kernel .config at install time

["Brady, Richard" <rbrady qwest com>]

Greetings,

Just installed RH 7.2 on a compaq box.  Want to trim kernel to support
IPTables, and not much else.  Problem:  intall didn't give me the initial
.config, and without it, I don't have the existing kernel settings for
system components.  None I've contacted (kernelnewbies.org and Oskar
Andreasson-author of very nice iptables howto) is aware of a tool that takes
a kernel as input and dumps a .config file as output (oh that would be
nice.)  Only other possibilities I can think of are:

1.  Find some tool (kickstart?) that will allow me to tell installer to dump
an initial .config
2.  Ask RH to bundle their "system analyzer" into a package or toolset to be
used on a live system and have it dump a .config file

Anyone able to give input on the above 2 ideas?  Any other ideas?  Seems
rediculous that I would have to go play the pick/guess game to re-create
something the OS has already done.  The installer figured out what the
kernel options should be.  I should not be required to repeat the effort.

Any response is appreciated.

Thanks,

Rick