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The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
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<br>Chapter 9 - Debian and the kernel
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<h2><a name="s-non-debian-kernel"></a>9.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?</h2>
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There's only one common catch: the Debian C libraries are built with the most
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recent <em>stable</em> releases of the <strong>kernel</strong> headers. If you
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happen to need to compile a program with kernel headers newer than the ones
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from the stable branch, then you should either upgrade the package containing
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the headers (<code>libc6-dev</code>), or use the new headers from an unpacked
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tree of the newer kernel. That is, if the kernel sources are in
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<code>/usr/src/linux</code>, then you should add
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<samp>-I/usr/src/linux/include/</samp> to your command line when compiling.
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<h2><a name="s-customkernel"></a>9.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?</h2>
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Users who wish to (or must) build a custom kernel are encouraged to download
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the package <code>kernel-package</code>. This package contains the script to
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build the kernel package, and provides the capability to create a Debian
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<code>kernel-image-<var>version</var></code> package just by running the
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make-kpkg kernel_image
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in the top-level kernel source directory. Help is available by executing the
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and through the manual page <code>make-kpkg(1)</code>.
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Users must separately download the source code for the most recent kernel (or
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the kernel of their choice) from their favorite Linux archive site, unless a
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<code>kernel-source-<var>version</var></code> package is available (where
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<var>version</var> stands for the kernel version).
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Detailed instructions for using the <code>kernel-package</code> package are
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given in the file <code>/usr/share/doc/kernel-package/README.gz</code>.
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Unpack the kernel sources, and <samp>cd</samp> to the newly created directory.
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Modify the kernel configuration using one of these commands:
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<samp>make config</samp> (for a text-based interface).
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<samp>make menuconfig</samp> (for an ncurses-based menu driven interface).
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Note that to use this option, the <code>libncurses5-dev</code> package must be
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<samp>make xconfig</samp> (for an X11 interface). Using this option requires
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that relevant X and Tcl/Tk packages be installed.
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Any of the above steps generates a new <samp>.config</samp> in the top-level
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kernel source directory.
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Execute the command: <samp>make-kpkg -rev Custom.<var>N</var>
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kernel_image</samp>, where <var>N</var> is a revision number assigned by the
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user. The new Debian archive thus formed would have revision
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Custom.<var>N</var>, e.g. <code>kernel-image-2.2.14_Custom.1_i386.deb</code>
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for the Linux kernel 2.2.14 on i386.
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Install the package created.
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Run <samp>dpkg --install
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../kernel-image-<var>VVV</var>_Custom.<var>N</var>_i386.deb</samp> to install
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the kernel itself. The installation script will:
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run the boot loader (grub, LILO or some other) if needed,
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install the custom kernel in
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<code>/boot/vmlinuz_<var>VVV</var>-Custom.<var>N</var></code>, and set up
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appropriate symbolic links to the most recent kernel version.
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prompt the user to make a boot floppy. This boot floppy will contain the raw
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kernel only. See <a href="#s-custombootdisk">How can I make a custom boot
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floppy?, Section 9.3</a>.
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To employ secondary boot loaders such as <code>loadlin</code>, copy this image
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to other locations (e.g. to an <samp>MS-DOS</samp> partition).
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<h2><a name="s-custombootdisk"></a>9.3 How can I make a custom boot floppy?</h2>
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This task is greatly aided by the Debian package <code>boot-floppies</code>,
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normally found in the <samp>admin</samp> section of the Debian FTP archive.
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Shell scripts in this package produce boot floppies in the
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<samp>SYSLINUX</samp> format. These are <samp>MS-DOS</samp> formatted floppies
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whose master boot records have been altered so that they boot Linux directly
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(or whatever other operating system has been defined in the
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<code>syslinux.cfg</code> file on the floppy). Other scripts in this package
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produce emergency root disks and can even reproduce the base disks.
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You will find more information about this in the
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<code>/usr/share/doc/boot-floppies/README</code> file after installing the
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<code>boot-floppies</code> package.
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<h2><a name="s-modules"></a>9.4 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?</h2>
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Debian's <code>modconf</code> package provides a shell script
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(<code>/usr/sbin/modconf</code>) which can be used to customize the
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configuration of modules. This script presents a menu-based interface,
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prompting the user for particulars on the loadable device drivers in his
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system. The responses are used to customize the file
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<code>/etc/modules.conf</code> (which lists aliases, and other arguments that
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must be used in conjunction with various modules) through files in
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<code>/etc/modutils/</code>, and <code>/etc/modules</code> (which lists the
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modules that must be loaded at boot time).
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Like the (new) <code>Configure.help</code> files that are now available to
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support the construction of custom kernels, the <code>modconf</code> package
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comes with a series of help files (in <code>/usr/lib/modules_help/</code>)
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which provide detailed information on appropriate arguments for each of the
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<h2><a name="s-removeoldkernel"></a>9.5 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?</h2>
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Yes. The <code>kernel-image-<var>NNN</var>.prerm</code> script checks to see
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whether the kernel you are currently running is the same as the kernel you are
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trying to de-install. Therefore you can remove unwanted kernel image packages
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dpkg --purge --force-remove-essential kernel-image-<var>NNN</var>
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(replace <var>NNN</var> with your kernel version and revision number, of
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[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
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[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
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[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
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[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">3</a> ]
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The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
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version 3.1.5, 17 January 2007<br>
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Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br>
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