Linux

Ask something
Discussion Locked

New kernel installation

0 helpful
6 replies

by vfrunza

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
I have few boxes with Linux RedHat 6.0, in a range from 486 to Pentium II. The problem is that any new kernel that I compile, I can install afterwards only on the Pentium II; from 486 I get "The kernel image is too big", even if it is 2/3 of the original 2.2.5-15 one. To test the install, I've added the same image to the PII system, and it was OK. (The 486 config: 16 MB RAM, 540 MB HDD, no X system, 66MHz clock) (of course, the kernel was compiled on the PII but with the 486 characteristics). -v option for lilo was clueless. Thank you for any ideea.

6 replies

by ziomatto

May be that your Kernel doesn't see the 16 Mb of Ram installed in your sistem.
A the boot append the command " mem=16M ".

by harold

Hi,

I would suggest if not done already to create the image with "make dep clean bzImage modules modules_install"
then copy "/usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage" to its destination and manualy install the kernel with lilo.
-- reference --
Each of the kernel build commands has a big-kernel coutnerpart that is needed if the kernel grows to be over 1MB in size when uncompressed. When the kernel is larger than !MB, using the normal build commands will result in a kernel that will overwrite parts of the boot loader and will not boot. Most general installations will result in a big kernel anyway, and building small kernels with the big-kernel commands seems benign, so unless you are building a very simple kernel for an old machine or an embedded device, router, and so on, you may want to use bzlilo and bzImage commands just to be sure.
--
page 870 redhat linux unleashed (Sams)
isbn:0-672-31689-7
--
ps. don't let the size of the book scare you, it contains much valuable information.
as does redhat linux uleashed sytem administration (if you are a system administrator)

-Harold-

by vfrunza

For anyone else with kernel installation: be careful from where are you copying the image!!! Always from ../boot and not ../boot/compressed!!!

This discussion is closed to new replies.