From: eLinux.org
Android Kernel Installation
How to use a new kernel with the emulator or on a product.
In general, this will be very product-specific.
Contents
With the G1/ADP1
On the ADP1, you can boot using a specific kernel using fastboot, which
will send it to the board as part of the bootup sequence. Specify the
kernel as one of the parameters to the ‘fastboot boot’ option. See
http://www.gotontheinter.net/content/fastboot-cheat-sheet
for details.
Installing a boot image
You can create a “boot” image directly, and install that to the boot or
recovery flash partition manually. This can be done either using a
running kernel or using fastboot.
See these instructions for doing that:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
Also, you can install the kernel into a recovery image, and install the
recovery image using the system recovery procedure.
With the emulator
You can specify the kernel to use with the emulator using the ‘-kernel’
command line option.
There are some interesting notes about using the emulator without
specifying a AVD file at:
http://groups.google.com/group/android-platform/browse_thread/thread/591290fde1e9865a
On a board using an SDCARD
OMAP EVM
For an OMAP EVM, using the Android image available from Mistral, place a
new uImage on the SDCARD at the root the vfat partition. The bootloader
will run the commands (from where??) to load the uImage and boot it.
Note that for the OMAP EVM, you need to have the board configured to
boot from sdcard, rather than from flash.