Comment 3 for bug 250511

https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/250511

We want to encourage everyone to use ubuntu-bug for reporting kernel bugs so
that you get better quality reports, and this bug results in confusing noise
in every such report.

The basic problem is that the linux-image packages ship a copy of all of the
files generated by depmod. These are, of course, immediately overwritten
when the package is installed, because depmod is run from the postinst
script. Files which are included in the .deb should not be modified after
installation: this leads to programs like apport and debsums noticing that
the package's files have been modified and showing a warning or error to the
user, e.g.:

Package: linux-image-2.6.26-4-generic 2.6.26-4.11 [modified: lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.pcimap lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.dep lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.ieee1394map lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.usbmap lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.isapnpmap lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.inputmap lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.seriomap lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.alias lib/modules/2.6.26-4-generic/modules.symbols]

debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.pcimap
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.dep
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.ieee1394map
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.usbmap
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.isapnpmap
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.inputmap
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.seriomap
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.alias
debsums: checksum mismatch linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic file /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/modules.symbols

The cause seems to be that depmod is run during the build, via
debian/rules.d/2-binary-arch.mk. Does anyone know why this is done?

> /sbin/depmod -b debian/linux-image-$(abi_release)-$$sub \
> -ea -F debian/linux-image-$(abi_release)-$$sub/boot/System.map-$(abi_release)-$* \
> $(abi_release)-$*; \

--
 - mdz