Compiling the Linux Kernel on Redhat 7.1

Compiling the Linux Kernel on Redhat 7.1

This page describes how to install the latest Linux version 2.4 kernel on Redhat 7.1. In particular, it describes how to compile the official kernel sources with Redhat's default configuration.


It can be quite tricky for a typical Linux user to configure the official linux kernel source from to work with Redhat. For example, I once compiled a kernel that didn't work with my sound card. The best way to avoid such headaches is to get the kernel source config file from the Redhat source RPM, and to use this config with the official kernel source from The following instructions outline how this can be done. I suggest using this guide as a supplement to the usual documentation, not as a replacement.

  1. Download the Sources
  2. Configure
  3. Compile the kernel and modules
  4. Install your new kernel
  5. Try it out.
  6. Now you can reboot your system and choose the new kernel at the lilo prompt. If everything works, you can run "make mrproper" in the source directory or delete it entirely to make space. Delete the old kernel if you're absolutely certain you won't be needing it, updating /etc/lilo.conf as appropriate.