another newbie

[Geoff Shang]

Hi Ron:

Questions are good.  Then we know what to tell you.

Lets tackle the kernel first.  You will want a kernel source from
kernel.org or somesuch place that looks something like
linux-2.2.14.tar.gz.  Don't get the 2.3 tree unless you're particularly
adventurous ... oh and if you don't want speakup to work <grin>.  Kernels
prior to 2.2.7 won't work with speakup either so unless 2.2.15 has come out
by the time you go to get it, it's best to get 2.2.14.  If you know how to
use bzip2 and have it installed, then you can get the bz2 file, otherwise
get the tar.gz file.  It will be aproximately 14 meg.  Untar it into your
/usr/src directory, such that it creates a /usr/src/linux directory.  You
will also need to grab speakup-0.08.tar.gz from
ftp.braille.uwo.ca/pub/linux/speakup so that you can patch it into your
kernel.

For reading matter, take a look at the README in the kernel source.  Also
take a poke around in the Documentation subdirectory, and if your
super-caucious like I was, you can even read the entire configure.help file
there too which lists all the help text for the kernel configuration
procedure.  It's a good read if you don't know what you must have.  There
is also a kernel howto on the linux documentation project
(www.linuxdoc.org) which you might also want to read.  Also check out the
hardware howto plus any others that pertain to your hardware.

Untar the speakup patch into /usr/src which will make a speakup-0.08
directory.  Then issue the command (from /usr/src):

patch -p0 <speakup-0.08/speakup-0.08-patch

All hunks except the MIPS one should take.  If you get more errors then, to
paraphrase Linus, either you or I have gotten something wrong.

Go into /usr/src/linux and type "make config".  Set aside some time to do
this, as you will be asked a plethora of questions.  You will be prompted
about network hardware and you should be able to find your card.  If you
plan to use the ALSA sound drivers (recommended in my opinion), say
"yes" to sound support but don't say "yes" to any other sound questions.

After you've answered all this, type the following:

make dep
make clean
make bzImage (note the capital I)
make modules
make modules_install

What you do next depends on the way your distribution does things and which
university you went to.  I personally type "make bzlilo" and am done with
it.  Others move the resultant image by hand.  Still others do other things
that I can't think of at present.  Perhaps other people using your
distribution can comment on this.

OK, you should be ready to reboot.  Hold your breath and type "restart".

I've gotta run so I'll answer the rest of your questions later unless
someone beats me to it.

Geoff.