On Wednesday 08 July 2009 17:13:16 daid kahl wrote: > Hello, > > I'm working on upgrading a very old Gentoo system for my work. > > Some software is only running well in 2.4.x kernels, and when doing other > updates I inadvertently updated past glibc-2.3.5, and so now the 2.4 kernel > does not boot (Fatal error, kernel too old). Fortunately there is a 2.6 > kernel on the system so I can still boot. I should have been operating on > a no-nptl profile. > > Although I stopped the upgrade not longer after upgrading glibc, attempting > to downgrading glibc is just about the worst thing I could do. But I don't > really know what other options there are, and I've been Googling for hours > and hours and no solutions. > > Is there any known workaround for booting a 2.4 kernel on a system with > glibc-2.9 installed? I thought perhaps if there is a way to re-install > glibc without nptl (assuming linuxthreads are still around in glibc-2.9) > then it might work, but not sure how to do that. > > I'm very sad right now.
In the time it takes you to sort that mess out (including doing the necessary research), I reckon you could do the following: 1. Backup all user data, configs and critical files 2. Download a recent stage that suits your needs 3. Rebuild world plus add all the extra packages you use and do the whole lot three times. If you want a working system, this is the route of least resistance. If you want a learning experience more than a working box, attempt to fix it. To downgrade glibc, search the ebuild for the word "destruction" and comment out the lines providing the no-downgrade safeguard. However, this is indeed a sure path to destruction and you will likely rebuild world several times over to sort it out. [Now you know where the stats in the first part of this mail come from :-)] -- alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com
