Comment 18 for bug 67734

I compiled a pristine 2.16.18.2 kernel using the config file used by Ubuntu Edgy 2.6.17 kernel; the only option I changed in the config menu was selectin optimisation for Athlon. There were no nasty surprises during compilation, and everything worked fine the first time.

I unplugged the USB hub and plugged my wireless mouse/keyboard combo directly into a USB port and rebooted. My computer booted the new kernel just fine, and unlike Edgy's 2.6.17, it reached GDM with a fully functional mouse and keyboard, which was already an improvement on the previous situation (reaching GDM with BOTH already locked).

The system has ran for a whole day, and I have been using it for about three hours with no mouse or keyboard lockups happening.

What I don't know is what functionality have I given up by not running Ubuntu's kernel. What patches have they added to 2.6.17 that are absent from 2.6.18.2?

Unfortunately not everything works OK off the bat:

    * NTFS-3g works OK (an advantage of user-mode drivers).

    * ALSA does not work, and sound is output via the OSS driver, so there is no mixer and only one app can use sound at any one time.

    * The nVidia proprietary driver needs to be recompiled (which I have not done yet) and for some reason the open-source nvidia driver does not go further than 1024x768.

    * The built-in ethernet works fine, but my Ralink PCI wifi card does not.

    * The system activity monitor reports only one processor (just like with Edgy's 2.6.17, actually), so I think the system is half as fast as it could be.

More testing is really necessary, but right now it seems as though the kernel hackers have done their job and the problem is fixed upstream. Now the ball is in Ubuntu's court, and the fixes should be identified and backported to Edgy's and Dapper's kernels. I would be willing to help if I only knew where to start.

By the way, is there anybody listening to this thread beyond the damnified?