# Copying EEEpc 900 kernel from Xandros

## rich4

I'm looking for help with the code and such in copying the EEE kernel from the default Xandros OS, and to where I might copy it in a fresh gentoo install. 

Any other insight is more than welcome

-rich4

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## d2_racing

Hi first, what kernel version the EEEpc does use ?

```

# uname -a

```

Also, I'm not sure that you can actually copy a .config from one distro to an another one without major crash.

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## rich4

 *d2_racing wrote:*   

> Hi first, what kernel version the EEEpc does use ?

 

```
/home/user> uname -a

Linux asus-324376397 2.6.21.4-eeepc #2 Tue Feb 19 11:46:29 EST 2008 i686 GNU/Linux
```

 *d2_racing wrote:*   

> Also, I'm not sure that you can actually copy a .config from one distro to an another one without major crash.

 

Someone on irc.freenode mentioned: 

```
zcat /proc/config.gz > config.gz
```

 though I know not what to do with it.

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## szczerb

Then you can unpack it and put it n /usr/src/linux/.config and 'make oldconfig' to set the your new kernel with the same options. Or you might prefer to config your new kernel by hand and just read the config from xandros to know what drivers they used etc.

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## nixnut

Moved from Installing Gentoo to Kernel & Hardware.

kernel question, so moved here.

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## d2_racing

That's what I was thinking.

What will happen when he will lunch make oldconfig.

Since it's not a gentoo-sources, then maybe the make oldconfig will crash or it will leave some custom line from the EEEPC kernel that are not present inside the gentoo-sources .config.

Am I right with this possible problem ?

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## szczerb

I doubt that. Make old config always asks when the new kernel has options that did not exist in the old kernel - and I think it ignores the options that do not exist in the new. If this is the case then you won't know whether Xandros has some custom patches/drivers in their kernel which you might need...

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## coolsnowmen

Were you ever able to get a working kernel for the eeepc, I can't figure out how to boot from the SSD card.

There are custom pactches in the kernel though I havn't found the 900 ones yet.

the eeepc kernel does not natively provide the /proc/config* interface  :Sad: .

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## szczerb

Maybe this will help:

http://appliedlife.blogspot.com/2007/11/kernel-recompile-on-asus-eee.html

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## coolsnowmen

Thank you, I forgot they did that.

That got me the config but then I have to find the code changes from asus

It looks like Someone is maintaining some patched sources for ubuntu

http://www.array.org/ubuntu/source-build.html

I might try and use those.

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## pappy_mcfae

Since the kernel is a 2.6.21.x, using make oldconfig to move up to something more "modern" will have to be immediately followed by make xconfig or make menuconfig to clean up what didn't get put where you wanted it. You'll also have a lot of yes and no questions fly by. And, in the end, you'll wind up with mismatch errors. 

You should be able to get complete functionality, but it may take some experimentation. I can help if the need arises.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## szczerb

 :Shocked:  I didn't know about xconfig ;] By the way it looks damn ugly...

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## pappy_mcfae

Yeah, but then again, it does lay every kernel option open. Actually, I've used it so much, I don't even look at the whole, just the box I'm clicking at the moment. Ugly never entered into it.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## coolsnowmen

In short: I still can't get it working  :Sad: 

Tried the Ubuntu ones, they have some patches in there, but still fail in the same way.

I have put a gentoo install on an SD card.  The Asus has a built in SD reader, and I have a USB reader for it.  I have tried both.  The eeepc can recognize both, and get to grub.  Grub can find the kernel, but...

The kernel doesn't recognize the drive it is booting from, so it dies half way (when it tries to locate the root=).

I either need to get a usb-cdrom so I can use a boot disk but then I lose the nicety of never touching the original eeepc HD 

OR Find out wtf needs to be built in the kernel to recognize the SD card port or USB SD reader during boot time, or figure out if initrd solves my problems.  This is really my first experience with booting from a flash/usb, so perhaps I have missed something fundamental.

Any help is welcome, will build as may kernels as it takes.  The 2 reasons i'ld prefer not installing it to the main drive is that then I would have modify the main drive (currently works really well, asus has all kinds of proprietary stuff I'm not sure if I could get working), and I don't own a USB-CD to boot it.

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## swimmer

 *szczerb wrote:*   

>  I didn't know about xconfig ;] By the way it looks damn ugly...

 What about 'make gconfig' then?  :Wink: 

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