modify kernel?

[whisker]

what would be the best way to add some more options into the kernel (with make menuconfig) without reinstalling gentoo?

[Cabhan]

Erm...

You have the kernel sources downloaded, right? You need to, in order to install. If for some reason you don't, just "emerge gentoo-sources".

So just do (as root):

cd /usr/src/linux
make menuconfig

That'll bring it up and you can do whatever you want.

[lordnothing]

the easiest way to add some support to the kernel without recompilation is through loading modules... if the driver you need can be loaded as a module, just do this:

modprobe <module-name>

do not add the module extension to the filename.

[whisker]

[quote="Cabhan"]Erm...

You have the kernel sources downloaded, right? You need to, in order to install. If for some reason you don't, just "emerge gentoo-sources".

So just do (as root):

cd /usr/src/linux
make menuconfig

That'll bring it up and you can do whatever you want.[/quote


then what do i do after this?

make && make_modules

?

and reboot? this shouldnt mess anythng i have installed up will it?

[Cabhan]

Well, it depends...

Any external modules will need to be recompiled. So, for example, after I recompile my kernel, I do:

emerge ndiswrapper nvidia-kernel nvidia-glx

If you've updated to a new kernel version, you also need to change the /usr/src/linux symlink BEFORE recompiling the modules.

Some features may break others. For example, I can't turn on support for console framebuffer devices because if I do, I can't start the X Server.


However, assuming that you don't deactivate anything important, nothing should break. And even if it does, the old kernel image should still be sitting in boot so you can always just boot into that one.

And what kernel type are you doing? If it's 2.6 (as it should be), you cna just configure your kernel and run

make install

That compiles the changes only, and will automatically move everything to the appropriate place. Also, if you use LILO, it automatically updates LILO for you.