Linux Desktop Hacks

Compile a Kernel #88

Chapter 10, Kernel

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HACK

An alternative is to keep the linux-x.x.x directory and instead create a sym-

link called linux to point to it:

foo@bar:~$ ln –s linux-x.x.x linux

This enables you to keep multiple source trees on your machine and just

change the symlink to point to whichever is your current tree. It also helps

you remember which version of the source you are working with.

A number of different kernel source code trees (in addition

to the official one) are available. Each contains official ker-

nel source code that has been tweaked and modified by

someone to achieve a specific goal, such as increased hard-

ware support or system performance improvements. “Use

CKO to Make Your Desktop Go to 11”

[Hack #90] has more

information about these alternate kernel sources. The steps

in this hack are directly applicable to alternate kernel

sources.

Configure the Code

Before you begin to configure your kernel, first you should ensure that you

have all the software necessary to compile it. This list of requirements is

shown in the README file in /usr/src/linux. If you are satisfied that every-

thing required is installed, you can launch the configuration tool by running

one of the following commands.

make menuconfig

This is for text-based color menus, radio button lists, and dialogs.

make xconfig

This X Windows (Qt)-based configuration tool is available only in the 2.6

kernel series and higher. ...