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<TITLE>Experiences with Linux Kernel 2.0 Upgrade</TITLE>
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<H1><IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE SRC="../gx/lg_logo.gif">Kernel Upgrade!</H1>
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<H2>A Member of the Linux Documentation Project</H2>
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<H4>"The Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun...!</I>
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"</H4>
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<H5>Copyright (c) 1996 John M. Fisk <I>fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu</I><BR>
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The LINUX GAZETTE is a member of the LINUX DOCUMENTATION PROJECT.<BR></H5>
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<HR>
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<!-- ==================================================================== -->
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<!-- ARTICLE ============================================================ -->
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<H2><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/text.gif">Experiences with Kernel 2.0 Upgrade
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</A></H2>
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<P>
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<B>by John M. Fisk <fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu></B>
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<H3>So, you think you want to upgrade...?</H3>
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If you're still running one of the 1.2.x kernels then you probably should
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seriously consider the 2.0 upgrade. Now, there's nothing that says that you
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<I>absolutely have to</I> do this and if you're using Linux in a setting where
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down time isn't possible, then running a stable kernel may well be fine.
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<P>
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However, the improvements in the 2.0 kernel are pretty impressive, especially
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for someone like me who wasn't really following the 1.3.x developement very
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closely. A couple things about the 2.0 kernel that I personally REALLY liked
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were:
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<OL>
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<LI>MUCH <B>better overall performance</B>, especially under X
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<LI>The <B>kerneld module daemon</B> which autoloads the modules on demand
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<LI><B>Very nice text mode, (console) menu mode, and X Window mode</B>
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kernel configuration utilites that <B>include explanations</B> of the
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various kernel options
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<LI><B>A lot more documentation</B> right with the kernel sources
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themselves
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</OL>
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<P>
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These are just the things that I happen to like. I'm sure that for many of
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you the list would be a lot longer.
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<H3>And Remember: Luck Favors the Prepared Mind...</H3>
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I have to admit that before embarking on this little expedition I poured over
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the comp.os.linux.xxxx group postings to see how others had fared. All in
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all, from the looks of things, it appeared that undertaking the upgrade would
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be a bit of work, but was very much doable. I saved several of the Usenet
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postings regarding various problems folks had run into and started jotting
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down notes to myself in the 'ol Linux Notebook that hangs out next to my Linux
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box.
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<P>
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But before I go any further, let me cut to the chase:
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<P>
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<B>IF YOU'RE USING REDHAT THEN FATE, MY FRIEND, IS SMILING ON YOU!</B>
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<P>
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Thanks to the wonders of modern technology (and a bit of "sweat of the
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brow" work on the part of the guys at RedHat) all you RedHat users can
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just ignore the rest of this article and toddle on down to your friendly,
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neighborhood <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com">RedHat WWW Site</A> and follow
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the instructions for RPM'ing your way to a (reasonably painless :-) 2.0
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upgrade.
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<P>
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See Ya! Tell the guys at RedHat "Howdy" from me!
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<P>
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Hmmm... OK, who's left?
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<P>
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Seriously, this is one of the reasons I'm planning to switch over to a RedHat
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system. Not to get into a bruhaha over the merits of one distrubtion over
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another, but the ease of upgrade is one of the things that I really like about
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RedHat. Now, before you get in a dander, I'm still running and enjoying a
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seriously hacked up Slackware 3.0.0 distribution which has served me well for
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the past 8 to 9 months or so.
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<P>
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Anyway, let's see what needs to be done to get up to speed.
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<H3>Time to Roll Up Your Sleeves...</H3>
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As I mentioned before, I spent a bit of time doing some reading before
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plunging in with the upgrade. Mostly, because several of the Usenet postings
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had mentioned serious troubles: from little things like <B>ps</B> no longer
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working correctly to bigger problems such as <B>pppd</B> and <B>make</B> no
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longer working. Not really wanting to have FiskHaus (the 'ol Linux box here
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in Nashville) down too long, I went to the "virtual library" for
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some more information.
