIOS Bug: MCFG area at e0000000 is not E820-reserved
PCI: Not using MMCONFIG
Read Hat nash version 5.0.32 Starting
mount: error mounting /dev/root on /sysroot at ext3: No such device
….
In initrd.img file, I found no libata.ko or any other .ko modules are added before mkrootdev.
Is this problem caused by incorrect or even no HDD controller driver loaded? I did not see appropriate entry for libata in .config file. Do you guys have any suggestion on make it through?
Thanks.
-Lin
About the 4th step, as the “make help” says: you do not need to do make modules again, so when using “make” it already compiles the modules.
:D
Lin,
Did your problem sorted out?Thans
Hi.. wt if somethin goes wrong… is there any way to get OS to its former stage, say ( backup or uninstall Kernel or something ).. or will need to install whole OS again…
I followed the above steps in order to compile Linux kernel “linux-2.6.27″ but when tried to boot my system from latest compiled kernel got the Kernel Panic error which says can’t find
file system /boot/root at the start.
please suggest
This is a nice tutorial, but I have a note to make. On my installation, Ubuntu 8.04.1 64-bit, the command in Step # 6 is “mkinitramfs” instead of “mkinitrd”.
Can’t wait to try out my new kernel…
That helped me Thanks!!!!!!!
the same thing happened to me as ravi.
I have compiled custom kernel and I am missing in /boot directory config-2.6 file. What have I done wrong? I see config files from old kernel there. thanks in advance.
you have compiled a upstream kernel.How should i compile distribution specific kernels,like if i install fedora it has its kernel source in /usr/src/, fedora community might have added its own patches.Will the steps described in this article work for distribution specific kernels?
Except for step where you create the initrd img file, rest of the steps explained here worked fine. The Kernel version I tried was 2.6.27.10 and the linux box had ubuntu 8.10 installed.
On ubuntu if you try to use mkinitrd you might get the message “No command found”. Try using mkinitramfs instead. It worked perfectly fine.
There is no such thing as bz3.
It’s cool.
Thanks alot NIXTCRAFT.
I tried to cheat and copied over an older .config.. broke something and had to redo all the options by hand : /
Anyways, the instructions worked great with Gentoo. I had to emerge “mkinitrd” but otherwise everything went very quickly, maybe 20 min to compile everything (very short in Gentoo world).
I suggest everyone keep their old kernel and a lilo/grub option for it just incase :) Most of the problems in the comments seem to be from misconfiguring the kernel. If you aren’t sure what your hardware is or don’t have the time to run through every option. I suggest you pop in a live cd and copy “/proc/config.gz” to use as your base config (“gzip -d config.gz” will uncompress it).
If your system is already unusable, pop in a live cd and try the following as root:
“cd /”
“mkdir /mnt/fixme”
“mount /dev/ROOTDRIVE /mnt/fixme”
“mount /dev/BOOTDRIVE /mnt/fixme/boot”
“mount -t proc proc /mnt/fixme/proc”
“chroot /mnt/fixme /bin/bash”
That should put you back into your computer to compile/fix whatever.
i’ve just build the 2.6.28 kernel on ubuntu 8.04 LTS and it’s working like a charm. It was required, as I had some troubles installing my 500 GB Samsung drive that was attached to a Trust eSATA IF-3300 card. Thanks for this great tutorial !!
You don’t need make modules anymore. I compiled a few times the last days and just make && make modules_install will do.
Following error occured during make command of compilation step for linux 2.6.23
make: *** [.tmp_vmlinux1] Error 1
Plz provide me solution for it.
Thanks
Akash
make command error:
make: *** [.tmp_vmlinux1] Error 1
Kindly suggest solution
regards
————-
Akash
Hi
On Debian the kernel compile is much more straightforward than this describes.
First you of course need to take the kernel source. Then:
1. make menuconfig (or whatever you want)
2. make-kpkg –revision kernel_image
3. Install the resulting .deb package using dpkg.
The debian package management system then knows about your custom kernel and it handles all needed actions to get the kernel properly working. For example initrd is done automagically if needed.
