Thread: Geeky stuff part 2 : Making your own kernel compiling & configuring

Now when you type this:
sudo make menuconfig

You will get lot of options but first you should press the second last option of load an alternative configurations which will be in your /boot partition.

e.g. For fedora latest:
/boot/config-2.6.31.9-174.fc12.x86_64

In that you will see that many options are by <M> or <*> or by < >
M=modules. When you do this options load at boot time as modules.
*= built-in. Options are build as part of the kernel.
You can safely switch between them.
E.g.
In file-systems:
Choose which apply to you. No need for xfs or reiserfs or ext2 ( if you are not using them.
Choose which apply to you as built in. Pressing space you can change M to none <> or builtin. If you don't know what the hell that option is. Press shift +/. It will show.
In Device Drivers & Firmware Drivers apply to you as built in which is you need no need for including amd when you have intel & ATI when you have nvidia.
See all the options. Wherever applicable made them built-in .
If don't know ask here or some where.


Type
make

It will compile a kernel in
/usr/src/linux/arch/< whatever your arch is like x86 or x86_64 or sparc>/boot/bzImage
BzImage is your kernel.
Now copy kernel to /boot
Create a link to boot & put it into boot.
So that it look like /boot/boot



Now in /boot/grub.conf or /boot/menu.lst ( depending upon your distro ubuntu have menu.lst & fedora have grub.conf. In future grub.conf will be standard as it have already been chosen for grub 2)
You don't need initrd or intrafs.
At last entry put all line except # (commented one) which are explanation:


# Partition where the boot & root both partition is located If your kernel is located
#/dev/sda then do as I have done
title My own kernel
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/bzImage root=/dev/sda2
#If not then asked me. Or try to understand if boot is at /dev/sdanumber Then
#first line is root (hd0,number-1)
# If / partition is at /dev/sdanumber than second line is
#kernel /boot/bzImageroot root=/dev/sdanumber

Though you are giving right instruction, it seems nobody is interested!! as most pre-compiled will satisfy their need so why bother about this? only some resource will be wasted.

Some are just like that. They want all power they can get. & sometime people might need some feature like obscure filesystems then you will have to. Like ufs2. Also a custom kernel just run at 60% time the configured kernel