How to compile a customized kernel in Debian 5 Lenny
Posted on August 13th, 2009
In this SevenL tutorial, we will show you how to compile a customized kernel in Debian 5 Lenny.
There are certainly different ways to do this, but we like to use this method =)
Step 1 – Preparing your system.
#apt-get install kernel-package ncurses-dev bzip2 module-init-tools initramfs-tools procps fakeroot
(if you’re using the graphical interface such as gconfig or xconfig, please install additional packages libgtk2.0-dev libglib2.0-dev libglade2-dev for gconfig and libqt3-mt-dev for xconfig)
Step 2 – Download the kernel you require
Before downloading a kernel, please check what your current kernel is
#uname -r
For example, this is mine
=> Linux mx 2.6.26-2-686 #1 SMP Thu Mar 26 01:08:11 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux
#cd /usr/src
#apt-get install linux-source-2.6.26
#tar xvjf linux-source-2.6.26.tar.bz2
#cd linux-source-2.6.26
Step 3 (Optional) – Verifying your current kernel information
I recommend this to you, just in case you’re not sure what packages should be installed
#cp /boot/config-$(uname -r) ./.config
#make oldconfig
#cat /proc/cpuinfo
Step 4 – Configure your kernel and compile it
#make menuconfig
(If you’re using GNOME, please use# make gconfig)
Now clean the slate for kernel compiling
#make-kpkg clean
If you have a multiprocessor, you need to do this.
#export CONCURRENCY_LEVEL=2
It will take from 10 mins to a few hours depending on your hardware and the configuration.
If you want to compile some other modules against your kernel, you need to include kernel_headers
#make-kpkg --rootcmd fakeroot --initrd --revision=SevenL.001 kernel_image kernel_headers
Step 5 – Install the kernel on your box
#cd ..
#dpkg -i *.deb
Before rebooting your box, please check your new kernel is on /boot/
#reboot
Voila! – beautiful isn’t it?
Please provide us comments if there are mistakes or problems you encounter! =)
Thanks!