Minutes from Nov. 3rd Meeting

[Brenda Smith <BSmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Meeting Minutes-  November 3rd, 1998
  
  The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m. with 11 people in attendance.
  After calling for old and new business, Bob made a couple of
announcements. 
  He announced that Mike List has resigned as Webmaster and said that he is 
  looking to fill this position again, possibly with a team.
  
  He asked that people go to the following web page to review a motion that
  is pending.  He welcomes your comments on this.  Please see:
  http://klug.armintl.com/organize/sep08-motion.html      
 
  Also, he wanted everyone to know that the photos from the Halloween Bash
  are on the web site.  Please see the Bash photos at:
  http://klug.armintl.com/presentations/19981027/index.html   
  
  With all of this taken care of and the brownies and milk properly
  dispensed,  Bruce presented a talk on compiling the kernel.  Bruce covered
  the installation process from beginning to end, making sure to cover some
  of the troubleshooting tips, common mistakes to be aware of, some of the
  different ways to configure the kernel, and different directories and help
  screens.  He also discussed some of the time involved in compiling the
  kernel and different help resources.
  
  Here are some General Notes from the meeting.  Please remember that these
  are taken by someone who has never actually compiled the kernel.  This is
  just a General Guide on Kernel compilation.  Those of you that were there
  and/or have actually compiled a kernel will understand the following:  (Or
  at least I hope so!)
 
  1.  Install the Kernel Source into a file directory.  /usr/src/linux
       RPM File manager automatically puts it there, with
       Tar files, you have to put it there yourself.
  2.  Next you have to configure it.  You have 2 choices on how
      to do this:
            1. "make config"-  Basic.  Can't go back and change the
                 options you choose easily.
            2.  "make menuconfig"- Does character-oriented menu prompts 
                 for options.
            3.  "make xconfig"- Using your X windows manager. Nice
                  way to do this.  
        Good help screens are available throughout this process 
        no matter which configuration process you use.
  4.  Choosing your options:
            1.  Choosing "Yes" it complies the module for that device.
                 This means it will be on all the time.
            2.  Choosing "Module" means that it compiles, but only
                 runs that device as needed.
            3.  Choosing "No" It doesn't recognize that device, even
                 if it is in the system.
            4.  Choose your hardware.
            5.  Processor defaults to 386, so it will run on anything.
                Choose the correct processor to increase efficiency.
  5.  After choosing all your settings, run both of these commands are
       required before you compile the kernel:
           "make dep"  
           "make clean"
  6.  The next, longest step compiles the kernel: "make zImage"
           1.  If you get an error "too big to compile" you can compress
               the kernel MORE by compiling with "make bzImage".
               *there is some dispute about how large the kernel can be.
                the general thought is 640k.
           2.  Timing on this varies depending on what you have chosen for
                your kernel and your processor, and there was some dis-
                cussion on running times.
           3.  If you have a multi processor machine, you must edit file
               the Makefile in /usr/src/linux in order to turn this option
on.
               Ensure that SMP=1 is no longer commented. A kernel built that
               way will detect multiple processors at boot time.
  7.  After you are done, it should show you which sub directory your kernel
           is in.
  8.  Then you have to "make modules" and "make modules_install"
           1.  The final directory for modules is:  /lib/modules/2.0.35
                (Assuming your kernel version is 2.0.35.)
  9.  Once the new kernel and modules have been installed, you can modify
      lilo.conf and rerun lilo to make the new kernel available at boot
time.
      Its a good idea to simply copy the new kernel to diskette and try to
      boot from that, as a test.
 
  Discussion insured about the different types of file systems, (Tar files
  system vs.. RPM file systems.)  Also discussed were the differences
  between a.out and elf.   We had one and a half computers there, thanks to
Bob
  bringing in one of his recently retired motherboards, as well as some
hard-
  ware that Adam had donated to the group earlier in the year. The idea is
to 
  build a KLUG computer that we could use for meetings, or for
demonstrations 
  at shows public events.  Thanks Bob and Adam!  Dan Downs and a couple of 
  the guys worked on making a working computer out of what was there, and 
  made some progress.  Hopefully we can finish it up at the next beginners 
  meeting.
  
  The evening ended with a nice round of applause for Bruce and his talk.
  Lots of Great Questions and Answers!