I use DebianGnuLinux^? as the main OperatingSystem on my WorkStation^?. My KernelConfiguration^? is a little bit nonstandard, though, as I use KernelPatches^? and KernelModules^? that are available through Debian, but which are not part of the main kernel tree.

As such, my method for building new kernels is a little more complicated than it is on most systems.

First, pick a local kernel revision. Something like {hostname}{revision} is good. This way, you can install multiple versions of the same kernel, each with their own configuration and modules directory, and switch between them at will.

First-Time Only Setup

You'll need to have installed a few packages before you can begin. In all likelihood, most of them are already present on your system. If they're not, it's a simple matter to install them.

• kernel-package
• initrd-tools
• cramfsprogs
• gcc
• libc-dev
• debianutils
• make
• libdb3-dev
• libncurses-dev

You can install all of these in one batch by typing:

apt-get install kernel-package initrd-tools cramfsprogs gcc libc-dev debianutils make libdb3-dev libncurses-dev

Variables Used Below

Name	Example	Explanation
$version	2.4.19	The main kernel version, i.e. 2.4.19, i.e.
$local	myhost1	The local kernel revision as mentioned above, i.e. myhost1
$fullVersion	2.4.19myhost1	The concatenated $version and $local strings, i.e. 2.4.19myhost1

Download The Source

• Get a list of kernels available for installation. This command will show you a list of possibilities.

apt-get install kernel-source

• Download the Debian source package for the version you've chosen:

apt-get install kernel-source-$version

Build Your Kernel!

Once you've installed those, you're ready to start:

• Go to the source parent directory.

cd /usr/src

• Extract the kernel package you downloaded earlier.

tar xvjf kernel-source-$version.tar.bz

• Make linux a symlink to the kernel source. This isn't absolutely necessary, but it's a very common practice:

ln -s kernel-source-$version linux

• Extract any additional kernel module TarBalls you may wish to install.

tar xvzf nvidia-kernel-src.tar.gz

• Tell make-kpkg to apply any extra kernel patches you've installed before configuration and building.

export PATCH_THE_KERNEL="YES"

• Configure your kernel options. This method substitutes for the normal 'make {whatever}config' step. It patches the kernel with your local additions before running the config tool.

cd linux
make-kpkg --config {config|xconfig|menuconfig} configure

• Remove any extraneous files from the kernel source before building.

make-kpkg clean

• Big step #1: build the kernel package.
  • You'll probably get a warning about using the initrd option. This warning does not apply to you, so you can safely ignore it.

make-kpkg --us --uc --initrd --append-to-version $local kernel_image

• Big step #2: build the module packages.
  • You may get another warning here. Ignore it also.

make-kpkg --us --uc --append-to-version $local modules_image

• Look at the list of packages built by the previous two steps.
  • There will be, at the least, kernel-image-$fullVersion_10.00.Custom_i386.deb
  • There may also be additional module packages depending on whether you built any.

cd ..
ls -lart *.deb

• Almost finished! Install your new kernel and modules packages.

dpkg -i {list of .deb packages from the previous step}

• Finally, update the bootloader to tell it about your new kernel. Both of these commands update a particular bootloader. Use the command appropriate for the one you have installed.

lilo -v

or

update-grub

-- KirkStrauser - 13 Sep 2002