The updated kernel will:
Receive updates on drivers
Protect against security vulnerabilities
Maintain a stable system update
It is always recommended to regularly update the kernel as a maintenance task.
Updating the kernel of Gentoo is done like any other package using the emerge utility.
To update the sources:
#emerge -u gentoo-sources
The packages will be installed under /usr/src.
Gentoo needs that the /usr/src/linux symbolic link points to the kernel source being used used. The portage automatically updates the symbolic link, but you must manually configure the symlink flag in the /etc/makeonf configuration file..
USE="symlink x86 3dnow 3dnowex X aac aalib adns alsa apache2"
Alternatively, it is possible to use the app-admin/eselect package to change the symbolic link.
To do this you must install the package then use it to change the link as follows
Alternatively, you could use app-admin/eselect to modify the symlink.
# emerge eselect (Afficher la liste de noyaux disponibles) # eselect kernel list Available kernel symlink targets: [1] linux-2.6.27-gentoo-r8 * [2] linux-2.6.27-gentoo-r10 # eselect kernel set 2
To verify the application:
# cd /usr/src # ln -sfn linux-2.6.9-gentoo-r2 linux
First install the Genkernel tool:
#emerge genkernel
Launch the installation:
#genkernel all
Update grub:
# genkernel --menuconfig --bootloader=grub all
Begin by launching the kernel configuration utility
# cd /usr/src/linux # make menuconfig
Choose the required options for hardware and system environment.
There is a comprehensive guide to help you out with the kernel configuration.
This is a freely downloadable: Linux kernel in a nutshell
Then you have to compile the kernel and copy the boot partition. If /boot is a separate partition, then you must mount it:
# make && make modules_install # mount /boot # cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/bzImage-2.6.9-gentoo-r2
Finally, you need to update the boot loader, adding the reference to the new kernel.
You may require to re-install the external modules after updating the kernel.
Close all the processes and restart.
It possible to use to remove the old kernel versions:
# emerge -P gentoo-sources
You also need to delete the files related to old kernels in the usr/src using the rm command.
