Custom kernel creation error

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Hi everyone,
I got an Ubuntu certified laptop that has never been able to run a distribution in a decent way because it freezed casually. I tried Debian, Pop!_OS, Ubuntu and now OpenSuse Leap.
The laptop is a Dell Vostro 3520, I do not think it may have hardware problems due to the fact that in the bios I have run the system scan and I got no errors at all in each single component.
I though a brand new custom Kernel like the “6.10.2” could have solved some hardware incompatibilities but when I created it i got this error:

make[1]: *** [/home/master_of_the_ice24/MyKernels/linux-6.10.2/Makefile:1934: .] Error 2
make: *** [Makefile:240: __sub-make] Error 2

This is the procedure that WORKED on my other Manjaro laptop:

  1. create the “MyKernels” folder into the home one
  2. Download the kernel 6.10.2
  3. Decompress the kernel folder
  4. Enter it
  5. run “make menuconfig -j12” and create the “.config” file
  6. run “make -j12 && sudo make modules_install -j12”

Could anybody tell me how to fix? Or my hardware is already known as incompatible?

P.S. I do not want Windows again :smiling_face_with_tear:

2

What specific hardware incompatibilities are you running into?

It would also be useful to understand a few things - where you got the kernel source from, how you install the kernel source, what command you ran to build it…you’ve only shown the output, but the command you ran is also important.

It also would be useful to know what development packages you’ve installed.

3

if it’s just from scratch “.config” file, I’d take instead .config from a running OS (or from its distribution repo), copy it to kernel src root and then start menuconfig to change what’s needed

4

As hardware incompatibilities I found many many times the error of “lwiwifi” and in every distro I tried the screen freezed casually.

I took the kernel 6.10.2 from “https://www.kernel.org/” and I put it in a folder, after entering the folder I run 2 commands, the first to create the “.config” file and the other to compile the kernel. Here are they:

make menuconfig -j12
make -j12 && sudo make modules_install -j12

here is the list with the development packages installed:

i+ | devel_basis          | Base Development                                      | pattern
i+ | devel_C_C++          | C/C++ Development                                     | pattern
   | devel_gnome          | GNOME Development                                     | pattern
   | devel_java           | Java Development                                      | pattern
   | devel_kde_frameworks | KDE Frameworks and Plasma Development                 | pattern
   | devel_kernel         | Linux Kernel Development                              | pattern
   | devel_mono           | .NET Development                                      | pattern
   | devel_osc_build      | Tools for Packaging with Open Build Service           | pattern
   | devel_perl           | Perl Development                                      | pattern
   | devel_python3        | Python 3 Developement                                 | pattern
   | devel_qt5            | Qt 5 Development                                      | pattern
   | devel_qt6            | Qt 6 Development                                      | pattern
   | devel_rpm_build      | RPM Build Environment                                 | pattern
   | devel_ruby           | Ruby Development                                      | pattern
   | devel_tcl            | Tcl/Tk Development                                    | pattern
   | devel_vulkan         | Vulkan Development                                    | pattern
   | devel_web            | Web Development                                       | pattern
   | devel_yast           | YaST Development                                      | pattern
5

Oh, you’re just building kernel modules?

You likely will need devel_kernel as well. If it were me, though, I’d look for the lwiwifi modules as an optional kernel modules package.

What is the wifi controller in the system?

Hangs are something that shouldn’t be happening - if that happens with the openSUSE kernel, you should report that as a bug so it can be addressed - that would be better than building and maintaining your own kernel every time there’s a new kernel release.

6

Just tried to get devel_kernel and recompiling but nothing, it always blocks at that damn error

7

@master_of_the_ice24 there was some recent work on the iwlwifi module and backporting of fixes, I suggest your have a read here and test;

Also for the kernel config use zcat /proc/config.gz > config to grab direct from the running kernel…

8

I tried zcat but i got always the error

9

@master_of_the_ice24 Is that when you have booted to an openSUSE kernel?

10

Using Pop!_OS before I have never tried to create a custom kernel since System76 provides a pretty new kernel version, I can only say I have had this error on OpenSUSE Leap. Talking about the screen freezings I have had them in every distro I have installed

11

@master_of_the_ice24 so what graphicxs gpu do you have;

/sbin/lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "VGA|Display|3D"
12

this:

master_of_the_ice24@opensuse ~> /sbin/lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "VGA|Display|3D"
0000:00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-UP3 GT2 [UHD Graphics] [8086:4628] (rev 0c)
        Subsystem: Dell Device [1028:0b94]
        Kernel driver in use: i915
        Kernel modules: i915
13

@master_of_the_ice24 and your on the 6.4 kernel?

Add a file called /etc/modprobe.d/50-intel-i915.conf and in that file add;

options i915 nuclear_pageflip=Y

Then run dracut -f --regenerate-all reboot and test.

14

@malcolmlewis I tried 2 times: the first time it freezed so i rebooted, the second one I got the same error

15

@master_of_the_ice24 ok, so remove and run the dracut command again. I would suggest a bug report as there maybe some backporting required for the i915 (or Xe) driver, If you run lsmod | grep i915 is xe present?

Edit: when you say error, as in the freeze, or some output?

16

@malcolmlewis as error I mean the kernel compling failure, the freeze is literally a separated problem I have been having since I bought the laptop and installed GNU/Linux.

the “i915” driver seems present:

opensuse:/home/master_of_the_ice24/MyKernels/linux-6.10.2 # lsmod | grep i915 
i915                 4141056  32
i2c_algo_bit           20480  1 i915
drm_buddy              20480  1 i915
ttm                   102400  1 i915
drm_display_helper    225280  1 i915
cec                    86016  2 drm_display_helper,i915
video                  77824  3 dell_wmi,dell_laptop,i915
17

@master_of_the_ice24 you need to be working with the default Leap 15.6 kernel, else not much I can help with.

18

If you want the 6.10.2 kernel - try the bootable Tumbleweed as it has 6.10.2 as the new default kernel. If it works use the parameters that Tumbleweed used to make 6.10.2 on Leap.

19

See if the kernel 6.10.2 works could cost me days or minutes it depends due to the fact that freezes sometimes appear after installed and tested the system and other times after days…but I will give it a try. If it didn’t work the only thing I can do is try FreeBSD knowing that hardware support is not good.

20

I managed to install Kernel 6.10.2, the problem was due to some not installed libraries and using multiple threads for compiling (-j12) I was not informed of every errore but just the last (make errorr 240).
I still do not of the new kernel will fix my issues but if it does i will be updating the post by 10-15 days.