# Update to 2.6.0-test's or keep 2.4.20??

## mariux2

Hi, i was wondering if i should update to the lastest 2.6testkernel. Currently i am running 2.4.20-gentoo-r7, and i have heard that the 2.6-kernel has better multitasking capatilites and that its new schedueler makes it more responcive, which is good when its being used as a desktop computer. 

Currently i have the current items i rely on:

nvidia-kernel (nvidia drivers)

bt878

emu10k1 (sblive drivers)

devfs (gentoo needs it and i've heard its marked as obsolete in 2.6 (should still work though))

My computer is mainly used as a desktop, i use it for irc, email, webbrowsing, and a little development, as well as music (always) and watching movies.

I have heard that stability isnt all that good in 2.6, and the stability is quite important for me, i am often gone for a week from my computer and i need to be able to log in to it remotely to chat (irssi) and to check how my downloads are doing (so if its keeps crashing, thats not good  :Smile: )

Should i try 2.6 or should i stay with 2.4 for a little more time? What is peoples experience with 2.6?

-Marius

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## Earthwings

 *Quote:*   

> i have heard that the 2.6-kernel has better multitasking capatilites and that its new schedueler makes it more responcive, which is good when its being used as a desktop computer.
> 
> 

 

that's exactly what i noticed when switching to 2.6

 *Quote:*   

> Currently i have the current items i rely on:
> 
> nvidia-kernel (nvidia drivers)
> 
> bt878
> ...

 

i also use nvidia-kernel and emu10k1, both working perfectly. don't know nothing about bt878. there's no problem with devfs right now, but it will be exchanged (by something better) in some time.

 *Quote:*   

> I have heard that stability isnt all that good in 2.6, and the stability is quite important for me, i am often gone for a week from my computer and i need to be able to log in to it remotely to chat (irssi) and to check how my downloads are doing (so if its keeps crashing, thats not good )
> 
> 

 

i was really impressed how stable it was from 2.6.0-test1 on, never got a kernel panic or similar.

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## second_exodous

I'm wanting to try 2.6 also, is it just the same as downloading gentoo-sources and not useing genkernel?  Basically download it from where ever to /boot, untar it, and then follow the steps in the guide for manual kernel configuration?

Thanx,

Stan

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## Pete_Keller

second_exodous,

you should download and untar it into /usr/src  not /boot

Pete

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## mariux2

Which of the 2.6-sources should i try?

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## wrc1944

I've been downloading from kernel.org, and getting mm patches for each 2.6 version, with excellent results. Here's my method, for 2.4 or 2.6  kernels.

 I never compile as root in /usr/src anymore. I made a /home/wrc/kernel directory, and untar there, then cd as user to the linux-2.6.0-testx directory, and do a normal:

apply mm patch (or others I might wish to try)

make mrproper

make xconfig

(optional- after xconfig edit Makefile cflags and console output for 2.6, they have compile output "silent" by default. I'll post my edits if anyone wishes)

make clean

make bzImage

make modules

THEN SU TO ROOT

make modules_install

mount /boot

cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/linux-2.6.0-testx-mmx (I use no System.map, or initrd)

Edit grub with nano -w /boot/grub/grub.conf

and add your new kernel stanza to grub.conf, then reboot to new kernel.

Works for me every time, with no problems whatsoever. I've had mixed results with genkernel, and any Gentoo kernels, so I've settled on the above "method of choice." I do however, run very lean systems, and others might need support for scsi, drivers, etc that I don't use. But for the basics, this works very well.

wrc1944

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## second_exodous

is 'make xconfig' like 'make menuconfig'?

Thanx,

Stan

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## wrc1944

I like xconfig much better than menuconfig- easier to navigate and read help files, load an old config file, and make your selections. In general, it's just a slicker more modern way of doing the same thing menuconfig does, with a gui. But you need to have qt installed to use it (IIRC). If you have kde installed you have qt. Some recent 2.4 kernels seem to have not included xconfig for some reason, but the 2.6 versions are really first rate. 

wrc1944

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## wouldnyou

(nOOb ? following) No initrd? what starts your processes and such?

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## wrc1944

wouldnyou,

If you don't have any scsi devices, you usually don't need one. Also, if you compile most things into the kernel, that helps. As I mentioned, I do run very lean systems, and with todays modern systems, apparently (sometimes) you don't need one. This is with the usual disclaimer, YMMV. If you have a large complex system, with peripheral devices, it might be necessary.

wrc1944

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## jaska

To whoever asked which 2.6 kernel to use, try mm-sources.

The stability of 2.6 kernels is excellent, even used a -bk build, still worked perfectly fine.

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## ih8tgentoo

YMMV is the operative expression here.  I have had nothing but problems with 2.6.  Terminals stop opening, unexplained libstdc++ errors, no symlink messages, etc.  Go back to 2.4.22 and all is ok.  I find the installation instructions confusing and everyone seems to have their own favorite method on installing, but none seem to be the "correct" way.   I have searched for all over how-to guide for 2.6 but none seem to exist.

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## wrc1944

ih8tgentoo,

It sounds like your problem is that you are not getting a working config file created for your particular hardware. Please tell me what is confusing about the instructions, and I'll try to clarify.

All the steps assume you know your hardware, and get the make xconfig step at least somewhat correct, with enough support set, so that it will produce a booting kernel, and you edit your bootloader file (lilo or grub) correctly. Even if you leave a particular item out, say for a USB device, or i2c sensors, the kernel will still boot, but that device or program wouldn't function.

The "correct" way is the way that works on your hardware. The above method is a basic outline, that will definitely work, again, assuming you know your own hardware, and create a good .config  file during "make xconfig."

wrc1944

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## pjp

Moved from Installing Gentoo.

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## verbatim

Honestly, unless you have a good reason to switch to the test kernels, staying with the gentoo-sources is probably better.  I installed some of the 2.6.0-test ones and found no benefit at all.  The gentoo 2.4.20 set performs just as well on my machine.  Go for it if you want, but don't be suprised if you find that the little glitches you encounter by running a beta setup start to outweigh any possible performance gains.  You'll probably get more out of working on tweaking your current setup.

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## NuclearFusi0n

$ uname -a

Linux kristan 2.6.0-test8-mm1 #2 Wed Oct 22 20:24:04 PDT 2003 i686 AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2000+ AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux

$ uptime

 13:40:18 up 1 day, 16:57,  6 users,  load average: 0.10, 0.39, 0.52

works A++ for me,. stable as ever.

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## ih8tgentoo

I finally found a how-to on installing the kernel for those interested:

[url]http://kerneltrap.org/node/view/799[/url]

The kernel I compiled boots and modules get loaded but I get the message detailed in this post [url]https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=83995[/url] terminals won't open in kde saying I don't have any tty's.

I go back to my old kernel and the problems go away.

According to the instructions in the kernel README, make clean is no longer required and no mention is made of /sys directories or changing things in sysinit.  While trying to figure out what was wrong, I saw a post somewhere (on this board?) saying something like "don't forget to make a /sys" like it was some sort of secret handshake among people in the know.  The how-to above explains why it is necessary but why the secret?

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## grinch

I haven't read everything everybody else has said so far... but I say definately go with a 2.6.0-test. I've had no problems with the test kernels so far and they are a whole lot faster. I've used 2.6.0-test4 and 2.6.0-test8-love1.

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