Post by Dr Rainer WoitokMichael,
Post by Michael...
Why have you set your /boot to be mounted at boot?
Well, I think, I then just followed the Gentoo Handbook. But I see your
point of saving time which could be better used to successfully unmount
the "/home/" partition. I'll change my "/etc/fstab" file as well as a
few of my scripts. Thanks for pointing that out :-)
Post by Michael...
MoBo firmware can be notoriously buggy and is
typically frozen/abandoned within a couple of years by the OEMs. In addition,
kernel code changes and any previous symbiosis with the firmware can fall
apart with a later kernel release.
Hm, this sounds a bit like "never change your running kernel", doesn't
1. Why does Gentoo not somehow mark LTS kernels either in the version
number or in the slot name? This would make it easier to prevent the
installation of too modern kernels.
2. I'm building new kernels with "make olddefconfig" rather than "make
oldconfig" because I thought providing default values to new configu-
ration variables is a good idea. But what precisely does "make old-
config" do with new configuration variables instead? Just leaving
them out? But what's the difference between not defining a configu-
ration variable and setting it to a default value? Or is "make old-
config" really the way to generate more conservative kernels which do
not as quickly overburden aging motherboards?
Sincerely,
Rainer
I rarely update my kernel given I don't reboot much. I am working on
that tho. I've updated my kernel three times recently but never
rebooted to use any of them. If power fails and I have to reboot, they
are there at least. All of us should update when we can.
I been using Gentoo since around 2003. I started out making my kernel
from scratch and updating the manual way. I also install the manual way
with my own naming scheme, just close enough for dracut and grub to
recognize them. I've always used make oldconfig and for most of the
driver questions, I answer no. Given I start with a kernel config that
already contains everything I need, it is rare that I need anything
new. So, I rarely need any of the new drivers. You are likely the
same. I think there is a option for it to default to no or yes for all
the questions automatically but not all questions are yes or no and
sometimes you may need a yes. To me, it's best to use make oldconfig
and answer each question. That way you can catch something you can use
but you also catch those questions that need a numbered option, 1, 2, 3,
4 or something.
If you update often, it shouldn't take long answer the questions. If
you do like me and don't update often, it may take longer but no more
time than it would if you updated often and added all the time
together. As far as I know, if one manually updates their kernel, make
oldconfig is the safest and recommended method. You are prompted for
new drivers/options and can see if they apply to you or not. If you
don't want to update that way, I think there is a kernel that does it's
own thing. I think it is sort of like boot media uses. If the time
needed to answer all the questions isn't there, that may be a option to
look into. It's called genkernel. I've never used it but read it works.
In short, make oldconfig is the recommended way as far as I know. In my
opinion, it is the safest way to know what you are going to get. Links
for more info.
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Kernel/Upgrade
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Kernel/Configuration
Someone else may have a different opinion, even a better one. This is
how I always do it and kernel failure is rare. Hope it helps.
Dale
:-) :-)