recompiling a linux kernel

i have been trying to learn how to recompile a linux kernel on Red Hat Linux 7.0..i went through all the steps..but before i make any move i thought i will first get all my questions answered..i took the following steps
step1: i made all the changes using the command , make xconfig.
step2: ran the command make dep
step3: ran the command make clean
step4: ran the command make modules

now this is where i have a doubt..i want to use my newly compiled kernel aswell as the old one..however when i run the command "make modules_install" i know that all my modules in
/lib/modules/2.2.16-22 will be replaced by new ones..i plan to edit lilo.conf to give me a menu to choose from the two kernels..now i know that my new kernel will boot,under the assumption that i did run "make modules_install" and then i did everything necessary to boot the new kernel...however if i choose the old kernel from the lilo menu wont i have problems to boot the old kernel since its modules were replaced by the "make modules_install" command while creating the new kernel?
if so how will i make arrangement for both, the old and the new,kernels to boot without failure as per my choice?

with regards
scorpion

been a long time since i messed with the kernal, but isn't make xconfig for the xserver???

I believe there is something in the kernal that tells what modules to load. So even if you add new modules, I don't think they will load with the old kernal. As far as updated modules, there shouldn't be a problem with that, because they should be backward compatable.

I could be wrong though. Like I said, I haven't messed with the kernal to much in a looong time.

When you build the new kernel image, compile it under a different name. That way, you will not overwrite the old kernel image and you can simply edit lilo.conf to add a second boot option to boot to the new kernel. That way, if something goes wrong, restart the box and select the old kernel image again at the lilo boot manager screen

If you are doubtful, why not try copying the modules directory under a new name and using it in make to place new modules there?