# Kernel Maintenance Help Please

## crayztechnique

I need to access my current kernel to add support that is needed for a system utility. It is minor change and otherwise my kernel is running just fine. I'm looking for instructions that will give me access to my current kernel easily enough and then obviously tell my system to use the revised kernel. I'm still a newbie so please keep it simple. I did read the gentoo wiki on Kernel/Upgrade but I got lost at makesilentoldconfig. I'm wondering how to get back to the GUI like make menuconfig using the current kernel and then how to save the changes if that clears things up more hopefully.

As a side note while following the Kernel/Upgrade intructions when I ran 

```
cp /usr/src/linux-4.1.15-gentoo-r1/.config /usr/src/linux

cp: /usr/src/linux-4.1.15-gentoo-r1/.config and /usr/src/linux/.config are the same file
```

Am I doing something wrong?

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## khayyam

 *crayztechnique wrote:*   

> I'm wondering how to get back to the GUI like make menuconfig using the current kernel and then how to save the changes if that clears things up more hopefully.

 

crayztechnique ... all you need to is 'cd' to the directory and run 'make menuconfig'.

```
# cd /usr/src/linux

# make menuconfig
```

... on exit you will be prompted to 'save', select 'yes' (its the default).

 *crayztechnique wrote:*   

> As a side note while following the Kernel/Upgrade intructions when I ran 
> 
> ```
> cp /usr/src/linux-4.1.15-gentoo-r1/.config /usr/src/linux
> 
> ...

 

/usr/src/linux is traditionally a symbolic link to linux-<version> (and such a link will have been created if you run 'eselect kernel set {n}'), so those files are the same. The kernel upgrade instructions are assuming a seperate linux-<version>, and copying the old config to the new source tree ... this is not necessary in your case.

best ... khay

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## The Doctor

Since presumably you now have X and some sort of window manager working, make menuconfig is actually not the most usable interface.

I recommend using make xconfig instead. You may need to run xhost +local: first if, and only if, it complains.

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## Buffoon

For machines without QT do make gconfig. I personally use make nconfig, better for remote access.

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## Tony0945

Run 'eselect kernel list' to see your available kernels. 'eselect kernel set <some number>' will create the symbolic link for you.

If the kernel wasn't changed since you built it, the .config file should still be there. Don't run genkernel because it will overwrite the config file.

If you are lucky the config was compiled into the config. Run 'zcat /proc/config.gz' If a stream of stuff like CONFIG_XXXX appears then the config is in the kernel, just 'zcat /proc/config.gz >/usr/src/linux/.config'

Set  it in the menuconfig general setup selected by the first page, the menu prompt is 'kernel  .config support'. Either the Doctor or NeddySeagoon told me about this years ago.

Often, the wiki tells you to do something the hard way or the old way.

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## crayztechnique

Ultimately I was looking for the instructions khayyam provided. I have not installed a GUI yet. To perform a quick maintenance I had to:

```
cd /usr/src/linux

cp .config ~/kernel-config-`uname -r`

make menuconfig

make                      #make && make modules_install if I added modules

mount /boot

make install

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

reboot
```

Thank you all for your time and help I have support for mounting NTFS external hard drives now =D

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## NeddySeagoon

crayztechnique,

I hope you are not using the kernel NTFS driver.  Its 'mostly harmless' now though.

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## Tony0945

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> crayztechnique,
> 
> I hope you are not using the kernel NTFS driver.  Its 'mostly harmless' now though.

 

???? I've been using it for years, mostly to read but occasionally to write. Is there a better alternative?

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## crayztechnique

I built in support for fuse.

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## krinn

 *Tony0945 wrote:*   

>  *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   crayztechnique,
> 
> I hope you are not using the kernel NTFS driver.  Its 'mostly harmless' now though. 
> 
> ???? I've been using it for years, mostly to read but occasionally to write. Is there a better alternative?

 

emerge -1 ntfs3g

unlike kernel you have no limits to write/create.

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## steveL

++ for make nconfig

(Don't worry about silentoldconfig: it's run for you by the others.)

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## NeddySeagoon

Tony0945,

Kernel NTFS works for read.

Write is limited to changing an existing file provided the file size does not change.

It used to full NTFS write and trash the filesystem it the process.  That's why I say its 'mostly harmless' now because it does what it can without doing any damage.

FUSE and ntfs3g is the way to go for NTFS.

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## Tony0945

```
tony@CASTI ~ $ cat /etc/fstab|grep ntfs

/dev/sda1      /cdrive      ntfs-3g      users,noauto,uid=1000,gid=10   0 0

/dev/sda5      /mnt/edrive   ntfs-3g      users,noauto,uid=1000,gid=10   0 0

/dev/sdc1      /mnt/video   ntfs-3g      users,noauto,uid=1000,gid=10   0 0

UUID="647A-695C"        /media/kingston    ntfs-3g   users,noauto,uid=1000,gid=0     0 0

```

I thought I was running the kernel driver, but I guess not. I profoundly apologize for giving bad advice!

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## NeddySeagoon

Tony0945,

You can install ntfs-3g and the kernel driver and decide at mount time which to use.

The kernel driver may well be faster as it won't do all the context switches that FUSE has to do.

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