I compile the root file system and the way to access it directly into kernel and customize the kernel sharply to the computer. That way you wont need initrd anymore :) and the machine boots quite fast, because the chipset drivers are active from wery beginning of booting.
I compiled the whole thing and then booted ..I see the updated version of fedora but when I try to run it ..it says kernal panic and doesn’t proceed any further
If you have multiple CPU-kernels, you’d consider using the -j option for make, for example make -j5 , which will use 5 instance of make to built the process. This will speed up things, nice tip I got on IRC :)
Hello!
got some problems while compiling new kernel using make. Error below:
{standard input}: Assembler messages:
{standard input}:745: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:746: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:950: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:951: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:1024: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:1025: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:1120: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:1121: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:1208: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
{standard input}:1220: Error: suffix or operands invalid for `mov'
make[1]: *** [arch/i386/kernel/process.o] Error 1
make: *** [arch/i386/kernel] Error 2
gcc version 4.1.2
debian etch
got some ideas? thanx
a very good clarification about kernels,i’m impressed!
Thanks, it works perfectly.
hello when i try to boot my kernel it says error file not found.
i use the following command
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.25 Default
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.25
savedefault
boot
im pretty noob i dont know what im doing wrong.
plzz contact me or post here.
my mail is toldamtorp@gmail.com
37 ondrg, Which gcc version you used ?
Can any body tell that How to remove a previously compiled and installed kernel. So as to make space for compiling and installing a new kernel ?
NIce step-by-step process, BUT Following error occured during make command of configuration step for linux 2.6.29.2
make[1]: *** [script/kconfig/dochecklxdialog] Error 1
make: *** [menuconfig] Error 2
Plz provide me solution for it.
Thanks
J.Acevedo
Hi… Kindly help me please… i m in serious trouble…
I m trying to install RTLinux on Linux 2.6.xx
The installation guide specified to patch the linux 2.6.xx, configure and then compile. But
i m able to proceed til the configuration of the kernel…
When i give the make command, i m coming up with errors…
Also i tried to install linux 2.6.xx without patching it with RTLinux,again i m struck up while compiling……
Kindly help please…Wil be grateful to you…
It’s good, but i need your help to compile;boot from a flash drive and configure options such that the size of the kernel is max 5Mb(minimum application like terminal,usb…)
Great Tutorial .I have E8200 , Gigabyte EP43-DS3L kernel 2.6.18 that does not recognize coretemp,I compiled 2.6.30.1 kernel and it’s working.Thanks
Hey this was great, worked for me… I had some small issues where I was missing some files like ncurses etc, but after getting them it all flowed smoothly… thanks alot again :)
This is nice documentation. But I think some modification is required.
Step # 6: Create an initrd image
Type the following command at a shell prompt:
# cd /boot
# mkinitrd -o initrd.img-2.6.25 2.6.25
Instead of mkinitrd I use mkinitramfs in ubuntu 9.04
Step # 7 Modify Grub configuration file – /boot/grub/menu.lst
# update-grub
update-grub is not required in ubuntu 9.04
Can any body describe to me next: about the process0, process0 which happened in Linux kernel 2.6,
1. describe how to greate it
2. describe what they do
Hi
I am using ubuntu distribution, I like to update my kernel , my present version kernel is 2.6.28-11-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 17 01:57:59 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux.
i downloaded latest kernel source from kernel.org “linux-2.6.31.tar.bz2″ i followed the following steps to configure my kernel
1. i extracted the kernel source file in usr/src
2. I updated my gcc complier
root@sivakumar-desktop:/usr/src# apt-get install gcc
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
gcc is already the newest version.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 228 not upgraded.
3. Then i tried to run make menuconfig, i got the following error
root@sivakumar-desktop:/usr/src# make menuconfig
make: *** No rule to make target `menuconfig’. Stop.
