kernel-source upgrade question

Hi group,

I'm a linux newbie but have spent some time tuning, and learning a great deal =-), about my kernel. I am currently running kernel-source 2.4.18-27.8 and I want to upgrade to kernel-source 2.4.20-18.8 I want to keep my same config file as I have it tuned for my system. Can I just export from xconfig or menuconfig a kernel configuration file and then load it into the 2.4.20-18.8 as a standard configuration file? Is there any intelligent way to find the differences between the old configuration file and what the new kernel offers besides the changelogs?

diff is your friend.

By just comparing the configurationfiles you should see some differences if there are some. If there are some then you it's likely that you old config wont work for the new kernel (or lacks some things). I guess the format wont have changed that much so you could check the diffs and implement it manually in your old config file. Depending on how much it will be of course. This is just an idea. I don't have the new sources so I can't say something definite abou it, but this would be the way I would try

]Hi group,

]I'm a linux newbie but have spent some time tuning, and learning a great ]deal =-), about my kernel. I am currently running kernel-source ]2.4.18-27.8 and I want to upgrade to kernel-source 2.4.20-18.8 I want to ]keep my same config file as I have it tuned for my system. Can I just ]export from xconfig or menuconfig a kernel configuration file and then ]load it into the 2.4.20-18.8 as a standard configuration file? Is there ]any intelligent way to find the differences between the old configuration ]file and what the new kernel offers besides the changelogs?

This sounds like some particular distribution (Redhat?) They have not just the changes introduced by the kernel people but also their own changes as well (that is what that -27.8 or -18.8 refer to

'make oldconfig' is your friend. It takes your current config and uses it as the basis for configuring the new kernel. It will stop and prompt you for any new configuration options that don't appear in the current config file. The only downside (and it is minor) is that this is a text mode-only process (i.e., it is like using 'make config' as opposed to 'menuconfig' or 'xconfig'. It has always worked flawlessly for me.

Just save ..../linux-2.4.20-18.8/.config somewhere.

Don't forget to re-run 'make oldconfig' after those menuconfig frolics.