I normally do the kernel configuration on my machine like this - * copy the distro configuration file to the kernel dir * make menuconfig (answer Y's/N's/M's) Normally keep return key pressed for default answers * then do the actual kernel compilation Now, I know that this is not a clean way to do the kernel compilation (although it has worked for me for thousands of times that I have compiled and successfully booted up with the kernel - without any issues - whatsoever !) But this time , I am bent upon coming up with a configuration specifically targeted to my machine. What is the best way to do this ? Also, while creating a initrd image # mkinitrd /boot/initramfs.img 3.8.0-rc3+ -f ERROR: modinfo: could not find module ipt_MASQUERADE ERROR: modinfo: could not find module iptable_nat ERROR: modinfo: could not find module nf_nat ERROR: modinfo: could not find module snd_hda_codec_intelhdmi ERROR: modinfo: could not find module joydev I got the above errors - I know how to resolve these errors , but want to understand why in the first place mkinitrd should complain in the first place ?? Thanks list for help for all these years. -- Shraddha