2. What to install
First you need to install the following packages in order to follow along with this document.
kernel-package
dpkg-dev
debianutils
binutils
libc6-dev
gcc
make
kernel-source-2.2.19
task-tcltk-dev (alternatively, libncurses5-dev)
bin86 (pc's only)
You can install these by simply doing this (as the root user):
bash# apt-get install kernel-package dpkg-dev debianutils binutils libc6-dev gcc make kernel-source-2.2.19 task-tcltk-dev bin86 |
 | Note that bin86 is only required for PC's (not Macs or Alphas). Also, you can download any version of the kernel sources you wish but I chose 2.2.19 because it's the most current in Potato at the time of writing. I also recommend you choose a kernel version which is not the same as your current version. I will cover what to do if you must use the same version in later sections. |
| A note about kernel source packages. The Debian maintainers have done an excellent job in packaging the kernel source into .deb files. I recommend you use those rather than source packages from other resources. The primary reason is the maintainers' packages unzip into a directory named kernel-source-Version. For some reason, the "official" kernel sources unzip into a directory called linux. This can cause problems if you're not careful when you do your unzipping. The only reason I can see not to use the Debian kernel source packages is if they don't have the version you need for some hardware requirement. If that's the case, the next section will cover how to avoid messing up your kernel sources. |
To find out the current version of your kernel do this:
bash$ uname -r |