Bug 6240

Summary:	Kernel compilation makefile fails
Product:	[Retired] Red Hat Linux	Reporter:	kerryjones
Component:	kernel	Assignee:	Red Hat Documentation <docs>
Status:	CLOSED NOTABUG	QA Contact:
Severity:	high	Docs Contact:
Priority:	high
Version:	6.1	CC:	cks-rhbugzilla
Target Milestone:	---
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	i386
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	Bug Fix
Doc Text:		Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:	2000-02-06 05:02:31 UTC	Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description kerryjones 1999-10-22 13:57:32 UTC

I downloaded a new Linksys Ethernet card driver (tulip.c)
from the Linksys Linux support page and needed to recompile
the kernel.
At the end of the "make boot", a message was displayed:
"System is 574kB
System is too big. Try using bzImage or modules."
zImage was not created.

I took out everything I could from the configuration with
menuconfig, did a make dep;make clean;make boot and got the
same message.  However, I did as your manual suggested and
made my aic7xxx SCSI controller, SCSI CD-ROM and SCSI tape
drive part of the kernel.  Same failure.

Next, I tried making the SCSI components above a module, and
that went OK - no message about the system being too big. I
needed to make an initrd image for the SCSI module. As far
as I know, I met the criteria mentioned in the book: 1) The
loopback device is available (it existed then as
/dev/loop0-4, and I configured the loopback device as a
module with menuconfig), and 2) the /etc/conf.modules file
already had a line for my SCSI adapter.  The /sbin/mkinitrd
failedd with the message "The kernel does not recognize
/dev/loop0 as a block device".  I tried using menuconfig to
make the loopback device a part of the kernel rather than a
module, but got the same results.

So, building a kernel with the SCSI controller as a module
seems not to be an option.

Just for the heck of it, I tried building a monolithic
kernel and that failed with the "size too big" message.

Finally, I tried following the instructions on the Linksys
web page to compile just the new Tulip.c driver.  Their
command to do so is:
 gcc -DMODULE -D__KERNEL__ -I/usr/src/linux/net/inet -Wall
-Wstrict-prototypes -O6 -c -tulip.c '[ -f
/usr/include/linux/modversions.h] && echo -DMODVERSIONS'

That is not a valid include file, so I used
-I/usr/src/linux-2.2.12/include.  When I tried to compile, I
received the message "[ -f /usr/include/linux/modversions.h
] && echo -DMODVERSIONS" does not exist.  Modversions.h
actually exists in /usr/include/linux.h; I think gcc is
complaining about that entire expression.  I tried compiling
under sh with the same results.  I don't know enough about
bash/sh to understand what that expression is trying to do,
so I stuck here too.

Between this and the 2 crashes in Gnome, and the 3
segmentation faults in linuxconf, I am getting pretty
discouraged.  I am TRYING to flee an unstable OS, but am
getting nowhere.

Your advice, please.
Regards,
Kerry Jones

Comment 1 Chris Siebenmann 1999-10-23 05:14:59 UTC

I don't know if RedHat recommends 'make boot' these days, but the
sequence I use is:
	# edit Makefile to change EXTRAVERSION as appropriate so one
	# doesn't overwrite the old working binary bits
	make clean
	# if desired run 'make menuconfig' or whatever to change the
	# configuration. If you don't change the config you MUST run
	make oldconfig	# pick up the changed EXTRAVERSION
	make dep
	make bzImage && make modules
	make modules_install	# remember the name it used for the
				# directory in /lib/modules; call it
				# KERNVER
	cp System.map /boot/System.map-KERNVER
	cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/vmlinuz-KERNVER
	# edit /etc/lilo.conf and run lilo.

 The old zImage boot image format that 'make boot' uses has a
relatively low size limitation (for these days). bzImages let
the kernel image be much bigger, and you want to use this method.

Comment 2 kerryjones 1999-10-23 14:03:59 UTC

cks wrote:
+------- Additional Comments From cks.ca 10/23/99
01:14
+I don't know if RedHat recommends 'make boot' these days, but the
+sequence I use is:
+ # edit Makefile to change EXTRAVERSION as appropriate so one doesn't
+ # overwrite the old working binary bits make clean if desired run '
+ # make menuconfig' or whatever to change the configuration. If you
+ # don't change the config you MUST run make oldconfig  pick up the
+ # changed EXTRAVERSION
+ #     make dep
+ #     make bzImage && make modules
+ #     make modules_install    # remember the name it used for the
+                               # directory in /lib/modules; call it
+                               # KERNVER
+       cp System.map /boot/System.map-KERNVER
+       cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/vmlinuz-KERNVER
+       # edit /etc/lilo.conf and run lilo.
+
+ The old zImage boot image format that 'make boot' uses has a
+ relatively low size limitation (for these days). bzImages let
+ the kernel image be much bigger, and you want to use this method.
+
Kerry replies:
Yes, Red Hat does recommend using "make boot".  I do not have
"bzImage" on my system, so unless I can track down a version
somewhere, that's not an option.
Thanks for your comments.
Kerry

Comment 3 kerryjones 1999-10-23 18:26:59 UTC

Where can I get bzImage or bzImages?  I haven't looked in the
makefiles but hope incorporating it will be straightforward.  That
still does not solve the problem with making an initrd image (but I'd
rather not make one to begin with.)
I've finally gotten the new Linksys tulip driver compiled, installed,
and sucessfully pinging another machine.  I used the "test" version of
their driver. I hit ctl-C when doing a "make modules" and saw how to
compile modules.  I am NOT good at reading makefiles and was unable to
come up with the correct compilation command doing that.  The
compilation instructions on the Linksys web site are wrong, or wrong
for Red Hat 6.1.
I found last night that sound is not working (which is weird since I
have a Sound Blaster)and still want to recompile my kernel in order to
try getting that fixed.  And suddenly, the sendmail daemon is taking
forever to start when booting.  Also, two more segmentation
faults running linuxconf with Gnome last night. *Sigh*
I'm taking a few days off from all this in order to get some rest.

Comment 4 Bill Nottingham 2000-02-06 05:02:59 UTC

To make bzImages, just do 'make bzImage instead of make zImage', and
install the resulting bzImage in the same way you would the
resulting zImage; that's all.