Make Menuconfig error lxtemp.c not found?

[Merovech]

Having never compiled a kernel before, here's what I've done, and what's happened to me:

I've downloaded 2.6.10.

I've unpacked it to /usr/src/linux-2.6.10

I've given myself ownership of the directory as a normal user.

As a normal user I entered the directory "linux-2.6.10," and have run 'make menuconfig.'

I receive the following error:

/bin/sh: lxtemp.c: No such file or directory
make [2]: *** [scripts/lxdialog/ncurses] Error 1
make [1]: *** [menuconfig] Error 2
make: *** [menuconfig] Error 2

I have not yet attempted make menuconfig as root, but I know I shouldn't have to do that anyway.

Again, I have never compiled a kernel before, so by all rights I may be missing something obvious.
Any insight would be most helpful.

(note: I am performing all of this on a stock Fedora Core 3 installation).

Thanks much!

[bwkaz]

Delete it from /usr/src, and just unpack it in your home directory. Nothing requires kernel sources to be in /usr/src, except broken source packages. (Userspace should be using /usr/include/{linux,asm}, and kernel modules should be using /lib/modules/<kernel version>/build, to find headers. Those are part of glibc, and installed by "make modules_install", respectively.)

That way, permissions issues (and a possible mistype of the command to change it -- hey, I've done it before ;)) can't be the problem.

[Merovech]

That did it!

Thanks for the tip :-)

[Merovech]

I've successfully run "make menuconfig"

According to what I've read, with 2.6.X I can simply run 'make', and my kernel and all the modules will go ahead and compile.

So I ran 'make' and let my P3-450, 384MB RAM system cook for a while (during which time I shoveled some snow and ate some mac and cheese). I checked on it once (after shoveling, but before the mac and cheese), and things were putzing along fine-- it was busy compiling some modules at that point.

Later, after lunch, I checked the system and it was all done... I think...

I was back at the command prompt, and scrolling up through the terminal for a while showed no error messages.

But there was no confirmation message that everything was done. Should I assume that, since there were no error messages, everything came out okay and I can "make modules_install"?

Or is this a case where the process sort of crapped out for some obscure reason and gave neither an error nor a confirmation.

Thanks for any light you can shed!

[bwkaz]

The vast majority of the time, if there are no errors, you will not get a "success" message in Linux. /sbin/modprobe works the same way -- if it successfully loads the module you tell it to, you won't see any output (except stuff that the module itself might log, which would get copied to the current console -- but the kernel module does not have to log anything, either).

Your kernel is not installed, but arch/i386/boot/bzImage should exist. That means it successfully compiled, and modules_install is next on your list.