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<P>
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The first thing I did was to <B>pick up a copy of the kernel 2.0 sources</B>
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which was at my favorite Linux FTP watering hole:
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<P>
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<A HREF="ftp://ftp.cc.gatech.edu/pub/linux/">ftp.cc.gatech.edu/pub/linux/</A>
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<P>
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GA Tech always keeps a pretty up to date sunsite mirror and so I popped in one
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afternoon and checked out the Incoming directory for new toys. Now, the first
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thing that struck me about the new kernel was its sheer size: this 'ol Bubba
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is one Big Boy! Weighing in a over 5MB I set up the download on my trusty
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14.4 USR and stepped out for some Nachos and a Coke.
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<P>
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Here is the first of a couple <I>caveats</I>: when I went to unarchive the
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2.0 kernel sources I failed to check the *.tar.gz archive before unfurling it
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into /usr/src...
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<P>
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Bad Mistake :-(
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<P>
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Before unarchiving <I>ANYTHING</I> it's probably a good idea to do a listing
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of it first to have a peek at what's there. You see, the 2.0 kernel is
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archived under a "linux" top directory. That's not a problem unless
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your current kernel sources are <I>also</I> under /usr/src/linux. I'd set up
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the 1.2.13 sources as "linux-1.2.13-ELF" and then created a symlink
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from that directory to "linux". When I unarchived the 2.0 sources,
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guess what happened to the 1.2.13 sources...
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<P>
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Right... they were <B>Ghandi</B> mon...
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<P>
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Serious Bummer... :-(
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<P>
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It wasn't a huge deal to reinstall the old 1.2.13 sources again and then fix
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the symlinks to point back to the 1.2.13 files, but I did kick myself a couple
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times for being careless.
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<P>
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Anyway, forwarned is forarmed.
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<H3>Time To Do a Bit of Reading...</H3>
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The next step was to have a look at the documentation in the
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/linux/Documentation subdir. There seems to be a new emphasis on including
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helpful docs actually <I>with</I> the kernel sources itself. The one that
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you'll need to read is called <B>Changes</B> which basically outlines the
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stuff that "broke" during the development of the 2.0 kernel and what
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you'll need to do to successfully upgrade and keep everything working.
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<P>
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Do yourself a favor: READ THIS!!
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<P>
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The file lists several original sources for this information including:
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<UL>
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<LI>the linux-kernel mailing list
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<LI><B>Jared Mauch's</B> Web page <A HREF="http://www2.nether.net/~jared/victim.html">
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"Software Victims of the 1.3 Kernel Development"</A>
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<LI><B>Axel Boldt's</B> <A HREF="mailto: boldt@math.ucsb.edu">
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"Configure.help file"</A>
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</UL>
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<P>
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There is now a Web page maintained by John Taylor at
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<A HREF="http://www.cviog.uga.edu/LinuxBleed.html">
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http://www.cviog.uga.edu/LinuxBleed.html</A> which includes the same material
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as that in the Changes document.
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<P>
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I printed a copy of this and it turned out to be an invaluable guide for
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anticipating where I could potentially run into trouble and what things needed
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to be upgraded.
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<P>
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Also, there are a number of other short-to-medium length documents in the
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Documentation directory that you might be interested in -- modules.txt,
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ide.txt, ppp.txt, ramdisk.txt, java.txt, and so forth. After printing these
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up and skimming over them I felt pretty comfortable with what needed to be
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done.
