Of course, many of the more advanced users are already running
Slackware Linux 10.0 with kernel 2.6.7. The relevant package can be
found in the testing/packages/linux-2.6.7 directory on the second CD.
There is no option to select this kernel during installation so you
will have to install it manually with 'installpkg':
installpkg kernel-generic-2.6.7-i486-1.tgz
You can also install the alsa-driver, kernel-headers and
kernel-modules packages with the same command. Before you can boot the
new kernel you will need to do two more things. Firstly, you will have
to create initrd so that you can load certain kernel modules before
mounting the root partition. The details are in the README.initrd file
in the same directory as the kernel 2.6.7. The required command
depends on the root partition's file system - you were given a choice
between ReiserFS (default) and ext3; if you chose ext3, then navigate
to the /boot directory and issue the following command:
mkinitrd -c -k 2.6.7 -m jbd:ext3 -f ext3 -r /dev/hdb3
The /dev/hdb3 in the above command should of course be replaced with
the root partition of your Slackware installation. If you chose
ReiserFS, you can achieve the same with this command:
mkinitrd -c -k 2.6.7 -m reiserfs
Secondly, you will have to update your /etc/lilo.conf file to look
something like this:
image = /boot/vmlinuz-ide-2.4.26
root = /dev/hdb3
label = Linux-2.4
read-only
image = /boot/vmlinuz-generic-2.6.7
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
root = /dev/hdb3
label = Linux-2.6
read-only
Again, you need to replace /dev/hdb3 with the root partition of your
own Slackware installation. Don't forget to execute the 'lilo' command
after saving the modified lilo.conf file.
When you reboot, the lilo prompt will give you a choice to select
between the two kernels. While the majority of users are unlikely to
experience problems with the newer one, some hardware combinations are
known to cause problems. If this is your case, the tried and tested
kernel 2.4 is still available for your booting pleasure.
Whatever your choice, happy Slacking ;-)
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