James Hosken wrote: > I need to upgrade woody's kernel to 2.4.x so that I can run my Matrox G550 > graphics card.
I assume this means you are running a linux 2.2 kernel then? That is,
sounds like you had not previously customized your kernel? Just using
a 2.2 and now want to install 2.4? In that case you just need to
install a newer 2.4 kernel and it is really as simple as that.
> Please can some one point me in the right direction of some
> instructions or send me some. The Kernal howto has been removed from
> debian.org.
apt-get update
apt-get install kernel-image
That will tell you the following.
Package kernel-image is a virtual package provided by:
kernel-image-2.4.18-bf2.4 2.4.18-5woody4
kernel-image-2.4.18-1-k7 2.4.18-11
kernel-image-2.4.18-1-k6 2.4.18-11
kernel-image-2.4.18-1-686-smp 2.4.18-11
kernel-image-2.4.18-1-586tsc 2.4.18-11
... many more kernels listed ...
Pick the relevant kernel that you wish to install. This will probably
be either the bf24 (boot-floppies) kernel or a modular kernel. If you
have never upgraded your kernel previously then you are probably using
a very generic kernel and the bf24 might work best for you initially.
Or you can install a tuned, modular kernel such as one of those
compiled for your architecture. But in the latter case you will also
need to run 'modconf' to install any modules that your system needs.
The FAQ is that people's networking and audio stops working after an
upgrade to a modular kernel. These people need to run modconf to
install their networking and audio modules.
apt-get install kernel-image-2.4.18-bf2.4 # very generic
apt-get install kernel-image-2.4.18-1-k7 # modular, tuned for amd
apt-get install kernel-image-2.4.18-1-686 # modular, tuned for intel
During the installation it will probably complain about lots of
unresolved symbols. This is scary but actually normal when changing
kernels. Wish that message were different. See the trace below and
my answers.
[... lots of these Unresolved symbols from depmod ...]
There was a problem running depmod. This may be benign,
(You may have versioned symbol names, for instance).
Or this could be an error.
depmod exited with return value 1
In any case, since depmod is run at install time,
we could just defer running depmod
Would you like to abort now? [Yes] no
[...]
Install a boot block using the existing /etc/elilo.conf? [Yes]
> I'm using lilo, so what do I need to do to that after I have
> installed the new kernal?
Installing the new kernel will automatically call lilo and as you saw
in the trace above it will ask you if it should run lilo. Say yes and
it will install the new kernel as the default boot. Go ahead and
reboot. Then if you have selected a modular kernel run modconf and
select your networking and audio drivers. 'lspci' and google may help
you find the right driver if you don't know it already.
If things do go wrong you can always boot LinuxOLD and get back to
your existing kernel. To make this easier I recommend always setting
'prompt' and 'timeout=100' in /etc/lilo.conf so that you always get
the red screen with the prompt. You can get to LinuxOLD otherwise too
but this is simpler.
Bob
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