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<H3>Getting All the Pieces Together...</H3>
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The next step, after reading through the <B>Changes</B> document, was to
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create a list of all the packages I'd need to install in order to successfully
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upgrade. Again, the Changes document is an absolute MUST read in order to
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avoid running into any nasty surprises. My initial list of files included:
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<UL>
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<LI>modules-2.0.0.tar.gz
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<LI>ppp-2.2.0f.tar.gz
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<LI>ld.so.1.7.14.tar.gz
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<LI>gcc-2.7.2.bin.tar.gz
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<LI>libc-5.3.12.bin.tar.gz
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<LI>libg++-2.7.1.4.bin.tar.gz
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<LI>make-3.74-direntfix-elf.tgz
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<LI>gdb-4.14.elf.1.bin.tar.gz
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<LI>binutils-2.6.0.14.bin.tar.gz
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<LI>procps-1.01.tar.gz
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<LI>sendmail-8.7.5-bin.tar.gz
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<LI>sysvinit-2.62.tar.gz
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<LI>termcap-2.0.8.tar.gz
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<LI>pine-3.94.tar.gz
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<LI>kbd-0.91.tar.gz
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<LI>hdparm-2.9.tar.gz
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<LI>dosemu-0.63.1.36.tgz
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</UL>
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<P>
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As you can see, the "Victims of Modernization" were many :-)
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<P>
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The good news is that, depending on whether you're a "glass is
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half-empty or glass is half-full" kind of guy or gal, that the same
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helpful Changes document also includes a listing of where to find all of these
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needed programs.
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<P>
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So, after another afternoon spent chasing down programs from the four winds of
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the earth it was just about time to start the whole upgrade affair. I should
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also point out one very important thing: in order to compile the new kernel
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you'll need to upgrade a number of the development tools including GCC,
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binutils, libc and libg++ libraries, make, and so forth. These are available
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as binaries. Unless you're the masochistic type, save yourself the hassle and
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just get the binaries! Also, you'll need to do just a <I>bit</I> more reading
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as the development stuff comes with release notes -- you'll probably want to
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print and read these as well.
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<P>
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Anyway, after generating a sheaf of papers and coloring them up with Hi-Liter,
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I felt reasonably ready...
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<H3>Let the Games Begin...!</H3>
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The first thing I started with was the development stuff. I wanted to be
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certain that all this stuff was properly installed and working before trying
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to compile a new kernel. As I mentioned before, the good news is that most of
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this stuff -- gcc, binutils, libc, libg++, and even a "fixed" make
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-- was available as binaries. Each of these has a <B>release note</B> which
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describes how to go about upgrading. I followed the notes and within an hour
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or so, had all of the development stuff install.
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<P>
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Phew! Got to check a few things off my list...
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<P>
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I went ahead and tried compiling a few small programs just to make sure that
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things were working correctly. After a couple quick compiles, I also changed
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the /usr/src/linux symlink to point to the new 2.0 kernel sources (for the
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"/usr/src/linux & /usr/src/asm" include files) and recompiled
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the same programs. Not a hitch!
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<P>
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At this point, let me make an observation that just <I>might</I> be useful to
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someone. When I first started using Linux a couple years ago I was often
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distraught regarding how little information/documentation I could find on many
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programs. Even after discovering <B>info</B> and all the stuff that got put
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into <B>/usr/doc/</B> it seemed to me that I still didn't know as much as I
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wanted about how programs worked. Also, a number of manual pages pointed to
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files or other programs that I could never find on my system.
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<P>
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The bottom line is: often, if you want to find the best documentation for a
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program, just pick up the sources!
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<P>
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I've been amazed over and over again at the (frequently) rich set of documents
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that come with a program that are not necessarily included with binary
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distributions. Also, most Linux distributions simply don't have the space to
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include the full set of documents for every program it includes. If you have
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a program that you really need documentation on:
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<P>
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Get the sources!
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<P>
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Anyway, I digress...
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<P>
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After installing the new development stuff I started re-compiling the programs
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which would need to be upgraded before installing the 2.0 kernel. Again, this
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turned out to be relatively easy. There is at least one program that you want
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to be kind of careful with: <B>sysvinit</B>. You'll need to read the
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documentation that comes with it carefully since this program is responsible
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for initializing the system at boot up. A wayward init can cause your system
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to become unbootable and that's seriously Bad Mojo!
