Hello, it's been a while since my last post. And I don't know how to start writing in this blog. Lately I have download lots of anime but I don't have time to watch or write about it. SO for a change, I'm gonna write a how to (very mini how to) about kernel compile on opensuse.
Opensuse is my favorite Linux distro. The last release of opensuse is version 11.1 released on late 2008. So it's been months since the last opensuse release and new technology like ext4 filesystem is already available on other distro like ubuntu or mandriva. So as a great fan of opensuse it's time to update our distro.
A kernel update probably not necessary for most user, and it's more than fulfilling curiosity than a technical needs. But by compiling kernel by your own you can customize your OS at a very deep level. Compiling a new kernel provide a new technology or improvement over the previous release. By compiling kernel you also able to remove feature that never use. But before we proceed I suggest to backup all the data because bad thing can always happen :-). It's always good idea to have one or more backup.
OK lets get started:
First download kernel source from http://kernel.org. Get the latest stable kernel. At the moment the latest stable kernel is version 2.6.30.1. Download it and save it to home folder (my home folder is /home/yyyholic).
Second step is extract the downloaded kernel source. To do that, open terminal and navigate to where you download the kernel source. In my case its on /home/yyyholic. Then extract the kernel source using the tar program. Type tar -xf (name of kernel source). Replace (name of kernel) with the kernel source that you download. After extraction you should find a folder like linux-2.6.30.1 on your current working folder.
The third step is move the extracted kernel source to /usr/src. To do that we must login as root. So type su (enter) than type your root password. After we login as root lets move the kernel source folder to /usr/src. To do that type mv linux-2.6.30.1/ /usr/src/ (enter).
Next is install the required packages for kernel compilation. This is easy step if you have internet connection. We will use zypper to install these package. On terminal as root type: zypper in gcc make qt3-devel (enter). Wait until all process finished.
Now we ready for kernel compilation. Still in terminal do "change directory" to /usr/src/linux-2.6.30.1/. Then as root type this command: make xconfig. Wait few moment and you should find this window:
Basically we use the window above to decide what feature we use on our kernel. If you don't know one or two option then leave it at default value. Don't rush, read everything and try to understand every option. You can always use google to understand some technical words. Make sure to optimize the kernel option according to your needs. If you use your PC as desktop then make the processor more active. And don't forget to disable kernel debugging.
After you choose the kernel option, klik save button on toolbar and exit. Next we will compile the kernel. type "make rpm" to compile and package the kernel as rpm. This process will take some time. On my test machine (Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of ram) it takes about 30 minutes. After compilation go to /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i386/. You should find your kernel as rpm package there.
Now, after the kernel is ready, lets install it. Assume that you already in /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i386/, type rpm -ivh [name-of-kernel.rpm]. The rpm -ivh command will install the kernel as new kernel. The new kernel will not replace the old kernel, and this is good because you will need it if new kernel did not work :-D. After kernel installation run mkinitrd to create init for new kernel. Then add the new kernel on grub. You can add it by editing /boot/grub/menu.lst or use yast.
That's it. Now restart your computer and try your new kernel. Now you have faster opensuse. Have a lot of fun :-)
Hi, its been a while :-)
This is the ending song of Gundam 00 Season 2 anime "trust you" by Yuna Ito. You can listen it here but the real file is at aimini.net. This mp3 uploaded by pxd.
Lyrics for this song available at animelyrics.com. Thank's for the uploader and lyrics provider. Enjoy :-)
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