Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Solution
This is easier than it sounds, thanks to some very powerful scripts.
WARNING
Be sure to run this recipe on your host computer. The Bone has enough computational power to
compile a module or two, but compiling the entire kernel takes lots of time and resourses.
Downloading and Compiling the Kernel
To download and compile the kernel, follow these steps:
host$ git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/bb-kernel.git
host$
cd
bb-kernel
host$ git tag
host$ git checkout 3.8.13-bone60 -b v3.8.13-bone60
host$ ./build_kernel.sh
The first command clones a repository with the tools to build the kernel for the Bone.
This command lists all the different versions of the kernel that you can build. You'll
need to pick one of these. How do you know which one to pick? A good first step is
to choose the one you are currently running.
uname -a
will reveal which one that
is. When you are able to reproduce the current kernel, go to
Linux Kernel Newbies
to
see what features are available in other kernels.
LinuxChanges
shows the features in
the newest kernel and
LinuxVersions
links to features of pervious kernels.
When you know which kernel to try, use
git checkout
to check it out. This com-
mand checks out at tag
3.8.13-bone60
and creates a new branch,
v3.8.13-bone60
.