4. then i tried
root@sivakumar-desktop:/usr/src/linux-2.6.31# make menuconfig
*** Unable to find the ncurses libraries or the
*** required header files.
*** ‘make menuconfig’ requires the ncurses libraries.
***
*** Install ncurses (ncurses-devel) and try again.
***
make[1]: *** [scripts/kconfig/dochecklxdialog] Error 1
make: *** [menuconfig] Error 2
Hi there,
To resolve this issue you have to first complete all update of you system then try this
“$ sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev”
i am also getting the same problem …….plz suggest
after extracting there is some error when i configure the kernel
that error is make: *** No rule to make target ‘menuconfig’, Stop.
Hello,
Can Any One Solve My Problem That Is
after extracting there is some error when i configure the kernel
that error is make: *** No rule to make target ‘menuconfig’, Stop.
plz tell me the fast it is urgent friends….
plz
Mukesh – seems like you need to cd into the extarcted directory to run the make.
Has anyone made a suggestion as to how to fix the kernel panic issue that was pointed to several time here? I have the same issue. After installing the new kernel and trying to boot into it, I see the kernel panic since it doesn’t see any of my drives ( “/”, “/usr”, etc). Anyideas where I went amiss?
Hi!!
i am using Redhat 4 – kernel 2.6.9 and now i build kernel 2.7.13. it was sucessfully and after reboot i can see my new kernel in the grub.. but when i select .and proceed . i am getting the following error:
“Enforcing mode requested but no policy loaded. Halting now.
Kernel panic – not syncing: Attempted to kill init!”
please tell me wht might the problem and suggest me how to load the kenel 2.7.13..
Thanx in advance….
problem occur on booting…
mount: unknown file system type ‘devfs’
Kernel panic – not syncing: Attempted to kill init!”
In the process make install .there are two files created in the direction /boot
Kernel image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31.4-smp
Initrd image: /boot/initrd-2.6.31.4-smp
However,One file config is missed.
I update the menu.list
Then ,reboot.
On the way booting,there is no error.
but when I inter the X-window ,my keyboard and mouse doesn’t work.
Hi everybody,
I have followed all the steps above and succeeded in every step. But when I choose in the grub to run the 2.6.31.6 kernel I have the following message:
Unable to find a suitable fs in /proc/mounts, is it mounted ?
Use –subdomainfs to override.
I have installed the linux kernel from Ubuntu 9.10. I am not sure, but I think because I have installed ubuntu with ext4 file system, the kernel could not recognize it. The kernel is residing in /usr/src which is in the same partition as ubuntu.
Have anyone an idea out there ?
Thx,
if you want people to do your survey you should make it accessable for us lynx users
I need help.I follow stepbystep all is done.And but at the reboot say “error 16: inconsistent filesystem structure” what wrong whit it? My kernel is 2.6.24-16 want to upgrade kernel 2.6.31.6 plz help me thx
Does it work for SUSE?
hey guys…….can anyone help me……….in my /boot i am not getting config file for newly compiled and installed kernel and also after successful installation of kernel.2.6.32 , i am not able to boot from this kernel as it says file system not detected , /dev/hda not detected……..and kernel panic……….
hi, bro , just try theses commend , cause i got the same problem when i used them every thing is going ok, i wish them helping u, (1. make mrproper
2.cp /boot/config-`uname -r` ./.config ,Then we run 3.make menuconfig) so these two commends use them before make menuconfig, and also do not use make only, just use (make all) . then continue as usual commend in this article, i wish them useful,
my regards,
Nice.
Came in handy as I needed to recompile kernel in order to remove KVM virtualization support. VirtualBox won’t run with KVM modules loaded.
Why am I telling you this?
Some of the instructions are kind of outdated on modern systems, could you perhaps update the article?
- Some systems now use GRUB 2, which doesn’t have a menu.lst.
- Modern systems tend to use mkinitramfs or yaird, not mkinitrd.
Thanks a lot for the article, though. Off to test out my new kernel.
