On Wed, Sep 26, 2001 at 12:41:18PM -0400, Peter Christensen wrote: > I'm still learning Debian-Linux, was so pleased that apt-get worked. It > took 12 hours (!), but afterward Mozilla was finally working, so now I > have internet access. > > After the apt-get dist-upgrade I got a message saying that I must > upgrade the kernel. Current is 2.0.36, need at least 2.2.12. > > Compiling the kernel looks like it will be tough for a beginner. (I > checked out some of the instructions on the Debian website.)
If you don't need any customized options in your kernel, you should be able to just run 'apt-get install kernel-image-2.2.19', rather than having to compile it. If you have lilo set up correctly, the installation will allow you to select either your new or old kernel at boot time. > > So here's my question: I'm sure I'll make a mistake if I compile the > kernel, so I want to have a fresh set of Debian CDs. According to the > Debian website Cheapbytes sells a "vendor release" and a "custom > release." Linux-CD.com sells the "official release." Does it make a > difference which I buy? (Both sell the 2.2r3 release.) Reinstallation should only be a last resort, but to play things safe, you should have a bootable floppy with your current kernel version as well as a rescue floppy. You can use mkboot (in the debianutils package) to make a bootdisk with your present kernel. I suspect either of the CD sources (or any of the others) will suffice if you get version 2.2r3. Some vendors sell different combinations of the various CD images which may or may not include such things as non-free, non-US or source packages. If you have a reasonably fast internet connection, you should only require Disk #1 in any case.
