As for extra goodies, the Arch kernel is practically vanilla. If you want some extras, try kernel26archck in community.
iphitus
]]>The stock is running 2.6.15. Is the new one also 2.6.15, but with extra goodies added? Does it support SMP? I have a Pentium IV, so SMP really helps.
do you have a dual processor setup, or hyperthreading? i was under the impression that SMP only mattered to those two things, and that a kernel for symmetric multiprocessing wouldnt matter on a single processor. is that right, or am i wrong?
]]>Indeed, mac, you may keep both kernels while you test archck. Just take care of keeping both entries in grub/lilo too.
]]>If I install this new kernel, does it overwrite or in any way invalidate my current stock kernel? Is this as simple as ADDING a new set of stuff to /boot without REMOVING any of the current stuff? If so, I feel better.
As for this new kernel, what vintage is it? The stock is running 2.6.15. Is the new one also 2.6.15, but with extra goodies added? Does it support SMP? I have a Pentium IV, so SMP really helps. What about modules? I use the nvidia and pwc modules, among many others. I single out these two because both are notoriously fickle about being compiled against the kernel that is running. Do I have to re-build these modules after I run the new kernel, or will pacman take care of this for me? Are there others like this that will need attention post new kernel?
I really appreciate the input, and I am not trying to give anyone "the third degree" here - just being VERY cautious after a VERY bad experience with kernel replacement in the past. Thanks.
]]>1.- kernel26archck (from community) has built-in suspend2, so you just have to switch your vanilla-kernel to archck-kernel. It has lots of nice features (such as reiser4 support, fbsplash and Con Kolivas patch), just take a look in the forum.
2.- Modify your bootloader:
lilo
append="everything-you-already-had resume2=swap:/dev/hdXY (your swap partition)"
grub
kernel everything-you-already-had resume2=swap:/dev/hdXY
3.- Install hibernate-script from community
4.- (Optional) Install sudo. Then as root run visudo and add a line containing
username hostname= NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/hibernate
With this, you just execute sudo hibernate as normal user and you system saves the RAM into your swap partition (it should be bigger than your RAM, as usual). As you boot up again, the info in swap is reloaded to your RAM in very little time. Voila! 8)
However, I would recommend to read this before proceeding http://www.suspend2.net/HOWTO-2.html
]]>try "pacman -S kernel26archck" if you have the community repo enabled in /etc/pacman.conf.
]]>I am using the stock 2.6 kernel 2.6.15-ARCH. From the suspend2 website, it would appear that suspend2 should be built in, hence no need to patch the kernel?
If all of the above is true, could you provide "instructions for dummies" on how to use this feature? A 13 second boot sounds AWESOME. I would love to try it out. Thanks!
]]>Meantime, to get back on topic for a moment, it is a few weeks later now since my Arch install, and I remain incredibly impressed with it. The best part is the speed. I feel like I've gotten a new CPU that is twice as fast. Arch not only ROCKS, it RACES!
I guess you're using a current + extra box?
If this is the case, you will find that the impressive speed you got is nothing compared with what you can obtain with some little more work.
I'm using kernel26archck + suspend2 (with hibernate-script) + reiser4 with xfce4 and still can't believe when my whole system boots up to exactly how i left it in 13 seconds!! And i have just a Sempron 1.6 GHz with 256 MB RAM.
Everything runns faster and more stable than in any computer i've seen until now. Arch is by far the best distro (and Linux the best OS) i've tried, I'm really happy with the decision I made 1 year ago to left Micro$oft.
]]>When using PKGBUILD from AUR, you need to keep in mind that these are submitted by users having various computing background. Therefore, it's possible that the package doesn't build/install/work properly. In these case, you need to fix the PKGBUILD (similar to what you did to build it with configure make make install) to make it work. Once that's done, post a comment with your fix in AUR so the package contributor will know about it and fix the package.
]]>I had one bad experience with AUR and haven't gotten back to it yet. I followed the instructions I found somewhere (Wiki, forum, somewhere - don't remember any more), dowloaded the package, and attempted to build. My screen flooded with compile errors and I just gave up - I figured that if I had to fight with compile errors, I might as well do it with the good 'ol
./configure, make, make install
route, rather than adding the complexity of a (to me) unknown build system on top of it. So far, I haven't needed to go back. Arch is *so* good (i.e. follows normal standards, everything is where it should be) that pretty much everything I have tried to build from source the usual way has worked like a champ.
I think it was qamix that I was trying to build this way, by the way. Eventually I built it myself from source via the ./configure, make, make install route. There were *lots* of compile errors this way too, but I fixed them all and got it to build. Perhaps the version in AUR was suffering from the same problems.
If qpkg is in AUR, and it sounds interesting, perhaps I will give this a whirl again.
Meantime, to get back on topic for a moment, it is a few weeks later now since my Arch install, and I remain incredibly impressed with it. The best part is the speed. I feel like I've gotten a new CPU that is twice as fast. Arch not only ROCKS, it RACES!
]]>If you often use the AUR, have a look at "qpkg" if you haven't done so already.
-> pacman -S qpkg
Greez Sigi
]]>The few I haven't been able to find I have been able to build from source easily, without all the usual fussing about.
As Penguin said, the AUR has a ton of packages that are not in the official repos, so be sure to check there for stuff you can't find. Also, if you're compiling things yourself, give the <code>ABS</code> system a try so that even those programs can be managed by <code>pacman</code>.
Glad to have ya aboard!
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