This article actually very usefull. It helped me to kompile linux kernel after my resultles
attemtions for a long period. The only issue I had was creating initrd image.
My Ubuntu 8.10 interpid (also 8.4 hardy) do not have mkinitrd command so instead
I used next steps to compile linux kernel(2.6.27.7).Here they are.
1. first copy your /boot folder to somewhere , home folder
2. go to top of your linux source tree and run(root prev required)
#make-kpkg clean && make-kpkg –initrd –revision=custom.1.0 kernel_image
and after its finished with no errors run
#dpkg -i .deb
the latest command will update your /boot also /boot/grub/menu.lst file , but this is not what
do we want , and after reboot you may find your pc not booting at all.
what do we need is new kernel and new initrd image .
our new kernel is vmlinuz-2.6.27.7 and image is initrd.img-2.6.27.7
so we have to copy these files to some temp folder , then restore our old /boot folder
from backup and copy back again our fresh kernel and image from temp folder to /boot.
to finish we need edit /boot/grub/menu.lst file.
here we can simply copy our generic boot items and make no change except names
of kernel and image to new ones. reboot and enjoy.
it really worked .. clean .. thanks .. a lot
> Step # 2 Extract tar (.tar.bz3) file
I lol’d.
Thanks! i was looking forward to use some source code for making a fake “compiling” terminal session, so i could slack on the job eventually (slow days make you wanna do something else, but boss doesnt understand the meaning of ‘I do my job so good nobody gets errors, therefore nobody needs IT support’) with the excuse that my code is compiling (thanks xkcd.com for the idea). All i do is run make on the source directory, and once im done with slackin’ i just run “make clean” to revert any changes :b
This is after I’ve done step#2 and installed gcc.
When I use this command “make xconfig” I’m getting this error “No rule to make target”.
Any ideas on how to fix this?
you have to be inside linux folder,
go to yor home directory with cd und then type
pla@pla# cd /usr/src/linux
then type
pla@pla # make menuconfig or make xconfig
make sure that ncurses package is installed
all the best
hi, i have done all these steps, but i got error when i enter to my new kernel there is network to connection to internet , so can any one help me to solve this problem, cause i am not expert in fedora 10( i mean in Linux )
my regards
Could you please explain in more detail your error about connection?
Can you run programs with new kernel?
And did you use config file from previous kernel or new one?
hi, bro , i am sorry, i took long time to answer on your query, so my problem is (i can not access on internet) by using wire or less card, when i run commend (iwconfig i got message no wireless extension for eth1 )so sholud i got these from last kernel on my new kernel when i configure it, and also when i search i got article i have to install package for wireless chip . my chip num is b4312, i am already installed , but there is not thing , i wish to help me, cause i waste my time on in these for month , i attempt to solve it, but nothing.plz help me as soon as u can , cause i am in rush.
my regards bro.
Hi,
i want to add the support of portuguese font in linux. i don’t know how to add this if anyone knows then please tell me.
hi, bro, how r u? i wish to help u, u can enter on 1.system then 2.administration 3. choose language from the menu. 5 enter ur password, at last choose Portuguese language ,
i hope this info it is useful to u,
my regards.
Hi,
Thanks,
But i want something different. I have ported linux on the device. I have done “make menuconfig” to make on the portuguese character set ,but it shows this error.
HOSTLD -static scripts/kconfig/mconf
/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lncursesw
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[1]: *** [scripts/kconfig/mconf] Error 1
make: *** [menuconfig] Error 2
i have this ncursesw library installes also.
would you help me again?
apt-get install libncurses5-dev
Hi everybody,
I have followed all the steps above and succeeded in every step. But when I choose in the grub to run the 2.6.31.6 kernel I have the following message:
Unable to find a suitable fs in /proc/mounts, is it mounted ?
Use –subdomainfs to override.
