/var/log/messages, which you can examine with a text editor. If you
have followed the directions for patching the kernel, you need to examine a
special error log as well. Do not worry about most errors because many
problems are easily fixed with some research on your part. Some errors may
be unfixable, however, depending on your skill level and the availability of
technical information.
Errors During Compile
Although it is rare that the kernel will not compile, there is always a chance
that something has slipped though the regression testing. Let’s take a look at
an example of a problem that might crop up during the compile.
It is possible that the kernel compile may crash and not complete successfully,
especially if you attempt to use experimental patches, add untested features,
or build newer and perhaps unstable modules on an older system.
At this juncture, you have two options:
Fix the errors and recompile.
Remove the offending module or option and wait for the errors to be
fixed by the kernel team.Most users will be unable to fix some errors because of the complexity of the
kernel code, although you should not rule out this option. It is possible that
someone else discovered the same error during testing of the kernel and
developed a patch for the problem, so you can check the Linux kernel mailing
list archive. If the problem is not mentioned there, a search on Google might
turn up something.
The second option, removing the code, is the easiest and is what most people
do in cases in which the offending code is not required. In the case of the
NTFS module failing, it is almost expected because NTFS support is still
considered experimental and subject to errors. This is primarily because the
code for the file system is reverse-engineered instead of implemented via
documented standards. Read-only support has gotten better in recent kernels;
write support is still experimental.
Finally, if you want to take on the task of trying to fix the problem yourself,
this is a great opportunity to get involved with the Linux kernel and make a
contribution that could help many others.
If you are knowledgeable about coding and kernel matters, you might want to
look in the Maintainers file in the /usr/src/linux-4.1/ directory
of the kernel source and find the maintainer of the code. The recommended