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<P>
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I ended up recompiling procps, sysvinit, hdparm, the kbd package, modules 2.0,
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and PINE. These compiled without much hassle. Also, the good news is that in
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the process of doing so, I found that the most recent interation of PINE -
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3.94 I believe, now has xterm + mouse support. I've enjoyed using the
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<B>XF-Mail</B> program a lot, but when my mail got seriously backlogged I
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found that it was just a bit too slow owing in part to the multiple screens
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that are used for replies and such. I'm back to using PINE which, while it
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won't win any beauty contests, is a sturdy, reliable, and very well proven
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email client that is (on my system) pretty fast. I really like the new mouse
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support in X and like the fact that it works equally well under X and at the
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console. Your mileage may vary... :-)
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<P>
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Well, since things were going pretty smoothly I decided to take the big
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plunge!
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<H3>Taking the Big Plunge...!</H3>
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From past experiences I knew that compiling PPP generally meant having to
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patch the kernel and compile a new kernel. Since I'm dependant upon PPP for
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'Net access, I wanted to do this last so that FiskHaus would be 'Netless for
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as short a period as possible. Again, I found a goodly supply of helpful info
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in the PPP sources and compilation was a cinch. The good news was that a new
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pppd didn't "break" any of the PPP scripts I'd written over the past
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couple months and so this went very smoothly. I should probably add that I
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backed up EVERYTHING that I recompiled so that I could backtrack if necessary.
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<P>
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You know... luck and the prepared mind stuff... :-)
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<P>
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Oh, before I forget, any of you using <B>sendmail</B> will also need to
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upgrade to at least version 8.7.x since another of the changes that occurred
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was that a file can no longer be simultaneously locked with both 'flock' AND
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'fcntl'. The good news: there is a drop-in binary available that is a simple
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no-brainer fix for this.
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<P>
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See, this isn't so bad after all... :-)
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<P>
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Well, after all of this build up I have to sheepishly admit that the actual
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kernel compile was unremarkable. (That's GOOD, by the way... :-). I really
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wanted to try out the new configuration utilities. Those of you, like me, who
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did the 'ol "make config" under 1.2.13 will be pleasantly surprised
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by the new configuration programs. You have a choice of:
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<UL>
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<LI>text based "make config"
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<LI>console based menu "make menuconfig"
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<LI>X Window (Tk based) based "make xconfig"
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</UL>
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I decided at first to try "make menuconfig" and see how that looked.
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I don't know if any of you tried the same thing but it hung on the initial
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compilation of the menu program. Oh Well... so I tried using "make
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config" and this went very smoothly. I was quite pleased with the help
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system that is now part of the standard distribution. There have been kernel
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add-on's which provided the same facility now for some time, but it's nice now
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to see this build into the kernel sources. Generally, you are offered the
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choice of <B>Y, N, M, ?</B> for each kernel option -- <B>Y</B>es, compile in
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kernel support, <B>N</B>o, don't compile in kernel support, compile the
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current selection as a <B>M</B>odule, and <B>?</B> give me a bit of
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information about this option.
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<P>
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I went fairly conservatively at first and compiled a kernel with most
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everything build into the kernel itself. This compiled without a hint of
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trouble and after updating /etc/lilo.conf and adding a stanza for the new
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kernel and rerunning lilo, I booted up to enjoy my shiny new kernel!
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<P>
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And the fans went wild...!!
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<P>
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Yeah, I was pretty impressed. I tried out X and it really did appear to run
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much more smoothly -- currently, I've got a fairly low end graphics card and
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SVGA monitor and even with this, the screen redraws were much smoother and
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running several programs concurrently, including Netscape, now seemed to work
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a bit more smoothly as well.
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<P>
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So I was impressed :-)
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<P>
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As I mentioned before, one of the things that has REALLY impressed me about
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this new kernel is the handling of the loadable modules. I have to admit that
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I've had, at best, mixed results with using modules. Some of them seemed to
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work fine, but many of these seemed extraordinarily fickle and some just
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frankly refused to be loaded with a barrage of "undefined symbol..."
