User:Pietinger/Experimental/Manual Configuring Kernel Version 6.8

Note
Even though this page is in the user namespace, corrections and additions are much appreciated! This is simply wiki policy, this page can be moved to the main wiki as soon as it achieves critical mass ^more.

Manual Configuring Kernel Version 6.8

I wrote this article because some Gentoo users want try the new Experimental driver for Intel Xe series GPUs which needs at least Linux kernel 6.8.

Dropped in 6.8

These options have been removed in 6.8:

CONFIG_SLAB_DEPRECATED
CONFIG_BPFILTER
CONFIG_MD_LINEAR
CONFIG_MD_MULTIPATH
and some unimportant device drivers

Upgrade from 6.6

Please read User:Pietinger/Experimental/Manual_Configuring_Kernel_Version_6.7#Upgrade_from_6.6 and then the following chapter:

Upgrade from 6.7

If you do the make oldconfig there are only a few questions where you cannot simply accept the default via <return> but the first one you really should accept:

Allow writing to mounted block devices (BLK_DEV_WRITE_MOUNTED) [Y/n/?] (NEW)

Also here it took the default we already have:

Transparent Hugepage Support sysfs defaults
  > 2. madvise (TRANSPARENT_HUGEPAGE_MADVISE)

If you have an Intel Lunar Lake CPU enable this:

Intel pinctrl and GPIO platform driver (PINCTRL_INTEL_PLATFORM) [N/y/?] (NEW)

If you have an Intel MeteorPoint enable this:

Intel Meteor Point pinctrl and GPIO driver (PINCTRL_METEORPOINT) [N/y/?] (NEW)

New Installation

Please configure according to the instructions of User:Pietinger/Tutorials/Manual_Configuring_Kernel_Version_6.6. Please read then: User:Pietinger/Experimental/Manual_Configuring_Kernel_Version_6.7#New_Installation

In the default configuration of 6.8 you will get now CONFIG_INTEL_MEI and CONFIG_INTEL_MEI_ME enabled by default ... maybe because there is a new CONFIG_INTEL_MEI_WDT you will find here:

KERNEL Kernels 6.8

Device Drivers  --->
    [*] Watchdog Timer Support  --->
        - -   Intel MEI iAMT Watchdog

Decide yourself if you want it - I dont like them (and dont need them)... and maybe you want read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine

Experimental driver for Intel Xe series GPUs

You will find it here:

KERNEL Kernels 6.8

Device Drivers  --->
    Graphics support  --->
        [*] Intel Xe Graphics

If you dont see it, then you have disabled the [ ] Enable loadable module support (like me) and then you need additionally KUNIT:

KERNEL Kernels 6.8

Kernel hacking  --->
    Kernel Testing and Coverage  --->
        [*] KUnit - Enable support for unit tests