Kernel compilation - niggling issue.
I've just (for the first time) tried to compile the kernel (2.0.34) on this hamm box. I was a bit nervous, being rather new to this linux thing, but all went quite well once I realised that I had to move the old /lib/modules/2.0.34 directory before building installing the new kernel. The only problem I have now is that an error message comes up near the end of the boot sequence: Cannot load char-major-10 (It repeats -- i.e. it is shown twice.) AFAICT this correlates to misc.o, and I didn't select anything that needed the misc.o module, and therefore it wasn't built. Why does the machine then look for it? (BTW, I changed /etc/modules to merely contain the line auto -- the rest is commented out. This means that kerneld should now be running the show.) I found that I can remove this message by adding the line alias char-major-10 off to /etc/conf.modules. However, (and here is the point of this rather rambling mail), will this break anything? Why do I need to specifically turn off something that shouldn't be registering with anything else anyway? [I must say, however, after a few weeks running a Slackware box that had been preinstalled for me, Debian is certainly a breath of fresh air in comparison :)] TIA for any help! ali.
Re: Kernel compilation - niggling issue.
I've just (for the first time) tried to compile the kernel (2.0.34) on this hamm box. I was a bit nervous, being rather new to this linux thing, but all went quite well once I realised that I had to move the old /lib/modules/2.0.34 directory before building installing the new kernel. The only problem I have now is that an error message comes up near the end of the boot sequence: Cannot load char-major-10 The `major' refers to a device file. Device files have a major and a minor number that identifies them, and they are not really files, but rather entry points to talk to kernel drivers. If you do $ ls -l | grep 10, (comma included), you get crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 3 Dec 9 1996 atibm crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 3 Dec 9 1996 atimouse crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 2 Dec 9 1996 inportbm crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 4 Dec 9 1996 jmouse crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 0 Dec 9 1996 logibm crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 0 Dec 9 1996 logimouse crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 2 Dec 9 1996 msmouse crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 1 Dec 9 1996 psaux crw-rw-rw- 1 root sys 10, 1 Dec 9 1996 psmouse ^^ ||__ minor numbers |___ all major number 10 These are mice, bus and ps2 type. You probably compiled some mouse drivers of mice you don't own into the kernel. They do no real harm, except that they occupy a few kb on your disk. For aesthetics you may want to find them and compile a kernel without them. While you are at it, install the debian package `kernel-package', and read the README file from /usr/doc/kernel-package/. This package will make compiling and installing kernels a joy :) HTH, Eric Meijer -- E.L. Meijer ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) | tel. office +31 40 2472189 Eindhoven Univ. of Technology | tel. lab. +31 40 2475032 Lab. for Catalysis and Inorg. Chem. (TAK) | tel. fax+31 40 2455054
Re: Kernel compilation - niggling issue.
Ali Graham [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The only problem I have now is that an error message comes up near the end of the boot sequence: Cannot load char-major-10 (It repeats -- i.e. it is shown twice.) AFAICT this correlates to misc.o, and I didn't select anything that needed the misc.o module, and therefore it wasn't built. I'm getting the same message, but it doesn't seem to do any harm. I vaguely remember tracing it back to a command in one of the bootup scripts that did something to or with the hardware clock. The most probable scenario that the program tries to open /dev/something which makes the kernel search for the appropriate module, fail, and return an error to the program which then decides it can do without it. At any rate, nothing seems to malfunction here save the error message. -- Henning Makholm http://www.diku.dk/students/makholm