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messages. Still, I figured it was worth a try...
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<H3>A Truly Automated Kernel...</H3>
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Well, on the second kernel compile go-around I was pleasantly surprised to see
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that the "make menuconfig" now worked! I have no idea why it
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crumped the first time, but I was happy to see it in action. I'm still a bit
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of a command line interface (CLI) fan and so enjoyed using the menuconfig
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program. It took a bit of getting used to as I was in the habit of having a
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steady stream of questions fired at me during the configuration process. This
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is now MUCH more genteel :-)
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<P>
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The menuconfig option uses the same basic <B>dialog</B> interface that is used
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for system installation by Slackware and, I think, RedHat as well. Any of you
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who have installed these systems will recognize the familiar menus and
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checkbuttons. This is nicely organized and the help windows are, for the most
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part, REALLY QUITE helpful! You just work your way through the various menu
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items and when you get to the end, fire off the command and the kernel compile
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starts. I also tinkered around a bit with the X Window version:
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<B>xconfig</B>. I honestly haven't tried using it to compile a kernel, but
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the interface was clean and intuitive. Here's a screen dump for any of you
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who are interested:
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<P>
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<IMG WIDTH=580 HEIGHT=550 SRC="./gx/xconfig.gif">
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<P>
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Well, as I mentioned above, I really wanted to give the <B>kerneld</B> daemon
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a whirl. The basic premise for using this is that you compile into the kernel
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only those drivers and options that you REALLY need -- IDE harddrive support,
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ext2fs support, and so forth -- and then compile everything else that you
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<I>might</I> need as a module.
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<P>
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Sounded easy enough. :-)
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<P>
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Again, I'd commend to you the file <B>modules.txt</B> which is included with
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the rest of the files in the Documentation directory. I simply followed the
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steps outlined there -- compiling in KERNELD support, compiling most drivers as
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modules, adding a stanza in the rc.* files for running <B>depmod</B> at system
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boot and a stanza for starting the kerneld itself -- and after updating
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/etc/lilo.conf for this second 2.0 kernel and rerunning lilo, I was all set.
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<P>
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And do you think it actually worked...?
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|
|
|
<P>
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|
Yup ;-)
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|
|
|
<P>
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|
I was seriously impressed.
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|
|
|
<P>
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|
I was a bit concerned as to whether autoloading would happen smoothly or
|
|
whether I'd find that modules weren't being loaded, or other such annoyances.
|
|
I've been running this kernel now for the past few weeks and haven't had a bit
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|
of trouble with it! Well... at least no major trouble :-)
|
|
|
|
<P>
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|
At first, I'd occasinally fire up <B>lsmod</B> just to have a peek under the
|
|
hood to see what was happening. Sure enough, if I went to print a file, the
|
|
'lp' support module was loaded; if I mounted the /dos partition, the 'fat' and
|
|
'msdos' modules were loaded; use the mouse and the 'serial' module was loaded;
|
|
run an old a.out program and the 'binfmt_aout' module was loaded...
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
You get the picture.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Eventually I stopped doing checking in on things -- it REALLY does provide a
|
|
transparent layer of support for loadable modules! The one small problem that
|
|
I ran into was...
