What exaclty is /boot/bzImage ?

aftershock · n00b Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 5

I tried to install Gentoo with Grub bootloader, and grub keeps complainig that kernel (hd0,0) /boot/bzImage root=/dev/hda3

Error 1: Filename must be either an absolute pathname or blocklist

well I booted off the liveCD and checked my /boot/ and I fail to see bzImage in there so I think thats whats cuasing my problems.

So I was wondering what is this bzImage and how do I create one?
I ran though the install gentoo install tutorial so I thought I had everything down.

Thanks,

steveb · Advocate Joined: 18 Sep 2002 Posts: 4564

hello

bzImage is a bzip compressed kernel.
to get it, you need to download the kernel sources (read the gentoo documentation to see how to do that) and then you need to configure and compile that kernel sources (once again... read the install documentation found at the gentoo.org homepage).

cheers

SteveB

aftershock · n00b Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 5

would this require me to run

emerge sys-kernel/gentoo-sources
then
# cd /usr/src/linux
# source /etc/profile
# make menuconfig
# make dep && make clean bzImage modules modules_install
# cp /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot

I ran though this already, and I would find it strange that bzImage was not created the first time I ran it.

AkiAki007 · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2003 8:53 pm Post subject:

I suspect if you've already done the whole Grub thing, you've already downloaded and configured and compiled your own kernel (at least once). Yes? No?

Also, do you have a seperate /boot partition in your hard drive? or is everything installed onto one big partition?

It matters, because by default your /boot partition will not be mounted and you will see nothing in the directory, and in order to see the contents of it, you have to mount the partition.

The code you posted is what you have to do to download/configure/compile/copy the kernel into the proper place and boot up into your system. But I just want to make sure that you don't do something that's not needed, and that you don't install your kernel into something that you will not be accessing.

aftershock · n00b Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 5

I did download and compile the kernel, I am just not where to installed it to now since I thought /boot/ was the default.

I currently have 3 partitions, boot swap and a root.

Oh and yes, when I booted off the LiveCD, I did mount my boot partition inorder to check for the bzImage, which I could not find.

Update:
Okay so I recompiled my kernel and copied it over to my /boot partition, however grub is still having a fit and saying
"Error 15: File not found" even though the file bzImage is clearly there. I even used chmod 777 on that file just in case some properties of it where different.

aftershock · n00b Joined: 11 Mar 2003 Posts: 5

sorry about the 2x post

herring · Apprentice Joined: 22 Jul 2002 Posts: 187 Location: Norway