Feature: HowTo Upgrade To The 2.6 Kernel

The following utilities are filesystem specific. If you're running ext2 or ext3, be sure to update your e2fsprogs, if you're running jfs, be sure to update jfsutils, etc...

    Name:              Minimum version:    How to find version:
     e2fsprogs          1.29                tune2fs
     jfsutils           1.0.14              fsck.jfs -V
     reiserfsprogs      3.6.3               reiserfsck -V 2>&1 | grep reiserfsprogs
     xfsprogs           2.1.0               xfs_db -V
     nfs-utils          1.0.5               showmount --version

And a handful of other utilities that you'll want to update if you use them:

    Name:              Minimum version:    How to find version:
     pcmcia-cs          3.1.21              cardmgr -V
     quota-tools        3.09                quota -V
     PPP                2.4.0               ppd --version
     isdn4k-utils       3.1pre1             isdnctrl 2>&1 | grep version
     oprofile           0.5.3               oprofiled --version     

If you're going to be running ALSA for the first time, also be sure to visit http://www.alsa-project.org/ to grab the latest alsa-lib and alsa-utils.

Step 4: Configure your new kernel.
One of the first changes you'll notice is the new build system [story]. The old Tk/Tcl 'xconfig' build method no longer exists, replaced by a new QT based 'xconfig'. Non-QT fans will be happy to find that a GTK based 'gconfig' is also available for their use.

2.6 build methods include:

• make config
  

  This appears to be identical to 'config' in the 2.4 kernel. As the most simplistic configuration method, it simply asks you about each configuration option, one at a time... Requires the 'bash' shell.

• make menuconfig
  

  This appears to be identical to 'menuconfig' in the 2.4 kernel. A simple curses based configuration method.

• make xconfig
  

  This new default graphical configuration system uses the QT libraries. I found it to be quite functional and easy to use.

• make gconfig
  

  This option is a clone of the new xconfig, however using the GTK libraries instead of the QT libraries. Unfortunately, in my brief testing I found it to be somewhat buggy. While running, it spews out the same error over and over, and crashed rather quickly. Here's a log to show you what I'm talking about.

• make oldconfig

  This build option will prove extremely useful to you as you upgrade to newer and newer 2.6 kernels. At first glance it looks identical to the plain 'make config', however 'oldconfig' reads your current .config settings and automatically answers for you based on these settings, only prompting you for new configuration choices. To use, simply copy in your old .config file, then type 'make oldconfig'.

• having unnecessary drivers will make the kernel bigger, and can under some circumstances lead to problems: probing for a nonexistent controller card may confuse your other controllers.
• the "kernel hacking" configuration details usually result in bigger or slower kernel (or both), and can even make the kernel less stable by configuring some routines to actively try to break bad code to find kernel problems (kmalloc()). Thus you should probably answer 'n' to the questions for "development", "experimental", or "debugging" features.

ALSA:
For many people upgrading from 2.4 to 2.6, this will be your first time using the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) which has replaced OSS. Though it may be tempting to simply enable the deprecated OSS and go about your life as normal, it's probably worth your time to get ALSA working. Thanks to ALSA's OSS API Emulation, it's really not that hard. When configuring your kernel, be sure to enable the OSS emulation options (SND_OSSEMUL, SND_MIXER_OSS and SND_PCM_OSS) Also be sure to enable the appropriate sound driver (in PCI devices) - I compiled mine directly into the kernel. Finally, be sure to download and install the latest alsa-lib and alsa-utils.