[wplug] I'm a Linux whimp (need kernel help)

Tue Aug 16 12:02:16 EDT 2005

It sounds so easy the way you describe it but I must be missing something.

I took module source code (savage.c , savage.h, savage_drm.c, and so on) and  
copied it into my source tree (/usr/src/linux/drivers/char/drm).

I did a make and make modules.

Every module was made EXCEPT for the ones I put into the tree myself.

What am I missing?

-Bob

On Tuesday 16 August 2005 10:23 am, Chester R. Hosey wrote:
> On Mon, 2005-08-15 at 20:58 -0400, Robert E. Coutch wrote:
> > Alright you bunch of topic hijackers .... listen up !!!!
> >
> > (Just teasing! Don't take offense OR ELSE )
>
> I like bacon! Er, sorry.
>
> > So here's how it went.
> > [clip]
> > I run glxinfo and see direct rendering is ENABLED.
> > I run Chromium and it runs !!!!!
> >
> > So now I have what I wanted, 3D acceleration on my laptop's SuperSavage
> > IX/C chipset.
>
> Good stuff!
>
> > I still remain clueless as to kernel.
> > Do they make a kernel for dummies book by any chance?
>
> Bah! It's not really that difficult that it would justify a whole book.
> Nowadays distributors tend to assume that you have enough RAM that a
> little kernel bloat won't matter, but in the days of old it was usually
> suggested that you roll your own so as not to waste valuable core with
> their bloated cruft.
>
> Some things can be made modular and placed on an initrd, but the general
> point is that it used to be common that those using Linux would
> eventually compile it themselves. That's not an attempt at elitism, but
> at reassurance -- it's not really that difficult, and it even comes with
> a configuration menu!
>
> If you want to give it a look, here's a little direction.
>
> The short-and-sweet, twelve-step program towards freeing yourself from
> vendor-kernel addiction:
>
> 1) Install bzip2, libncurses5-dev, gcc, make, etc.
> 2) Obtain kernel source
> 3) Unpack kernel source
> 4) Change into the kernel source directory
> 5) Optionally copy old config to .config and "make oldconfig"
> 6) Do a "make menuconfig"
> 7) If compiling a 2.4 kernel, "make dep"
> 8) make bzImage
> 9) make modules
> 10) make modules_install
> 11) Tell your bootloader about the new kernel.
> 12) Reboot
>
> You're done!
>
>
> The longer answer:
>
> Most distributions and guides will (used to?) tell you to unpack
> into /usr/src/linux. I found myself playing with many different
> versions, and settled on /usr/src/ksrc/2.6.12 (for instance), allowing
> for intact source trees for all versions I was testing.
>
> What I'd do for an out-of-the-box fresh installation looks like the
> following:
>
> (Install bzip -- the package might be called bzip2 or similar, and
> you'll need the libncurses development headers and a compiler.)
>
> host:/home/chet# cd /usr/src/
> host:/usr/src# mkdir -p ksrc/upstream
> host:/usr/src# cd ksrc/upstream
> host:/usr/src/ksrc/upstream# wget \
> 	http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/linux-2.6.12.tar.bz2
> host:/usr/src/ksrc/upstream# cd ..
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# tar jxvf upstream/linux-2.6.12.tar.bz2
>
> (wait for tar...)
>
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# mv linux-2.6.12 2.6.12
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# cd 2.6.12/
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# cp /boot/config-2.6.9-11.EL .config
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# make oldconfig
>
> (At this point, you'll be asked a series of y/n options. Most of the
> time you can go with the default, unless you know better. If you aren't
> sure whether you know better, assume you don't. You'll be given an
> opportunity to review everything later -- this is just a quick way of
> getting a config from an old kernel up to speed with the new kernel's
> features and options.)
>
> This next step is optional if you're in a hurry, but highly recommended:
>
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# make menuconfig
>
> You'll quickly figure out menuconfig. It's simple, and if you change
> anything you aren't certain about, Ctrl+C will always exit immediately.
>
> If compiling a 2.4 kernel:
>
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# make dep
>
> And for all kernels:
>
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# make bzImage
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# make modules
> host:/usr/src/ksrc# make modules_install
>
> Some copy the generated kernel to /boot or /, but I like to leave it in
> place. I've always got an old bootable kernel in another source tree
> somewhere -- I'm very demanding of disk space in /usr/src, but if faced
> with limitations I'd probably copy to /boot. The kernel will end up
> at /usr/src/ksrc/2.6.12/arch/i386/boot/bzImage after a successful build.
>
> Please note that it also makes sense to place it in /boot in the case
> that /usr is a distinct partition -- if you wipe out /usr, you've still
> got a minimally useful (and bootable!) system.
>
> Inform your boot loader of the new kernel -- /boot/grub/menu.lst for
> grub, /etc/lilo.conf for LILO. If using LILO, you'll need to type 'lilo'
> to activate changes.
>
> Note that if you're impatient (which I am) you can specify the -j option
> to make, which will cause make to invoke multiple build processes
> whenever possible. This really only makes sense during 'make bzImage'
> and 'make modules' -- for instance, 'make -j2 bzImage' for single-CPU
> systems or 'make -j4 bzImage' for SMP. I like to increase the number
> until 'top' no longer reports idle CPU time (it will nearly always show
> idle CPU on its first display cycle -- be somewhat patient).
>
> If you're paranoid (which I am) about doing things as root, note that if
> you have write permission to /usr/src, you can do everything up to 'make
> install' as a non-root user.
>
> Heck, if you just want to play in a 'sandbox' (safe environment), do it
> all outside of /usr/src. You can do it in your home directory, but I
> would move it to a proper location as soon as you're comfortable
> compiling and booting from your own kernel.
>
> Anyone still with me here who feels like piping in with comments or even
> just to point out stupidities in my methods is definitely welcome to
> comment. It's not quite a book, and it's all from memory, so if anything
> doesn't work for you please let me know.
>
> Chet
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