sony-vaio-z-series team mailing list archive

[Kludd Admin <zithras@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ugh.  Compiling and installing a custom kernel is waaaay outside my current
Linux experience/comfort level.  Still, if it gets me working Intel
graphics, I'd be willing to give it a shot and post the resulting kernel on
rapidshare or something so no one else has to compile it (assuming I did it
right, of course).
Searching around, the best help page I've found is
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Kernel/Compile (which is a quite old,
unfortunately), which gives some basic instructions, but still leaves me
with a lot of questions:

Install Questions:
What config do I use?  The guide mentions several - what comes standard with
the 10.04 Kubuntu release?
How do I apply the patch?

Post-Install questions?
I understand that the kernel is simply the core of any Linux operating
system, and that pretty much all programs and system tools (what makes
Kubuntu Kubuntu) I install are installed on top of this.  However, I'm not
sure what exactly the Kernel contains internally, and what simply uses it.
In other words, what will recompiling the kernel break?
Will I need to install codecs?  drivers?  programs?  What packages will need
reinstalling?  The guide mentions building the kernel with restricted
drivers - I've already got these installed; will running from a new Kernel
mean I have to reinstall these.  Will I have to redo menu OS preferences, or
will the recompiled kernel automatically look for and find all the old
preferences files?
What should I do in terms of cleanup once the kernel is installed?  The
guide mentions downloading various source files and compiling tools, but
doesn't mention what can be safely removed afterward (everything but the
final compiled kernel?)
What's the downside to compiling a custom kernel?  Will package managers
still function correctly (both in installing packages and in finding and
installing updates)?  (apt-get, aptitude, synaptic, adept, KPackageIt, etc)
When the release kernel/Kubuntu finally supports this laptop in a new
kernel, how difficult will it be to update to it?  Can I just use apt-get
install linux-image as usual?

Other:
On one hand, it seems that I'm making a bigger deal of this than I should.
I don't really think that installing a new kernel will break anything, so
most of the post-install questions above are probably unnecessary (after
all, I installed one trying to get the laptop working as per thunderbee's
guide), but I wanted to doublecheck first.
On the other hand, compiling a kernel itself seems to involve a lot of
potential pitfalls, and I'm not sure I have the knowlege to properly
configure it if I can't just download a premade configuration from somewhere
(and figure out the right premade configuration to download, at that).
Should I even try to do this, or am I better off waiting a few months for a
new Kernel with Intel support and living with the decreased battery life
(and increased heat/noise) until then?

I'm not sure I should really post this here, or should move this discussion
to the Kubuntu new users forum...please tell me if this discussion belongs
elsewhere.

Overwhelmed,
Zithras


On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 3:42 AM, Farshad Khoshkhui <farshadkh@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> You should have a kernel source(2.6.34), apply the patch and compile
> the kernel. Then boot using the new kernel.
>
> On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 12:25 PM, Zithras <Zithras@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > How do I install the Intel patch at:
> > https://bugs.freedesktop.org/attachment.cgi?id=35845
> > to fix the Intel graphics card?
> >
> > It seems to be a text email, and not any sort of .sh script, .deb file,
> > or any other sort of installable file?
> >
> > It looks like code: does this mean I have to copy/paste it into a
> > particular Ubuntu core file, recompile it, and replace my current file
> > with the new one?  If so, how would I do this and what do i need to
> > replace where?
> > I assume the files I have to mess with are:
> >  drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c
> >  drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_dp.c
> >  drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_drv.h
> > but I'm still not sure what I should do with them, how to do it, or how
> > to install the 'difference' code supplied
> >
> > Please could someone who's installed this patch successfully email the
> > list with a list of commands to get this installed and working that a
> > new linux user could use?
> > --
> > This message was sent from Launchpad by the user
> > Zithras (https://launchpad.net/~zithras<https://launchpad.net/%7Ezithras>
> )
> > using the "Contact this team" link on the Sony Vaio Z-series Laptop team
> page.
> > For more information see
> > https://help.launchpad.net/YourAccount/ContactingPeople
> >
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>
>
> --
> Farshad Khoshkhui
>