Kernel Compilation & Installation on Ubuntu - KernelCheck

If you’ve ever tried compile a linux kernel yourself you know the headache of configuring and taking care of dependencies. KernelCheck makes this a point and click process for debian based linux distributions such as Ubuntu. You can use it to compile and install any 2.6.* stable kernel as well as the bleeding edge.

KernelCheck even offers custom compilation options such as including kernel patches or rolling in proprietary video drivers. A tutorial (PDF) is also provided so you can see what you’re getting yourself into.

KernelCheck is a graphical user interface program designed to make the kernel-compiling process as easy as the click of a button. A kernel is the base of any operating system – in our case, the Linux operating system.

KernelCheck will fetch the latest information from http://www.kernel.org, which hosts the source packages for the Linux kernel, and ask the user which one they would like to compile into a .deb package (with the option of installing the kernel after the compilation). This automated process is a fork of AutoKernel by Robert Wolterman (xtacocorex), Timothy Janssen (mentok), and Kristof Verbeken (PingunZ). KernelCheck is currently licensed under the GNU Public License version 3.

Installation:
   1. Download the KernelCheck source here.
   2. Unpack the archive: tar -xzf kernelcheck-*.tar.gz
   3. Install KernelCheck

      cd kernelcheck-*
      sudo python setup.py install

   4. Use it: sudo kernelcheck

The basic things the program will show you are:
   1. Your running kernel
   2. The latest kernel
   3. The latest kernel patch

Now on to building the kernel. Under Kernel Patch Options, select the option that you wish to use. Unless you know what you're doing, I strongly recommend using the default selected.

Under Advanced Options, you can choose whether you want to configure the kernel options, reconfigure the X server, and install an nVidia module. The nVidia option will remove any nVidia-related packages, any binary version installed, and install the latest one. This will remove nVidia support for older kernels until you run the binary file in /usr/src with the -K option with every new kernel you use, not compiled with KernelCheck. It is strongly recommended that you configure the kernel options yourself, mainly to make sure your hardware is supported. Now to build the kernel, all you have to do is go to Program > Build New Kernel.