Installing a new version of the kernel

I want to install a new version because my current kernel is too old for some applications.I went to kernel.org but I am not sure which one to download.2.4.19 is the latest stable version,but since I am running 2.4.18 according to uname,I guess its would be stupid to download 2.4.19.Should I download 2.5.45 (the latest beta)?

I am also don't know how I can switch to new version once I have installed it (I am starting Red Hat 7.3 from a boot floppy).Does anyone know how to do this?

I've heard this is quite a good tutorial, you can check steps here if you are unsure..
http://www.linuxorbit.com/modules.p...ticle&artid=494

NB I know nothing about upgrading the kernel so if that link ****s everything up I assume no responsibility

The golden rules of kernel compile:

o back up your old kernel (rename and keep it bootable)
o unless you have exotic hardware supported only by a beta release stick to the minor even numbered version (2.4 = major.minor; a odd minor, such as 2.5, is beta).

So use 2.4.19 which is what I use too. Another thing, if you already have the source for 2.4.18 or any other I suggest downloading the patch unless you don't care about both yours (like me before the fatal cap) and kernel.org bandwith.

Good luck.

Thanks alot guys for all the information.

I understand that its better to use a stable version,but if I am using 2.4.18 then there isnt much diference with 2.4.19,right?And I need a newer kernel because my NVIDIA Geforce 256 card and my USB HP PSC 2110 scanner don't work with my current kernel.So I was hoping that a kernel with a newer major version number would do the trick,but are beta's really that unstable?Because I also do alot of important work on my computer and I cant afford it to crash.

For your NVidia card you need their drivers available at nvidia.com and I'm pretty much sure that the HP printer needs a special driver too. Look for a "printer compatibility database" somewhere on the net, it has all the info you need.

I think that the 2.5 tree has some new memory drivers so I would definitely stay away from it.

The problem is that the drivers wont install (see this thread )and everyone I asked told me to install a new version of the kernel.
I can print but with my USB printer,but I cant scan stuff.I have installed the drivers fromhttp://hpinkjet.sourceforge.net/,which enable printing,but since its also a scanner I tried to install http://hpoj.sourceforge.net/ but this caused my printer to stop working plus I couldnt scan stuffso I removed it.I though that compiling a new version of the kernel with the appropriate USB support turned on,would fix that.

Hmmm,it seems that I need LILO or GRUB to be able to boot into the new kernel,but I still haven't installed a boot loader (don't know how,and the tutorials that I found are too hard).In the KDE control center I found a module for installing LILO (under System>Boot manager).Should I try installing it using kcontrol?

You don't *have* to use lilo - I mean if you compile a kernel and you're happy with your menuconfig, then just go ahead - move the old image and plop the new one in it's place... all you need to ensure is that you have a working boot floppy to save your *** should you want to put the old image back.

That's my quick, simple, dangerous-living version

christo

The problem is that I have absolutely no idea on how to do that,plus it takes like 5 minutes to boot,so I thought that booting with LILO would speed it up.Can someone please tell me how to install LILO?
I have the folowing files on my floppy:
"boot.msg
initrd.img
ldlinux.sys
syslinux.cfg
vmlinuz"
And I am running version 2.4.18-3 at the moment.In my /boot directory I have the folowing files:
"boot.b
lost+found
System.map-2.4.18-3
chain.b
message
vmlinux-2.4.18-10
config-2.4.18-10
module-info
vmlinux-2.4.18-17.7.x
config-2.4.18-17.7.x
module-info-2.4.18-10
vmlinux-2.4.18-3
config-2.4.18-3 module-info-2.4.18-17.7.x
vmlinuz
grub
module-info-2.4.18-3
vmlinuz-2.4.18-10
initrd-2.4.18-10.img
os2_d.b
vmlinuz-2.4.18-17.7.x
initrd-2.4.18-17.7.x.img
System.map
vmlinuz-2.4.18-3
initrd-2.4.18-3.img
System.map-2.4.18-10
kernel.h
System.map-2.4.18-17.7.x"

What should I replace?I have download,unpacked and configured version 2.4.19 (in /usr/src/newkernel/linux-2.4.19).

Look, it's not that complicated. First before compiling organize your lilo.conf so that YOU can understand it. I always put lilo settings at the top and kernels below.

Just rename your old kernel to something like bzImage-good and change it name under lilo. Then compile your fresh kernel place beside the other one and name it bzImage-exp(erimental if you wan't to type more; look the last line to know where the kernel is after make bzImage) and under lilo simply copy the one for bzImage-good but simply rename the file name and label, save, go back to cli and type lilo, make sure there's no err. msg and reboot! If the new kernel doesn't boot (check the very first line for compile time) try the old one and it will work. And try again if it didn't worked.

Yeah,but I dont have LILO installed (I have no idea what weird thingies are on the floppy),but I want to install LILO on my MBR and then make it boot my new kernel (you explained how to do this).I need to install LILO first though.

Hi.

Can I ask which distro you're using, and whether the reason you've not configured Linux to boot from hard disk is because you still need to dual-boot with some other operating system?

LILO is not the world's most marvellous bootloader, especially not if you are upgrading your kernel, because you have to re-install it every time you install a new kernel.

GRUB, on the other hand will give you a menu of possible kernels to boot, and usually keep your old one as the default (good idea if the new one might break). When you do "make install" for your new kernel, it should be added to the options, saving you the bother of having to back up the old one.


Duncan

I am using Red Hat 7.3,and I tried to install GRUB/LILO using the Red Hat installation cd,but I get some error and it just reboots my computer.

I have Windows ME (arggg) on my hard disk too,which my sister uses (so unfortunaly I can't remove Windows).So if I insert my boot floppy it starts Linux and otherwise it starts Windows.It would be ofcourse much easier if I got a menu during startup with the available operating systems.But I first need to manually install GRUB (which i dont know how to do).

Well grub works the same way lilo does except for the config file of course! It's doable, 18 million penguins can't be wrong! Check out www.tldp.org

IIRR, RedHat 7.3 was the first version of RedHat to use GRUB by default. I didn't keep 7.3 very long because the KDE installation was such a mess.

Without you telling me what the error message is, it's hard to figure out what the problem might be. My first guess is that the installer is not letting you create a configuration which won't work. All bootloaders require that the thing they're trying to load for you (the kernel) is placed somewhere on the disk they can get at it. Unfortunately, there is often a limit beyond which the BIOS doesn't provide a way to read the disk. Typically this is at 1024 cylinders (often the 8GB mark). So if your Windows partition is at the beginning of the disk and is quite large, this could be the problem. The solution is to figure out a partition scheme which allows you to have /boot within the portion of the disk which the BIOS can see.

In reply to the other post, there are two fundamental differences between GRUB and LILO. LILO reads its config file at installation (the lilo program builds a new bootsector based on the config), whereas GRUB can actually read the filesystem and hence reads its config at run-time. Once you change a GRUB boot menu, you're done - with LILO you must re-install. Also GRUB is much more sophisticated in its ability to daisy-chain another bootloader, so you can create much more complex multi-boot systems. I don't do that, though, as round my way, everything boots only Linux.