Connie Sieh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>On Mon, 5 Jun 2006, Dushan Mitrovich wrote:
>
>> About a week ago I described this problem on comp.os.linux.setup, thinking
>> my difficulty was generic and largely owing to my own ignorance.  I got
>> some very generous help and suggestions that finally made me suspect I may
>> need some specific information from this group.
>>
>> Here's the relevant bit:
>>
>> On comp.os.linux.setup Nico Kadel-Garcia wrote:
>>
>>   > But "make mrproper" blew away your .config file: it really srubs out
>>   > everything.  The order should be
>>   >
>>   >   make mrproper
>>   >   cp [oldconfigfile that basically works] .config
>>   >   # Make sure that Makefile or the .config settings give you a unique
>>   >   # kernel name
>>   >   make    # check for errors
>>   >   make rpm    # build nice RPM to use for kernel management
>>
>>
>> and I responded:
>>
>>   It seems not to have scrubbed out the .config file, and now I noticed why:
>>   when I issued the 'make mrproper' command I got
>>
>>     [/usr/src/kernels/2.6.9-22.0.1.EL-i686]# make mrproper
>>       CLEAN   .tmp_versions
>>     scripts/Makefile.clean:10: Documentation/DocBook/Makefile: No such file
>>                                                                or directory
>>     make[1]: *** No rule to make target `Documentation/DocBook/Makefile'.
>>                  Stop.
>>     make: *** [_mrproper_Documentation/DocBook] Error 2
>>
>>   So 'make mrproper' bombs.  Unfortunately I have no idea how to respond
>>   to this problem to fix it, and examining Makefile didn't give me a clue.
>>   So I have two questions:
>>
>>   * What should I do to get past this problem?  and
>>
>>   * Since I didn't delete any Makefiles, why didn't the install procedure
>>     put the appropriate one where it's expected?
>>
>>
>> When I asked, to help me with the procedure,
>>
>>   Also, I've found on the Internet over half a dozen sets of directions
>>   and HOWTOs on recompiling the kernel, and they all have somewhat diffe-
>>   rent instructions.  Maybe some are outdated.  What would you recommend
>>   as a good, up-to-date, reliable reference book accessible by a lay user?
>>
>> Nico suggested:
>>
>>   Take a very careful look at the kernel SRPM, to see what RedHat has
>>   dumped on top of the kernel installation procedure and notes about
>>   special setups they support.
>>
>> and also to read the kernel.spec file.  This file seems to be contained
>> in the kernel 'src' rpm, which on the RedHat site is about 40 MB in size,
>> and isn't anywhere on the 4 distribution CDs.
>
> No space on the cd's.  They are online at
> 
> ftp://ftp.scientificlinux.org/linux/scientific/4x/SRPMS/vendor/errata/
>
>>
>> Since I have a slow modem connection I don't do 40 MB downloads lightly and
>> was wondering if just that file was available somewhere on the SL site.
>> In my /usr/src directory there are two subdirectories: kernels, and redhat,
>> and the latter seems to be intended for all the source files.  But all of
>> _its_ subdirs are empty.  Is that as intended, that the installation proce-
>> dure creates 'redhat' and its subdirs, and leaves them empty?
>
> Not sure,  did not write the rpms.  Note that RedHat "rearranged" how
> kernels are rebuilt when they released RHEL 4.
> 
> See
> 
> /usr/share/doc/sl-release-4.?/RELEASE-NOTES-x86_64-en for information on
> getting the kernel source and also how to rebuilt just kernel modules.

Connie, thanks for the response and the references.  I'll check them out.

- Dushan