I have installed the linux kernel from Ubuntu 9.10. I am not sure, but I think because I have installed ubuntu with ext4 file system, the kernel could not recognize it. The kernel is residing in /usr/src which is in the same partition as ubuntu.
Have anyone an idea out there ?
Thx,
Did you maybe load ext4 as a module and not compile it directly into the kernel
Also if nothing else works I think you could bootstrap it with an initrd to make it boot in ext4
hi kishore, i think enabling SYSFS_DEPRECATED in the config file i.e. “.config” and recompiling the kernel should resolve the issue. but this may lead to udev being adversely affected. also remember to enable LBDAF in the kernel profiling segment of the .config file. good luck. PankyuBootha.
Hi All
Is there any changes needed during kernel configuration for USB boot support.
what are the steps required for USB boot, starting from the compilation.
any help would appreciated!!!!!
Regards
Jagan
Hi Jaqan. I guess for USB boot support no kernel conf needed. Because
your kernel and initrd.img is loaded by grub from hd, USB or net.
Just copy your boot folder from HD to USB and istall grub on USB.
Restart and see what happens. Good lucks.
I guys i have a problem when I try to generate the init image.. Using Debian 5.0 it says mkinitrd command not found.. Anyone can help me? D:
Thanks
ps: sorry for the english im italian
use ‘mkinitramfs’
Hi Federico. I also used debian and it actually a headache to find proper initrd.img for
new kernel, as mkinitrd doesn’t work on new distrs and a lot of other stuff.
I put here the answer that found
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/compiling-linux-kernel-26.html/comment-page-7#comments
lucks.
Howdy y’all. I just wanted to ask about this process. We own a lot of RHEL/CentOS systems round here and I’m curious how the kernels built with this process will differ from the kernels shipped from the standard repositories. I’ve looked countless places for a guide to recompiling a kernel specifically with the source from those OSes, but something has always failed, or not been in the right location, etc. I’m currently building a kernel using the described process and it actually seems to be working, but I’m just wondering what functionality loss there will be.
Hi everyone. I just wanted to ask about this process. We own a lot of RHEL/CentOS systems round here and I’m curious how the kernels built with this process will differ from the kernels shipped from the standard repositories. I’ve looked countless places for a guide to recompiling a kernel specifically with the source from those OSes, but something has always failed, or not been in the right location, etc. I’m currently building a kernel using the described process and it actually seems to be working, but I’m just wondering what functionality loss there will be.
Weeell…
New kernel compiled, but either doesn’t have SATA or LVM support, as it’s failing to mount root at boot and kernel panicing. At least I got the darn thing compiled … all I really wanted to accomplish at the moment
Hi Jeff, As I had said earlier, for RHEL, CentOS and such cognate systems, I have found that one has to enable SYSFS_DEPRECATED while compiling the kernel versions > 2.6.33. As for enabling SATA support, in the relevant section of the .config file one has to enable scsi/ide support while configuring the kernel. Pl first copy “.config” on desktop after uncompressing the tarball in your home directory-
$ bzip2 -dc linux-2.6.34.tar.bz2 | tar -xvf -. You can copy .config file by-
$ mv /home/jeff/linux-2.6.34/.config /home/jeff/Desktop/config.text. Then copy config.text in your home folder/directory.
Now read the config.text file carefully in gedit. you can search for SYSFS_DEPRECATED by using the interactivesearch available in the top window-bar of gedit. Also go through the scsi and ide drivers section.
To manually enable the required features do-
CONFIG SYSFS_DEPRECATED=y
Remember to uncomment the relevant by removing the ‘#’.
Affter you have thus enabled the relevant features, replace config.text to linux-2.6.34 by-
$ mv /home/jeff/Desktop/config.text /home/jeff/linux-2.6.34/.config
Now cd to linux-2.6.34 and do ‘make’
.
Any further queries are welcome. Good Luck. Pankyu Bootha
@pankyu .. Hi.. how does one enable the LVM support ?
