Kernel compile

[patrick]

It's been a few years sense I been on here. I usually figure things out on my own. I recently decided to recompile my testing kernel. Something I haven't done in a number of years. Well while I was doing basic research to decide how I was going to go about it. When I started digging. I realized there are plenty of helpful tips online including a few on this forum. Well none of them say what to remove. Yes I am well aware nobody can fully say what to take out. Yet there does seem to be several parts most of us don't need.
My question is. Do I need scsi at all? How about kernel hacking? Several other pieces I was unsure about. Like i2c Dallas 1wire.
I googled lots and even google what's safe to remove from kernel. All I got was how to remove a kernel from grub etc...

Basic tips for myself and others would help. I like recompiling I just don't want the junk I don't and won't need.

[Bulkley]

patrick, why do you want to recompile? This is not a frivolous question. Make notes of your reasons and what you hope to accomplish. Those will be the things you want to remove or add.

If you just want a souped up desktop kernel try one from Liquorix.

Liquorix is a distro kernel replacement built using the best configuration and kernel sources for desktop, multimedia, and gaming workloads.

A long time ago I compiled my own. It's a great exercise and I learned a lot (which I've since forgotten) and I heartily recommend it. Nevertheless I found Liquorix and never look back. Presently, on my desktop I'm running 4.11.0-2.2-liquorix-amd64 which works well on my thoroughly outdated machine.

[Bulkley]

patrick, one more word of advice. You probably think the same way but here goes. Always keep a spare kernel loaded on your machine. When you install your new one make sure the old one stays in place and that Grub has it listed. It can save you a lot of trouble when you tweak something that doesn't work. (I learned this one the hard way.) As always, back up anything important.

[patrick]

Bulkley
Thank you for replying.
I honestly don't have any reason to compile my own kernel. By most standards it's a huge waiste of time. Everything works perfectly fine. I just don't feel I need to have my computer loading every driver or firmware I don't have a piece of hardware for. A basic recompile stripping out video cards I don't have. Shaves off my boot times. Removing basically everything I don't own. Will speed up my start time.
It's personal preference. I also like Debian and don't usually stray from the standard distro. I think remixes are good for the community as a whole. Just not for me. In the past I've grabbed kernels from the dev site. Because I needed newer hardware support. This time I don't.
I'm sure the kernel you suggested is great. I want absolutely minimal. No need to have all the extra hanging out.

[patrick]

Oh and yes. I always have several kernels installed. I run testing. Usually pull kernels from unstable. Because I can. So one testing and one unstable all the time. Now my own recompile just because.

[pendrachken]

Bulkley
Thank you for replying.
I honestly don't have any reason to compile my own kernel. By most standards it's a huge waiste of time. Everything works perfectly fine. I just don't feel I need to have my computer loading every driver or firmware I don't have a piece of hardware for. A basic recompile stripping out video cards I don't have. Shaves off my boot times. Removing basically everything I don't own. Will speed up my start time.
It's personal preference. I also like Debian and don't usually stray from the standard distro. I think remixes are good for the community as a whole. Just not for me. In the past I've grabbed kernels from the dev site. Because I needed newer hardware support. This time I don't.
I'm sure the kernel you suggested is great. I want absolutely minimal. No need to have all the extra hanging out.

A modular kernel doesn't do this, and Debian ( mostly ) builds modular kernels.

You only load the drivers and modules needed for the hardware you have, while the rest of the modules sit and take up a few MB of disk space ( not enough to really even notice, except in the cases of ridiculously space restricted embedded systems ). The space taken by the modules that aren't used is less than the space needed for 1 second of moderate quality 720P video.

[patrick]

I am not looking to save space.
I'm looking to remove items that are not needed in booting up my system. The few items I removed with my first custom 1.0 has shaved off several seconds of boot time.