Hello, I have downloaded the kernel yesterday (Feb 17) using: git clone -depth 1 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tmlind/linux-omap-2.6.git Then today I did a "git pull" to sync up. So I think I am ready to attempt a kernel compile. I hope this kernel is stable. I need the touchscreen, USB and Ethernet to work. Now I need to find the config files for the Overo Fire and the TI DM3730 EVM board. In the directory <kernel>/arch/arm/configs I see these candidates: davinci_all_defconfig omap2plus_defconfig I assume that one of these is correct. Is there a 'special' config file I should download from somewhere for the Overo Fire or TI EVM? Or do both boards (or all omap boards?) use the same defconfig? I have configured Intel kernels before, but not an Arm kernel, so I don't know where the dragons are. What I am asking is how to config the kernel for my 2 boards...I don't find a canonical .config file anywhere to start from: what menu options need to be configured, need to be modules or need to be built in, which ones to not enable, etc. As a strategy I can start from the current /proc/config.gz, but since this is for older kernels I assume there are changes that must be made. Does the configure script somehow pick up the correct defconfig when I specify the arch from within menuconfig? My two systems are: Component TI MISTRAL OMAP EVM Overo FIRE --------- --------------------- --------------- x-loader 1.46 (Aug 16 2010) 1.4.2 (Jan 13 2010) U-boot 2009.11 (Aug 16 2010) 2009.11 (Jan 13 2010) kernel 2.6.32 (sdk@nemo) 2.6.32 (steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) distro Arago 2010.05 ttyS0 Angstrom 2009.X-test-20100101 ttyS2 Is it possible to upgrade both the same x-loader and boot loader? As I have seen already in this forum, it seems that I need to worry about: a) change the boot arg from "console=ttyS2,115200" to "console=tty02,115200" b) change /etc/inittab line to S:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 115200 tty02, and similarly for other serial devices in there As a strategy, should I keep the existing boot loaders and first upgrade the kernels, then consider upgrading the boot loaders? Or should I try to first upgrade the boot loaders with existing kernels then try new kernels? Thanks for the help. -----Original Message----- From: Anand Gadiyar [mailto:gadiyar@xxxxxx] Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 11:33 AM Subject: RE: general kernel building questions > I have an Overo Fire board (OMAP 3530) and also a Mistral DM3730 EVM > board. > > I would like to try some of the newer kernels on each, and maybe some > patches mentioned in this list. I could be a tester for these once I > figure out how to update bootloaders and build and install kernels. Is > there a how-to guide somewhere? Nothing comes to mind right now. There is some useful reading material on elinux.org and omappedia.org. I'll see if I can locate a good guide - if no one else points one out, I'll try and put something together. > So some newb questions if I may: > > 1. Where do I grab the latest kernels that have some chance at > stability? The mainline kernel will at least boot up on most OMAP boards. The master branch of linux-omap closely tracks the mainline kernel and is a little more likely to work. > 2. Where are the def config files? There are now only 2 defconfig files for the OMAPs. omap1_defconfig for all OMAP1 platforms and omap2plus_defconfig for all OMAP2,3,4 platforms They enable support for multiple boards, and contain drivers that may not always be useful. So they are bigger than absolutely necessary. > 3. I know how to apply kernel patches, but where are the > patches and how to I git specific ones? Which patches are you interested in? Anything that is queued up in a maintainer's tree can be cherry picked by you. Patches submitted to this list are also available on patchwork. https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-omap/list/ > 4. Will 2.6.37, 2.6.38 mainline (currently rc3), linux-next and/or > snapshot from kernel.org work? I'm not very sure about the status of individual boards in the .37 kernel, but I expect that most of them will at least boot. A recent snapshot from kernel.org should also be about the same. 2.6.38-rc3 will have more new features than the .37 kernel, and I believe it is reasoably stable. Again, I expect it to at least boot on most OMAP platforms. If it doesn't work for you, please report it to this list and work with us to fix it. Some features may not be present in the .38-rc releases. Patches posted here and to other mailing lists which are not bug-fixes will get queued up only for the merge window after 2.6.38 is released. linux-next is the bleeding-edge kernel - it will start looking like a preview of the next -rc1 kernel, but it could easily be broken as there are frequent changes. These start stabilizing around -rc6 or so of the current kernel. Testing linux-next would certainly be useful in ensuring the next merge window goes smoothly. > 5. How quickly do the patches mentioned in this list land there? That depends, mostly on the quality of the patches, and how non-controversial they are. Fixes usually make it through quickly, as long as the code quality is good. Non-fixes can take a few weeks, depending on how good the initial patch is, how responsive the submitter is to comments, and how many people find the patch useful. Non-fixes can also take months, if the right conditions are not met. :( - Anand -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-omap" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