Hi,
I followed this nice link for kernel compilation.Everything is done nicely.There is no any error while doing compilation process.But after step 5( Step # 5 Install kernel
# make install ) , I am not getting config file in /boot for new
kernel. I m getting systemmap,vmlinuz and initrd for new kernel.So as
per step 6 for mkinitrd, it shows already exists.
And when i rebooted machine with new kernel , getting kernel panic , /
dev/root fileystem not found.
OS: CENTOS 5.5
KERNEL : 2.6.34.1
Good day Rocky. I dont know what the issue was that config file missed for new kernel at /boot folder, but you can copy it manually from source directory of the new kernel that you compiled. At step 3 you have to configure your new kernel using make menuconfig, make oldconfig , or another one of your choise. This step will do nothing else but create
.config file at the top of your source dir. As usual all files in unix that begin with dot are hidden so .config file too. Just copy it to your /boot folder using
# cp .copnfig /boot/config-2.6.x.y
Regarding kernel panic you have to specify right root filesystem.
Either the problem is with your initrd file and sometimes it is becoming real headache
to get proper initrd for new kernel that doesn’t panic.
What I do really advice just try if it will work do make oldconfig. This will config your
kernel using configuration of currently running one. And dont use make initrd but rename
and use initrd file file of your currnetly running kernel for new one.
Hi Ahmeds,
I followed your reply.But getting same.
Rocky
Hi Rocky. It is ok if your kernel again did panic. If you want to compile kernel
just for update your current system then I can’t help you. But if you want to
compile kernel so that you could start to kernel programming then just say hello
to bulk of the problems waiting you ahead. I spent 4 month for compiling my kernel
that didn’t panic. It was 2.6.27.7 . I also learned how to configure kernel to
compile all necessary drivers built in so that kernel loaded without headache initrd.
But with 2.6.34.xx things are a little bit different. I didn’t come yet to this level but
what I may advice you is next:
1. download kernel source code of the exact version that is currently running, so that make oldconfig doesn’t complain to anything and if it does say yes.
2. try again more and more.
3. specify RIGHT ROOT filesystem. i.e. root=/dev/sda5 or root=/dev/hda2
The list of filesystems and your root filesystem you can find by df command
for example my root file system(/) mounted on /dev/sda7
john@lnx:~$ df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda7 18482044 15095664 2447528 87% /
none 504828 304 504524 1% /dev
none 509044 212 508832 1% /dev/shm
4. If these wouldn’t help try compiling necessary drivers built in. To do this do next:
1. GET list of all of your modules loaded using lsmod.
john@lnx:~$ lsmod
Module Size Used by
binfmt_misc 6587 1
rfcomm 33421 4
…
get module information for each module using modinfo.
john@lnx:~$ modinfo binfmt_misc | grep filename
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.32-21-generic/kernel/fs/binfmt_misc.ko
Go to your kernel source code open fs/Makefile file. Find “binfmt_misc.o” string
(Note: .o not .ko).
obj-$(CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC) += binfmt_misc.o
Then open .config file of your kernel (off course after make oldconfig ) and find
“CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC”.
CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC=m
m means compile as module. If you want this driver to be compiled built in just change m here to y and save your .config file.
CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC=y
You dont have to compile all of your drivers as built in just those which is necessary for mounting root file system, i.e. hard disk drivers, scsi if present, ext3 or 4 if they are compiled as module. It is up to you. If df prints something like
/dev/sda4 … for (root fs,/) this means you have scsi disk. /dev/hda says you have ide disk.
Huh. It is not fun at the end. Good lucks.
Hello,
I have the exact same problem as Rocky: centos 5.5 with running kernel 2.6.18-194.3.1.el5 and I want to install 2.6.34.1. All teh steps went fine, no errors, but I had to manually copy .config into /boot/config-2.6.34.1. After reboot, same errors like Rocky and also “Volume group Volgroup00 not found” which is why / is not mounted.
# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/VolGroup00-LogVol00
71G 21G 46G 32% /
/dev/sda1 99M 35M 59M 37% /boot
tmpfs 950M 0 950M 0% /dev/shm
# cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd0,0)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/sda
default=2
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title CentOS (2.6.34.1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.34.1 ro root=/dev/mapper/VolGroup00-LogVol00 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.34.1.img
title CentOS (2.6.18-194.8.1.el5)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-194.8.1.el5 ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.18-194.8.1.el5.img
title CentOS (2.6.18-194.3.1.el5)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-194.3.1.el5 ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.18-194.3.1.el5.img
Any help?:)
Hi,
You can resolve this error.Follow this steps.
After menuconfig.open .config file and add CONFIG_SYSFS_DEPRECATED_V2=y and then compile the kernel.Your issue wiil be resolved.If you have any query, let me know.
Rocky
Hi Rocky,
Thanks for the help, it worked. I still get this strange error mesage:
insmod: error inserting ‘/lib/dm-region-hash.ko’: -1 File exists
but the system boots up ok, so I guess I can ignore it.
Kernel 2.6.34.1 running :D :
uname -rs
Linux 2.6.34.1
how to recompile linux kernal?
i am working on module programming . . so i ve to disable the versoning . . can any 1 help me
Hi ragul.
Pls write the command you use for compiling your module.
and also uname -r.
bye.
For step 2, I don’t think you’re suppose to do it in /usr/src when you’re installing.
hiii
i am using kernel 2.6.33 but i want to compile 2.6.23
i get a error getline function conflict when i change the name of it i’ll get errors in make install command
ERROR: modinfo: could not find module garp
ERROR: modinfo: could not find module stp
plz suggest how i’ll proceed …
thnx in advance
i am using kernel linux-2.6.36-21 and i want to update it to 2.6.36
everything is ok during compiling and installing
but after reboot my system it tell me “could not load /lib/modules2.6.36/modules.dep: no such file or directory”.
any one have met this problem?
please help me, thanx
i m using ubuntu 10.10…..completed upto step5…
In mkinitrd -o initrd.img-2.6.25 2.6.25 its giving command not found.
on trying to install initrd-tools getting the following error…..Unable to locate package initrd-tools….its very urgent….please can anyone tell what is getting wrong
Good day subhash. I also had the issue with initrd.img compiling linux.
I put my solution in above comment “ahmeds February 1, 2010″.
The only mistake in this solution is #dpkg -i .deb.
prior issuing this command you have to cd ..
and then run dpkg with the deb file prodced by
#make-kpkg clean && make-kpkg –initrd –revision=custom.1.0 kernel_image
Hi,
I followed these instructions and managed to compile the kernel on an ubuntu virtual box. I had some issues with installing the ncurses library, and then with the mkinitrd command, but managed to resolve both of them.
However, just the make step took nearly 6 hours to complete. I thought this was OK until I read in several places that it usually takes around the order of 20 minutes or so. What might I be doing wrong?
I am running ubuntu on a virtual machine, with 512 MB RAM and 10 GB HDD space. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi
thanks dude.. you did a rocking job..
I Remembered what youhv written somewhere.
Dont send a boy to do a Mens job..
I found something and thought to share it with you people.
I was compiling the kernel on fedora 13 when i issued make makeconfig command i got some errors same as make*** . Thats ok , the solution is install ncurses-devel
… fine enough??
ok now shoot yum clean alll….
thats it….
now again run make makeconfig ;) here you go :D
hey
i’m having problems while doing make for 2.6.38
its shows 44 sections mismatch(es)
i ignored it and installed the thing
but on loading its shows kernel panic
plz help
Hi,
I am trying to build the new kernel (2.6.38) and facing the similar issue as in the comment # 97. I followed the instructions in comment #98 but not able to fix the problem. As I start the make, the .config file is renamed to .config.old and the changes is lost. Can you help me fixing the issue? I am using CentOS 5.5.
