Re: Kernel Upgrade

Adam D. Bradley (bradley@cs.unca.edu)
Thu, 31 Oct 1996 14:22:39 -0500 (EST)

On Thu, 31 Oct 1996, Simon Ekstrand wrote:
> Ok, let me see if ive understood this right,
> I run Linux 1.2.1 (slakware), yes, i know its old..
> If i wanna upgrade to, say for example 2.1.5, im gonna need gcc 2.7.0
> or newer.
> Now gcc 2.7.0 is if ive understood this right some sort of elf
> binarie that, my old linux version cant run..
> How am i gonna upgrade to a newer kernel if my old kernel
> cant handle the gcc version needed for the upgrade??

If you've got the space, you can get GCC and build it as an a.out binary;
problem is, as of 2.1.0 the kernel's only supposed to compile as ELF,
which means you would be trapped in the 2.0 series.

Last I checked Slackware recommends you don't bother trying to update a
non-ELF-install to an ELF-install, just get a recent distribution instead
(Slackware 3.1 or so) and re-install the whole thing. Pain in the @ss if
you've got a lot of local-installed software and user files, but a lot
less risky than the library-and-loader transplants needed to do the
upgrade. There used to be a README on it somewhere; I tried it and wound
up having to do a start-from-scratch.

Hope this helps...

Adam

--
He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him    Adam Bradley, UNCA Senior
astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say,             Computer Science
"Is there not a lie in my right hand?"   Isaiah 44:20
        bradley@cs.unca.edu       http://www.cs.unca.edu/~bradley      <><