Upgrading the Kernel

[sabashuali]

Hi all

A bit ambitious of me I know but I was wondering if anyone can point me to a good how-to on installing a new Kernel. Just as a trial I would like to upgrade to the latest 2.6.20 and see what happens... Is it as simple as downloading and extracting into '/usr/src/linux-2.6.20/' ? Surely not...... :O

 

[Addis]

I'm guessing that you're using Kubuntu.

Check this: How To Compile A Kernel - The Ubuntu Way | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials

You can ignore the bit about patching the kernel, unless you have a real reason to do so. Compiling the kernel is a bit complex, since you need to configure which components of the kernel you want installing. You can choose whether a feature will be compiled straight into the kernel (meaning that it doesn't exist as a module, but makes the kernel larger) or you want it to be compiled as a module, or not at all.

For Debian based systems you'll want to make a .deb from it, as well as a kernel-headers package (so you can install any drivers if you need to). AT posted a kernel compilation thread, but it wasn't for Debian, and you should generally do things the "debian" way if you have the chance. That way, it fits in better with your system.