From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1756129Ab0JWCno (ORCPT ); Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:43:44 -0400 Received: from mail.wdtv.com ([66.118.69.84]:39825 "EHLO mail.wdtv.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1755293Ab0JWCnn (ORCPT ); Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:43:43 -0400 From: Gene Heskett To: Ken Moffat Subject: Re: 2.6.36, make oldconfig broken Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:43:37 -0400 User-Agent: KMail/1.13.5 (Linux/2.6.36; KDE/4.5.2; i686; ; ) Cc: Randy Dunlap , LKML References: <201010221229.36996.gene.heskett@gmail.com> <201010222054.52066.gene.heskett@gmail.com> <20101023013943.GB20750@deepthought> In-Reply-To: <20101023013943.GB20750@deepthought> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <201010222243.37890.gene.heskett@gmail.com> Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Friday, October 22, 2010, Ken Moffat wrote: >On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 08:54:51PM -0400, Gene Heskett wrote: >> It hasn't been edited since I ran it, so I'll attach it. Maybe you can >> see something I missed. > >Hi Gene, > > I don't see anything that is immediately wrong (but, it's late and >I'll be going to bed as soon as webkit has finished compiling on my >desktop, so my concentration might be lacking), but it does seem >overly complex. I've long since given up trying to script kernel >builds, it mostly isn't necessary if you aren't creating a distro. > > I appreciate your comment about fingers - mine are mostly ok, but >prone to operating in the wrong order so that I often generate typos >such as 'teh'. What works for me is - > Damn, and I thought I had a patent on that. Or at least prior art? ;) >1. build in ~/ : I often have current and "previous, but still >usable" systems on the same machine, and I share /home between them. >Arguably, building as a user may prevent some disastrous actions, >but backups are always useful - I remember your past comments about >using amanda so I'm sure you've already got that covered. > >2. for each kernel version of interest (typically, current and next >- over time the old one drops out and a new one rolls in) : > create a first version (untar, or untar and patch). > I then rename it to 2.6.xx-stable or 2.6.xx-rc. > > For the patches I use >bzcat /path/to/patch-2.6.whatever.bz2 | patch -p1 >(yes, send me tickets for "useless uses of cat" if you wish ;) Noted. ;) But then I also use another script to drive the make and install, with everything in it having an ' && \' at the end of the lines so any error bails out right there leaving the message still on-screen Its a bit longer as I've hacked around to ensure continuity over the years of the firmware trees etc. I can post that too if anyone wants it. >3. When I want to test a new -rc, or a release has come out, cd into >the tree and > head Makefile >to confirm which (-rc) patch was last applied. >revert that: bzcat /path/to/that-patch.bz2 | patch -p1 -R >apply the new one > >and then just make oldconfig and continue (or, for the first rc of a >new version, zcat /proc/config.gz >.config && make oldconfig. > > To keep track of errant fingers, you can read the commandline >before hitting , you can also run 'make modules_install' as a >user - it won't work, but it will confirm which version it is trying >to install. > > Sorry if this comes across as trying to teach you things you >already know, but the process should be simple enough to not need >scripting! Of course, my video hardware doesn't need out-of-tree >firmware nor other drivers. Perhaps in that situation I might try >to script it all. From painful experience, the usual problem with >scripts is a failure to detect errors or unexpected results. Keep >things simple if you can. I use the scripts, which of course are subject to internal revision if it proves I am not doing it right, as a way to get absolute consistency. For the makeit script, it has only one var, $VER, assigned at the top to be the 2.6.whatever its building. All I have to do if it runs to completion is construct a new entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst. change the default and reboot. Otherwise I'd forget (senor moment ;) some step in the middle and wind up needing more naproxin sodium to quell the headache I got from beating it on the wall.... >ken Ken may have a point, next time I reboot, I'll drag out an install cd and run the memtest from it for at least 1 full cycle. Another item I might add is that I have now tried several different number formats for the kernel command line option vga=, trying std octal, std 0xhex, and plain decimal, but it always hangs like I'd entered vga=ask. The boot continues normally in the selected 1680x1050x32 screen if I enter either a 'z' or a '369' at that point. So something seems to be preventing the vga= from working correctly as a command line argument. Who knows, maybe there is a bad address line on one of the 4 sticks again and it hits that exact address at each boot. Murphy again, darn him. -- Cheers, Gene "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) Old soldiers never die. Young ones do.