-regards,
Tanish S.
hi all,
I have a new PC. I want install kernel linux for it.
pls guide me create and install kernel linux [kernel.org - linux-3.0-rc3.tar.bz2]
Thank you
Hi ,
Nicely explained. Worked for me like a charm. But I didn’t have to apply teh last two steps ,ie, creating initrd image and editing the boot loader. Those steps ahev been automatically done . Btw, I performed it in SuSe 11.3. Will it be the same in other distros also ?? Curios !!
NB: I upgraded 2.6.34 to 2.6.39 …
Kernel panic – not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs ..
I’ve solved this problem by creating an initrd image with mkinitramfs function.
mkinitramfs -o initrd.img-2.6.39.3 2.6.39.3
Tried to use mkinitrd but there were no such command in Debian (even after installing kernel-package)
now everything works fine, thx for tutorial.
hello…
i tried all the steps mentioned above….
but while using make command following error is occuring….
make: *** No rule to make target `menuconfig’. Stop.
also i have tried….
sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev
but following error is occuring….
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
E: Couldn’t find package libncurses5-dev
plz..plz.. reply soon….
@XYZ
I guess you are trying to “make” outside the linux directory. change directory to linux (cd /usr/src/linux )
hi
I am using RHEL6 kernel version 2.6.32-71.el6.x86_64
and recompile on kernel version 3.0.3
upto this “make install” step everything going smoothly
after doing this i am not getting that three files
* System.map-3.0.3
* config-3.0.3
* vmlinuz-3.0.3
so i am not be able to make initramfs.img file with this version
so now what i can do
is there any compitablity problem…
plz help me out
Make sure you are root when you do the install. Or it will fail.
Thanks. There’s a mistake in the “Step # 2″ title. It should be “.bz2″ not “.bz3″.
Hi,
Open file using vi:
# vi /boot/grub/menu.lst
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.25 Default
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb1 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.25
savedefault
boot
I tried to open the menu.lst file but it is being opened in vi as a new file. So, I just updated grub and rebooted but in the boot loader list I don’t have the kernel I installed to select it. Please help.
Thanks in advance.
I am facing the same problem. Any solutions ?
there is an error in sudo make. i am using 64 bit ubuntu 11.4.
arch/x86/kernel/entry_64.S: Assembler messages:
arch/x86/kernel/entry_64.S:1558: Error: .size expression for do_hypervisor_callback does not evaluate to a constant
make[2]: *** [arch/x86/kernel/entry_64.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [arch/x86/kernel] Error 2
make: *** [arch/x86] Error 2
I am having the identical problem.
have you found a solution to the problem yet?
This is something I need resolved ASAP.
If so I would really appreciate the fix.
Thanks
Thanx
Kevin
can anyone tell me how to load an kernel image without modules and gui.
i just want to load a kernel image without any configuration.
hey,
I used this method to compile kernel 3.1.2 on my PC.
but I’m stuck with samples/hidraw/hid-example.c
Its is like this
”
samples/hidraw/hid-example.c:49: warning: unused variable ‘info’
samples/hidraw/hid-example.c:48: warning: unused variable ‘rpt_desc’
samples/hidraw/hid-example.c: In function ‘bus_str’:
samples/hidraw/hid-example.c:171: error: ‘BUS_VIRTUAL’ undeclared (first use in this function)
make[2]: *** [samples/hidraw/hid-example] Error 1
make[1]: *** [samples/hidraw] Error 2
make: *** [vmlinux] Error 2
”
So can anyone tell me what I should do. All other steps are going fine.
Thanks
Bhavin
Do,
# cd /boot/grub
# ls
Do you find menu.lst there? If yes, the do
# cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
This will show you what all is already present there.
You can open it through a text editor, and add the new and the old kernels, as shown here.
NICE TO SEE THE DEFINE ITS AWESOME. Thanks.
Confirmed …Working on rhel-5.6 32bit. No need to use “mkinitrd -o initrd.img-2.6.25 2.6.25″ command.
Today I have install 2.6.30.5 kernel.
Thanks
Sakib