ok that seems to be an easier way to handle things. I'm wondering which will work better when configuring gcc use --with-prefix=/opt/gcc-2.95.3 and when configuring binutils use --with-prefix=/opt/binutils-2.15 this would keep everything contained to their own directories or gcc use --with-prefix=/opt/gnu and binutils use --with-prefix=/opt/gnu ..... would the latter work as well seeing how both gcc and binutils have common components?