General questions about kernel recompilation

[jpalfree]

hi,
i recently installed gentoo and after the usual struggle with installing it, i'm ready to concentrate on non-essentials (sound,...etc)

I looked at the config file for my kernel and realized that the reason my sound and video players aren't working is probably because i forgot to include modules to support that.

i'm wondering, if i recompile the kernel, what does that change? do my settings mess up? do i have to reset certain settings? or will it just be the same except including different modules to support my sound/video?

also would people mind giving me tips on recompiling a kernel and perhaps choosing the right things to include to support my sound and video?
thanks

[chopin1810]

It doesn't mess with your current settings, as far as I know. Also, it wouldn't use different modules for your sound and video. You would need to upgrade your kernel to do that.

[ginsuedog]

You would only need to recompile your kernel if you needed to include or remove drivers from your kernel otherwise you could add them as modules which would not require you to recompile your kernel in most cases unless you forgot to include something else, like frame buffer support etc...

[skrye]

First of all, you really need to compile a comprehensive list of all the hardware on your machine.

then go into your kernel source tree and execute:

make menuconfig

this will bring up the ncurces type menu your probably familier with. From there its jsut a case of looking at each option and deciding if your system needs it. There is no quick way of doing it im afraid.

once your happy make sure you save the config and then compile:

make && make modules_installl

As you know, a nice bottle of Australian Red will see you through the wait...:P

Of course there is always the genkernel option, which will support everything, the only trouble is 80% of that support you probably dont need. And the whole point of gentoo is to be able to build Specifically to your own needs. A bloated kernel defeats the object so to speak.

Probably havent pointed out anything you dont already know but i hope you manage to get it sorted. [/code]

[Cabhan]

I prefer not to use modules at all. I just build everything right into the kernel proper. This way, no need to worry about forgetting modules.

Check what your sound and video card are, and go to the respective sections (Device Drivers --> Sound --> ALSA for sound, Device Drivers --> Multimedia Devices (I think?) for graphics card). Just enable them.

Also, some certain hardware is unsupported.

It can also help to go to http://www.alsa-project.org/ and make sure your soundcard is supported, and if it is, check the exact module name (for example, mine is emu10k1).

Alrighty...best of luck to you!

[jpalfree]

As you know, a nice bottle of Australian Red will see you through the wait...:P

hah, good to know.

and thanks for the alsa web page,cabhan... i hadn't thought of that.

and is there any advantage to using modules?

[ginsuedog]

The only advantage of using modules is that you generally can use the newest drivers available without having to recompile everything. I am generally lazy and so just compile my drivers directly into my kernel. The only module I use is for my ati drivers so I can have opengl support. Just boot off a livecd and run lspci to see what drivers it loads for your gentoo system or if you already know then just add them into your kernel.

[jpalfree]

ok, thanks everyone.
I'll recompile the kernel tonight

[Varean]

A bit OT but, from my previous expeirience, if sound doesn't work properly after kernel recompilation, if you are using KDE, then make sure to run Kmix or whatever volume manager you have, to make sure that your Inputs/speakers/PCMs are all turned on.

Just though I would share that.

[jaboua]

Or alsamixer/amixer for sound control, comes with the "alsa-utils" package. I suggest compiling the sound-drivers as modules mainly to easily configuring it with the "alsaconf" script in alsa-utils