|
|
|
|
<H3>Getting DOSEMU Up and Running...</H3>
|
|
|
|
One of the things that I ran across in reading the Usenet group postings was
|
|
that DOSEMU got "broken" by kernel 2.0. Now, if I need to do some
|
|
serious word processing, DTP, or graphics stuff, I'll just reboot to DOS and
|
|
fire up Windows and do what I need to do. Not too long ago, I got tired of
|
|
having to do this for every little note or letter I wanted to write. I tried
|
|
using <B>LyX</B> -- an excellent front end to LaTeX -- but found that I still
|
|
was stuggling to get simple things done. This is mostly a criticism of my
|
|
lack of TeX-related skills and has nothing to do with this fine program. I
|
|
finally broke down and bought a copy of <B>Word Perfect 6.1 for DOS</B> at the
|
|
local Univ. store (nice academic discount to boot... :-) and have been using
|
|
it under DOSEMU ever since.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Well, I knew that I wanted to get this up and running quickly so I wouldn't be
|
|
constantly rebooting to DOS. I found that the basic problem with using the
|
|
previous 0.60.x DOSEMU versions is that they simply won't compile. Part of
|
|
the problem is that one of the include files -- vm86.h -- has been moved. The
|
|
most recent development version of DOSEMU (0.63.1.36 is the version I'm
|
|
currently using) now correctly finds this file. In the 0.63.1.19 verion,
|
|
there was a kernel patch that had to be applied before it would compile.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Anyway, I set up the DOSEMU sources and, after skimming through the
|
|
<B>QuickStart</B> document once more, got it to compile with little
|
|
difficulty. The only slight problem that I've encountered -- and this really
|
|
isn't much more than a minor annoyance -- is that I've got a stanza in my
|
|
autoexec.bat file for DOSEMU which loads the DOSEMU cdrom driver. If there is
|
|
a CD in the drive when DOSEMU starts, everything is cool. If there isn't a CD
|
|
in the drive, then it starts a series of repeated probings which continue even
|
|
when DOSEMU is exited. Initially, it drove me crazy to see the CD drive light
|
|
going wildly on and off over and over again and I tried to manually
|
|
<B>rmmod</B> the sbpcd module -- No Dice!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
So, what I've found is that eventually, the sbpcd module "times out"
|
|
and gets unloaded and the annoying blinking and whirring stops. It's annoying
|
|
in part because while this is going on the CD simply won't work -- the drive
|
|
door will not open and I've not been able to unload the sbpcd module manually.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Like I said, small problem.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
So, how does DOSEMU run...? Great! If you haven't tried using this program
|
|
you really ought to give it a try, especially if you have old DOS programs
|
|
that you want to run. I've been impressed at how well WP 6.1 runs. What was
|
|
really nice, too, was to discover that it also works well in
|
|
"Graphics" mode -- giving you a near WYSIWYG interface. I happen to
|
|
like WP and have found that while it isn't <I>quite</I> as fast as under
|
|
native DOS mode, it works acceptably well and offers a feature-rich app that
|
|
can be used under a variety of OS's -- Linux, DOS, Windows, and OS/2.
|
|
|
|
<H3>And So, In Conclusion...</H3>
|
|
|
|
Glad to see that you're still with me! :-)
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
As I mentioned before, this really isn't a HOWTO as much as it is a recounting
|
|
of my own experiences. Unless you're using RPM to do the upgrade you should
|
|
probably give yourself several days to go through the whole process of
|
|
upgrading as you'll be making some significant changes to your system along
|
|
the way. I'd also encourage you to READ THE DOCUMENTATION! I can't stress
|
|
this enough -- many of the cries for help in the comp.os.linux.xxxx groups
|
|
could probably have been avoided if the person had read the documentation all
|
|
the way through.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
As I said before, I've been very pleased with the upgrade. Specifically, the
|
|
system really does seem to work more smoothly now and X runs better overall.
|
|
I've had absolutely no problems with the regular kernel modules (those that
|
|
come with the kernel sources) and have had little trouble with other modules.
|
|
The added documentation and the improved kernel configuration facilites make
|
|
this a significant upgrade.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Drop me a note and let me know how things have been going for you! I'd be
|
|
interested in hearing about the problems & difficulties folks have been
|
|
running into as well as first impressions.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Good Luck and Happy Linux'ing!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
John
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<HR>
|
|
<!-- ===================================================================== -->
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<!-- FOOTER ============================================================== -->
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<H3><A HREF="./lg_issue8.html">Back to Linux Gazette!</A></H3>
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<I>This page written and maintained by:</I><BR>
|
|
<ADDRESS>
|
|
John M. Fisk <A HREF="mailto: fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu">
|
|
fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu</A>
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