Talk:Kernel/Upgrade

About 'make modules_prepare'
Someone who knows better, please clarify: When exactly should make modules_prepare be run? Lee (talk) 13:28, 14 February 2015 (UTC)


 * I'm also a bit confused as to the importance of the make modules_prepare command. I see from /usr/src/linux/Makefile that the target results in calls to other targets but once getting into the rabbit hole, I also started finding myself a tad confused. — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Cajacaliente (talk • contribs) 13 May 2015‎


 * "Me too": While I think I know when should be run, I'm not sure when  should be run relative to the building of the kernel. The article is unnecessarily confusing about this, since the order it presents the information is:
 * configure the kernel (section 5)
 * "may be" necessary before building the kernel (6th section, 1st "Important" box)
 * don't forget to reconfigure the bootloader and initramfs (6th section, 2nd "Important" box)
 * follow the manual configuration article to build the kernel (6th section, only line of regular text)
 * "If the kernel has not been built", before installing external modules (8th section, 1st "root" command box)
 * to rebuild kernel-module packages (8th section, 2nd "root" command box)
 * It would help immensely if the concepts were introduced strictly in the order the commands should actually be run.
 * I assume the proper order is:
 * configure the kernel
 * if any kernel modules have already been installed via (or whatever)
 * build and install the kernel using, , and
 * if step #2 was necessary
 * configure the bootloader and initramfs
 * (double-check everything, including what modules are autoloaded, and) reboot
 * Can someone who knows for sure please clarify this? Also, I know step #4 won't actually "do anything" if the command is run when it is not necessary; is that also true of step #2? Finally, should Kernel/Configuration also mention ? - dcljr (talk) 08:36, 26 October 2017 (UTC)


 * is unnecessary if you are building the kernel anyway. It is strictly for when you are wanting to build modules without building the rest of the kernel. --Grknight (talk) 14:30, 8 November 2018 (UTC)

Add genkernel instructions
I originally used genkernel to install the kernel. The important part to me is updating the new config from the old kernel. I think there should be a section on updating to the new kernel using genkernel.--Moaxcp (talk) 18:09, 21 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Good point. I'll add this to my list of thing to do. Also, don't forget to use a signature following your commend on discussion pages! :) --Maffblaster (talk) 17:59, 21 May 2015 (UTC)


 * Have you read the Genkernel? Does it contain the information you are looking for? --Maffblaster (talk) 18:30, 21 May 2015 (UTC)

Automated installation currently broken
The file block under Automated builds currently does not work because the architecture that the linux kernel is expecting (x86) is different from the portage set $ARCH (amd64).

I got around that by adding `export ARCH=x86` before any of the make commands to fix this, but I'm not sure if that's the best solution --Mjsir911 (talk) 22:16, 13 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Using CURRENT_KV=$(uname -m)-$(uname -r) should give correct results. However, it seems to still work out fine because of the second if statement (falls back to the .config for the old kernel under /usr/src/. For example under ps I see /usr/bin/genkernel --kernel-config=//usr/src/linux-5.1.16-gentoo/.config all) Mackal (talk) 19:09, 8 July 2019 (UTC)

make silentoldconfig
Any objections to deleting the 'make silentoldconfig' section? Its going out of date. Also, to me it doesn't seem like a good way to do things because it asks so many questions whereas make olddefconfig sets them all and you can diff to check it. Garbanzo (talk) 08:21, 8 September 2019 (UTC)


 * Replaced with --Charles17 (talk) 17:42, 26 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Yes, do not remove 'make silentoldconfig' as long as the kernel branch 4.x is availabe in portage. It is needed, and there are users using this LTS kernels in gentoo. Don't remove this section. If the kernel is gone, then it could be removed. Needle (talk) 12:07, 20 April 2020 (UTC)