# using kernel 2.6?

## scharkalvin

I'm currently running a 2.4 kernel, I'd like to bring up 2.6.

I've been keeping my system up to date with emerge -u world (but no ~x86)

so I should have all the newest utilities required for 2.6 right?

Anything to watch out for in switching to 2.6?  Anything special I need

to do to install modules?  

Also I want to have /dev/parport support, but no printer attached (to hook up

prom burners for pics, etc) I'm using cups to access a network printer (HP with jet card), and a usb printer.  Anything special to look out for in the configuration to get the generic parport support WITHOUT a printer driver getting attached.

(right now I can't see /dev/parport0, only /dev/lp0).

And I guess I can just add the new kernel to lilo and switch at boot time?

I'm sure this has been asked before....

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## Rainmaker

emerge -u world will NOT upgrade your kernel from 2.4 to 2.6

It will upgrade your currently emerged kernel

i.e. your using mm-sources-1.0. If you do an emerge -u world, it will upgrade to mm-sources-2.0

You need to emerge a 2.6 kernel first (mm, love, gentoo-dev). This will also emerge init-tools, because 2.4 uses different init scripts then 2.6

It seems a lot of people are having trouble upgrading to 2.6, because it's quite different. I don't know if it is possible to run the 2 kernels on the same system

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## moocha

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=70838

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=136816

Please, the search facility is there to be used.

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## NeddySeagoon

scharkalvin,

Moving to 2.6 has got a lot easier. Emerge the 2.6 kernel of your choice, and install it beside your 2.4 one. Then you can choose which to use at boot time.

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## iccaros

you can run two kernels but things like NVIDAIA drivers are a pain in 2.6 (they work but you have to move things) . if you use the Nvidia Drivers you can't go back with out recomnpiling (not a big deal) the NVIDIA drivers (I don't emerge them  as it faild on me every time wiht 2.6) . As for the init scripts I don't belive that the vinilla (the one I use) has that much a diffrence. but its possable and a lot easier with gentoo than other distros. (I should say I use gentoo-dev on my laptop but it failed with my home system to emerge so I did the vinilla kernel)

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## NeddySeagoon

iccaros,

You make a copy of the nvidia driver before you emerge it against another kernel, then you dont have a problem.

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## moocha

 *iccaros wrote:*   

> you can run two kernels but things like NVIDAIA drivers are a pain in 2.6 (they work but you have to move things) .

 

That's simply not true. I've been using the NVidia drivers and a 2.6 kernel for months, with both xfree and xorg-x11, and didn't have the slightest problem. And all I had to do was emerge nvidia-kernel. So what if it doesn't work with 2.6.x - just go back to 2.6.(x-1) and wait a bit until it's fixed. Or fix it yourself if you want to contribute instead of complain for a change.

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## moocha

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> You make a copy of the nvidia driver before you emerge it against another kernel, then you dont have a problem.

 

Not required anymore (thank the high heavens  :Smile:  - /lib/modules is configprotected now  :Smile: ) *dances with joy - no more emerging that pesky svgalib every time*

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