Kernel Versions

[sgtbob]

I have been using 'yum update' to keep my Fedora Core 4 up to date; however, I now have about 6 versions listed along with my Windows in a dual boot system. I used to be able to delete the older versions when I could get apt and synaptic to work; however, FC4 apparently does not permit use of these. How does one eliminiate the older kernels?

Bob

[aolex]

recompiling the kernle is not an easy job and it is recommended to do it manually . i will never trust a package manager tu update my kernel . anyway , the point is that after each update , you have to update your boot's manager configuration file to remove the old kernel and add the new one . tell us , what boot manager do you use ?

[falko]

Yes, do you use Grub or Lilo as boot loader?

[sgtbob]

I'm using GRUB.

BTW - I am fairly new to Linux, so some of my questions and problems stem from not knwing how to correct/install a lot of items. One of these install issues is that I am unable to comprehend how to open the 'tar' files to get them to work. Is there some sikmple instrucdtions available that show this process. All the sites I ahve visited presumes more knowledge than I possess and I am currently held prisoner by the 'rpm' process. I have one of the FC 'Bibles', but in trying to follow instructions there does not produce the end result of having the program installed. Bummer!

[falko]

Originally Posted by sgtbob

I'm using GRUB.

Then you could edit /boot/grub/menu.lst. There you will find a section which looks like this (this one's taken from Debian):

title           Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.8-2-386
root            (hd0,0)
kernel          /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8-2-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd          /boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-2-386
savedefault
boot

title           Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.8-2-386 (recovery mode)
root            (hd0,0)
kernel          /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8-2-386 root=/dev/sda1 ro single
initrd          /boot/initrd.img-2.6.8-2-386
savedefault
boot

Comment out the sections that you don't need.

Originally Posted by sgtbob

One of these install issues is that I am unable to comprehend how to open the 'tar' files to get them to work. Is there some sikmple instrucdtions available that show this process. All the sites I ahve visited presumes more knowledge than I possess and I am currently held prisoner by the 'rpm' process. I have one of the FC 'Bibles', but in trying to follow instructions there does not produce the end result of having the program installed. Bummer!

If you have a file called test.tar.gz and want to unpack it, run

tar xvfz test.tar.gz

[sgtbob]

I can get the unpack part to work, but what do I do after that to install a package? I can see a lot of files after I do the 'tar xvfz......gz...', but the next step is what has me stumped and I do not know how to proceed. I've read that './configure' is to be used and then 'make file' issues, etc., but it isn't clear how to do all this.

[falko]

Ok, you run

tar xvfz test.tar.gz

, then it is unpacked. Next you do

ls -l

to find out how the directory is named where the files have been unpacked to. For example, if it has been unpacked into the directory test, you run

cd test

, and you're in the test directory. Now you can do the next step, e.g. run ./configure or whatever you have to do.