On Sun, May 10, 1998 at 11:23:44PM +0100, M.C. Vernon wrote:
> Dear Debian,
>
> I need support for a soundcard and IPX. I have been informed by
> some helpful people that I need to recompile and include support for
> these.
>
I would suggest that you start by reading some of the docs available
on the subject of compiling a kernel. A good place to look for up to date
docs is at
http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/linux.html#ldp
which is the Linux Documentation Project. I think there is a HOWTO or
mini-HOWTO about compiling a kernel. I also constantly referred to the
README in the kernel source code top level directory, and in the
sub-directory Documentation of the source code, the file modules.txt.
> Can I do this via loadable modules, or do I need to recompile
> (which is scarey for a newbie - how do I do it?)
I am not a technical wizard, but I have compiled kernels a couple of
times myself. If I remember correctly, you do have to compile even to use
things as loadable modules. I think the standard kernel that you get when
you install comes as one monolithic block. You have to compile to enable
loadable modules and to select which things you want to use as modules. I
don't guarantee the accuracy of that information though.
I too found compiling a kernel to be a bit intimidating, but I can
report that having thrice compiled a kernel, I have not yet met with
disaster. I did meet with numerous hick-ups that slowed me down while I
tried to figure them out, but nothing directly related to the compile itself
caused me grief. I did, however, proceed with extreme caution _after_ having
read the above docs, and following them closely all the while. I think if
you go slowly, and make sure you understand what the docs tell you to do,
you shouldn't have much trouble. Just be prepared to spend a little time at
it.
'Course, I can't guarantee anything, just speaking from my
experience. Who knows, if you have a more technically inclined noodle than
myself, you may zip through the whole thing.
Good luck !
Gerald Crimp
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