2.6.35.10-74 compilation (and build) problems

[Mr Dash Four]

> It seems to me that the rpm packagers need to provide a way
> for the admin to use an existing config file which has enabled
> all that is needed, as a base config file. Thus running rpmbuild
> should somehow use this base config file, and add to it if necessary,
> but at least keep the features/drivers that are enabled in the
> base config file, enabled for the actual build.
>   
+1. I echo that 100% and up until 3 days ago I assumed, wrongly as it 
turns out, that the oldconfig target does just that.

> I did follow the instructions at 
> http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/CustomKernel
> very very closely, to no avail.
>
> Maybe I AM doing someting wrong, but I have no idea what that might be.
>
> So, what do I do? I simply prep from source
> (rpmbuild -bp kernel.spec)
> and then cd to ~/rpmbuild/BUILD/kernel-2.6.35.10-74/linux-2.6.35.i686,
> copy my current kernel's config file to .config, run
> make oldconfig and
> male all
> and that does it.
> The new config file inherits my enabled drivers selections.
>   
It does inherits old settings and it also does include new ones, but it 
doesn't always work as I found with the .34 and .35 files.

To me, the oldconfig target needs to be modified so that when I copy my 
.34 (i.e. old) config and then run "make oldconfig" all options 
(old+new) are merged AND the resultant .config file is used - unmodified 
- as a basis for the "rpmbuild -bb" command.

Whether 'stacking'  of all previous config files happens is only 
relevant during the execution of oldmenuconfig (there is another version 
of oldconfig called silentoldconfig which resolves the dependencies as 
well - I found this a couple of hours ago while messing about with the 
make targets), but such stacking should not happen once the target 
.config file is built. My opinion, of course.