Upgrading to SMP kernel (nvidia)
Posts: 25
Alright, my new dual core AMD just came in the mail tonight and it installed wonderfully. Now to get the full potential of linux involved. Here's my problem, Ive source installed kernels on RHE servers a few times, but never did it through synaptic as I have little experience with a gui, and Debian as a whole.
On a standard install of Mepis if I installed the livecd, while running on the "opt-in" parameter, what did it install? I see the nvidia splash every time I load up, and I have the nvidia kernel, normal kernel, and nvidia legacy kernel already installed from the install, however I cannot tell which I was running. The grub console isnt very helpful, and menu.lst isn't either. I went ahead and apt-get via synaptic the nvidia-smp (non-legacy) kernel. Heres the output from uname -a:
root@1[/]# uname -a<br /> Linux aaron 2.6.15-27-desktop #1 PREEMPT Sun Mar 11 21:36:14 EDT 2007 i686 GNU/Linux
How can I tell which kernel I'm running as in smp or single processor, as well as if this is the normal kernel or the nvidia kernel?
Also, where are all of the kernels stored in Mepis?
Can I assume that if nvidia drivers are installed on my system its the nvidia kernel or could it be the standard kernel with an nvidia module?
Thanks for the help.
Ok Im confused now. I just
Posts: 25
Ok Im confused now. I just found this link in the walkthrough:
http://www.mepis.org/docs/en/index.php/Install_new_kernel
It says to do basically what you suggested for smp kernels, but before that it says to use the K7 kernel (which is not listed as an SMP kernel) for all AMD multicore procs. Whats the deal?
k7 kernel is SMP enabled as
Posts: 4077
k7 kernel is SMP enabled as far as I know.
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Check out MEPIS Wiki: www.mepis.org/docs
The purpose of OPT-IN for nvidia
Posts: 1186
Hi Preacher,
When you OPT-IN you are allowing the new nvidia driver to be linked with the kernel at runtime. Your choice is required to satisfy the GPL fanatics, or terrorists, or freedom fighters, depending on your point of view.
The nvidia driver is proprietary and some people argue that it is not proper to ever link it with the Linux kernel. According to Linus that's not so, but that's the position of the purists.
But in order to not alienate everyone, the FSF agreed to a rule which the purists call the 4th right and which I call the prime directive. The enduser is allowed to do anything, only people who redistribute software are subject to the limitations of the GPL license.
Distributing the nvidia driver would supposedly violate the GPL, if it were linked by default at runtime, but since you the enduser choose of your own free will to use it, then that's OK. The religious fanatics hate this, and would like to eliminate the prime directive, but then they would lose any remaining support from Linus and there would be a schism in Linux on the order of the one between the Catholic and Protestant churches.
What kernel you are running
Posts: 1186
The output of uname indicates that you are running the 2.6.15-27-desktop kernel. This the non-smp kernel for 32 bit processors.
The nvidia driver is a different matter, there are nvidia packages for each kernel. If you did an OPT-IN on CD, then the desktop kernel was installed with the nvidia driver included for that kernel.
If you were to install the 2.6.15-27-desktop-smp kernel, then you would also want to install the nvidia driver for that kernel, as well as the alsa-modules and any other extra drivers your hardware requires.
Obsolete kernels
Posts: 1186
For MEPIS 6.x, the K7, 686, etc kernels are obsoleted by the "desktop" series of kernels. I have modified the wiki page to reflect this.
Prime Directive
Posts: 690
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Distributing the nvidia driver would supposedly violate the GPL, if it were linked by default at runtime, but since you the enduser choose of your own free will to use it, then that's OK. The religious fanatics hate this, and would like to eliminate the prime directive, but then they would lose any remaining support from Linus and there would be a schism in Linux on the order of the one between the Catholic and Protestant churches.
Well, thank you, for using your Prime Directive in Mepis 6.5. I don't like the purity fanatics either.
Regards, Ko
Ko Bros
Fanatics
Posts: 5
I agree with Ko, I dislike purity fanatics also.
I really find it annoying that they feel the need to insist on better hardware support, but only on their terms..
Obsolete eh?
Posts: 25
Well if the K7 and SMP kernels are obsolete as of 6.5 then the desktop-smp kernel is the way to go? I went that route last time and began having keyboard issues, which started this whole thread. I may be better off just compiling my own smp kernel with the new scheduling support...
do a search in synaptic for
Posts: 2299
do a search in synaptic for all packages with 'desktop-smp' in the name. Install ALL packages you find.
Reboot and the grub entry 'newest kernel' will point to the smp kernel.
when you do uname -r you will see you are running 2.6.15-27-desktop-smp
Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question