Before the steps in this document can be applied, the reader must have a working Linux installation in which one can get to the Linux prompt as user root since the majority of the steps involved can only be undertaken by the said user.
The existing kernel may be compiled either to use modules or not to use modules, and can even display error messages during the boot-up procedure as a result of modules being configured which aren't available at the moment, providing the above condition is met.
The source tree for the current kernel is assumed to be found rooted at /usr/src/linux and that is also assumed to be the current directory throughout this document at the start of any sequence of commands to be issued.