diff --git a/arch/i386/Kconfig b/arch/i386/Kconfig
index f9524933258a..f16a46e8849c 100644
--- a/arch/i386/Kconfig
+++ b/arch/i386/Kconfig
@@ -1228,6 +1228,11 @@ menuconfig INSTRUMENTATION
 	bool "Instrumentation Support"
 	depends on EXPERIMENTAL
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options related to performance measurement,
+	  debugging, and testing. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if INSTRUMENTATION
 
diff --git a/drivers/atm/Kconfig b/drivers/atm/Kconfig
index bed9f58c2d5a..b554edac1ced 100644
--- a/drivers/atm/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/atm/Kconfig
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ menuconfig ATM_DRIVERS
 	bool "ATM drivers"
 	depends on NETDEVICES && ATM
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for Asynchronous Transfer Mode
+	  device drivers. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if ATM_DRIVERS && NETDEVICES && ATM
 
diff --git a/drivers/auxdisplay/Kconfig b/drivers/auxdisplay/Kconfig
index de2fcce10ba5..043353bd0600 100644
--- a/drivers/auxdisplay/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/auxdisplay/Kconfig
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
 menuconfig AUXDISPLAY
 	depends on PARPORT
 	bool "Auxiliary Display support"
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for auxiliary display drivers.
+	  This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if AUXDISPLAY && PARPORT
 
diff --git a/drivers/block/Kconfig b/drivers/block/Kconfig
index a4a311992408..ef32e977d307 100644
--- a/drivers/block/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/block/Kconfig
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ menuconfig BLK_DEV
 	bool "Block devices"
 	depends on BLOCK
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for various different block device
+	  drivers. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled;
+	  only do this if you know what you are doing.
 
 if BLK_DEV
 
diff --git a/drivers/crypto/Kconfig b/drivers/crypto/Kconfig
index 84ebfcc1ffb4..c0fc4aeb8596 100644
--- a/drivers/crypto/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/crypto/Kconfig
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 menuconfig CRYPTO_HW
 	bool "Hardware crypto devices"
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for hardware crypto devices and
+	  processors. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if CRYPTO_HW
 
diff --git a/drivers/hid/Kconfig b/drivers/hid/Kconfig
index 3b63b0b78122..19667fcc722a 100644
--- a/drivers/hid/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/hid/Kconfig
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ menuconfig HID_SUPPORT
 	bool "HID Devices"
 	depends on INPUT
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for various computer-human interface
+	  device drivers. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if HID_SUPPORT
 
diff --git a/drivers/kvm/Kconfig b/drivers/kvm/Kconfig
index 6cecc396e040..7b64fd4aa2f3 100644
--- a/drivers/kvm/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/kvm/Kconfig
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ menuconfig VIRTUALIZATION
 	bool "Virtualization"
 	depends on X86
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for virtualization guest drivers.
+	  This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if VIRTUALIZATION
 
diff --git a/drivers/macintosh/Kconfig b/drivers/macintosh/Kconfig
index dbe96268866e..56cd8998fe4b 100644
--- a/drivers/macintosh/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/macintosh/Kconfig
@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@ menuconfig MACINTOSH_DRIVERS
 	bool "Macintosh device drivers"
 	depends on PPC || MAC || X86
 	default y if (PPC_PMAC || MAC)
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for devices used with Macintosh
+	  computers. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if MACINTOSH_DRIVERS
 
diff --git a/drivers/misc/Kconfig b/drivers/misc/Kconfig
index 518d5d335464..a26655881e6a 100644
--- a/drivers/misc/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/misc/Kconfig
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@
 menuconfig MISC_DEVICES
 	bool "Misc devices"
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for device drivers from various
+	  different categories. This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if MISC_DEVICES
 
diff --git a/drivers/net/Kconfig b/drivers/net/Kconfig
index 81ef81c9a584..5b9e17bf1749 100644
--- a/drivers/net/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/net/Kconfig
@@ -1968,6 +1968,16 @@ menuconfig NETDEV_1000
 	bool "Ethernet (1000 Mbit)"
 	depends on !UML
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Ethernet (also called IEEE 802.3 or ISO 8802-2) is the most common
+	  type of Local Area Network (LAN) in universities and companies.
+
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for Gigabit Ethernet drivers.
+	  This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+	  Note that drivers supporting both 100 and 1000 MBit may be listed
+	  under "Ethernet (10 or 100MBit)" instead.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if NETDEV_1000
 
@@ -2339,6 +2349,11 @@ menuconfig NETDEV_10000
 	bool "Ethernet (10000 Mbit)"
 	depends on !UML
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  Say Y here to get to see options for 10 Gigabit Ethernet drivers.
+	  This option alone does not add any kernel code.
+
+	  If you say N, all options in this submenu will be skipped and disabled.
 
 if NETDEV_10000
 
diff --git a/drivers/usb/Kconfig b/drivers/usb/Kconfig
index 7dd73546bf43..63436892688c 100644
--- a/drivers/usb/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/usb/Kconfig
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ menuconfig USB_SUPPORT
 	bool "USB support"
 	depends on HAS_IOMEM
 	default y
+	---help---
+	  This option adds core support for Universal Serial Bus (USB).
+	  You will also need drivers from the following menu to make use of it.
 
 if USB_SUPPORT