Now that we have a basic configuration file created, it should be modified
to support the hardware you have present in the system. For details on how
to find out which configuration options you need to select to achieve this,
please see Chapter 8,
Customizing a Kernel
. Here we will show you how to
select the options you wish to change.
There are three different interactive kernel configuration tools: a
terminal-based one called menuconfig, a GTK+-based
graphical one called gconfig, and a QT-based graphical
one called xconfig.
Console configuration method
The menuconfig way of configuring a kernel is a console-based program that offers a way to move around the kernel configuration
using the arrow keys on the keyboard. To start up this configuration mode,
enter:
$
make menuconfig
You will be shown a screen much like Figure 5.1, “Initial menuconfig screen”.
The instructions for navigating through the program, and the
meanings of the different characters, are shown at the top of
the screen. The rest of the screen containing the different kernel
configuration options.
The kernel configuration is divided up into sections. Each section
contains options that correspond to a specific topic. Within those
sections can be sub-sections for various specialized topics. As an
example, all kernel device drivers can be found under the main menu option
Device Drivers. To enter that menu, move the arrow
key down nine times until the line
Device Drivers ---> is highlighted, as shown in
Figure 5.2, “Device Drivers option selected”.
Then press the Enter key. It will move you into the
Device Drivers submenu and show it as illustrated in
Figure 5.3, “Device Drivers submenu”.
You can continue to move down through the menu hierarchy the same way.
To see the Generic Driver Options submenu, press
Enter again, and you will see the three
options shown in Figure 5.4, “Generic Driver Options submenu”.
The first two options have a [*] mark by them. That
means that this option is selected (by virtue of the *
being in the middle of the [ ] characters), and that this
option is a yes-or-no option. The third option has a
< > marking, showing that this option can be
built into the kernel (Y), built as a module
(M), or left out altogether (N).
If the option is selected with Y, the angle
brackets will contian a
* character. If it is selected as a
module with a M, they will contain an M
character. If it is disabled with N, they will
show only a blank space.
So, if we wish to change these three options to select only drivers that
do not need external firmware at compile time, disable the option to
prevent firmware from being built, and build the userspace firmware loader
as a module, we would press Y for the first
option, N for the second option, and
M for the third, making the screen look like Figure 5.5, “Generic Driver Options submenu changed”.
After you are done with your changes to this screen, press either the
Escape key or the right arrow followed by the
Enter key to leave this submenu. All of the different
kernel options can be explored in this manner.
When you are finished making all of the changes you wish to make to the
kernel configuration, exit the program by pressing the
Escape key on the main menu. You will be shown the screen in Figure 5.6, “Saving kernel options”, asking whether you wish to save your changed kernel
configuration.
Press Enter to save the configuration, or if you wish to
discard any changes made, press the right arrow to move to the
<No> selection and then press
Enter.
Graphical configuration methods
The gconfig and xconfig methods of
configuring a kernel use a graphical program to allow you to modify the
kernel configuration. The two methods are almost identical, the only
difference being the different graphical toolkit with which they are
written. gconfig is written using the GTK+ toolkit
and has a two-pane screen looking like Figure 5.7, “make gconfig screen”.
The xconfig method is written using the QT toolkit
and has a three-pane screen looking like Figure 5.8, “make xconfig screen”.
Use the mouse to navigate the submenus and select options. For
instance, you can use it in Figure 5.8, “make xconfig screen” to select the Generic Driver Options
submenu of the Device Drivers menu. This will change
the xconfig screen to look like Figure 5.9, “make xconfig Generic Driver Options”.
The corresponding gconfig screen is Figure 5.10, “make gconfig Generic Driver Options”.
Changing this submenu to disable the second option and make the third
option be built as a module causes the screens to look like Figure 5.11, “make xconfig Generic Driver Options changed” and Figure 5.12, “make gconfig Generic Driver Options changed”.
Please note that in the gconfig method,
a checked box signifies that the option will be built
into the kernel, whereas a line though the box means the option will be built
as a module.
In the xconfig method, an option built as a module
will be shown with a dot in the box.
Both of these methods will prompt you to save your changed configuration
when exiting the program, and offer the option to write that
configuration out to a different file. In that way you can create
multiple, differing configurations.
