Re: apparent loss of continuity in kernel .config?

[rh_ <richard_hubbe11@lavabit.com>]

On Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:16:57 -0500
Gene Heskett <gheskett@wdtv.com> wrote:

> Greetings;
> 
> Usually, when I build a new kernel, just placing a copy of an older 
> versions .config in the unpacked src directory is sufficient that
> only what has been changed has to be answered during a make
> oldconfig, perhaps a couple dozen new features need to be answered
> yes or no, and I have a .config that will usually build me a bootable
> kernel.  Not any more.
> 
> Since my 3.16.0 has been suffering from stalls of up to 2 or 3
> minutes while both htop and gkrellm continue to report that there is
> nothing hogging the machine, in a general description that matches
> the Dave Jone saga, but w/o the log spew, probably because I don't
> have extreme debugging enabled.
> 
> But its strange in how it manifests itself as it will do it from a
> fresh boot, and I get aggravated and reboot, and it doesn't do it
> till the next reboot which may be a month later.  Almost an alternate
> boot phenomenon. 
> Attempting to go from 3.16.0 to 3.16.7 last night, a make oldconfig 
> started from scratch as if there were no .config's in the directory.
> I stood on the enter key to take the defaults, then ran a make
> xconfig to discover it was totally wrong for an AMD phenom, no
> networking, no disc drivers, video was an old ATI, when there is an
> nvidia card in it, yadda, yadda.
> 
> I went thru this exercise 4 times, as I keep a gzipped copy on the
> config that built the kernel version in the boot directory with my
> build script. And every time it was the same story.
> 
> Obviously I can't, at 80 yo, remember every item in a 28k .config
> file from build to build, so what am I doing wrong that is destroying
> this continuity?
> 
> Thanks everybody.

Have you had any replies?  I do similar but I may be less patient
than you. I keep dragging around my previous .config and when it
no longer works I just stay with the kernel that's working. And try
again later. It's been interesting to see what new things default
to "yes" along the way.

I would not call it "loss of continuity", I would call it loss of
backward compatibility. If the kernel breaks userspace it causes
a shitstorm but if the kernel breaks the kernel buildspace you're
supposed to suck it up and make a new .config from scratch.


> "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
>  soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
> -Ed Howdershelt (Author)
> Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
> US V Castleman, SCOTUS, Mar 2014 is grounds for Impeaching SCOTUS

Since voting machines,SCOTUS and juries have been compromised it
seems we're down to that last box.