nVidia drivers in Slackware 8

[hecresper]

Non-Slackware users need not read further! Thank you!

Ok,

I downloaded the Linux quake binaries from idsoftware's site. I followed the instructions on the Quake HOWTO to install Quake 2. It was very easy to do it this way. Now Quake 2 only runs in software mode, even if I pick gl or glx with +set vidref gl...

So, I went ahead and downloaded the NVIDIA_GLX and NVIDIA_kernel tar files. I followed the easy instructions on how to install the nVidia drivers. Well, it didn't work! I got a message saying that insmod failed trying to load the nvidia.so or something like that. Why is it that these drivers do not require us to use './configure' and 'make' before doing 'make install'? I thought that was weird.

So, if you're using Slackware 8 and you've successfully got the nVidia drivers to work, I would like to hear from you.

PLEASE!!! :) Thank you!

[hecresper]

When I run: /sbin/modprobe nvidia

I get the following:

/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: unresolved symbol __global_cli
/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: unresolved symbol tqueue_lock
/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: unresolved symbol __global_sav
e_flags
/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: unresolved symbol __global_res
tore_flags
/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: unresolved symbol smp_num_cpus
/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: insmod /lib/modules/2.4.5/kern
el/drivers/video/nvidia.o failed
/lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o: insmod nvidia failed

Hope this helps! Thanks again!

[bwkaz]

The drivers don't require a ./configure because nVidia decided that they didn't need to configure the drivers for different systems. The only thing configure scripts do in normal packages is adapt the package for compiling on different flavors of Unix -- and since the nVidia drivers are Linux-only (well, FreeBSD too now, but those are a separate package), they don't need to adapt anything.

You don't need a make before a make install, because when you do a make install, the Makefile specifies that nvidia.o (the only interesting file that a normal "make" would create) should be created before running the install target's steps. Many packages are set up like this as well -- you don't strictly have to do a make first, because a make install will run the make stuff first. But some of them don't do that, so that's why most of the time, you run make, then make install.

Those "unresolved symbol" errors are caused by (regardless of distro) a mismatch between the kernel that's running when you did "modprobe nvidia", and the kernel source configuration that was set up when you compiled the NVIDIA_kernel package. uname -r tells you 2.4.5, right? Was linux-2.4.5 (or kernel-source-2.4.5) installed in /usr/src/linux when you ran make install on the NVIDIA_kernel package? If so, was it configured with the same options your running kernel was configured with? I think one of those questions will be answered "no", and that's the problem you're seeing.

[hecresper]

Thanks for the explanation of nVidia's way with their drivers. Last nite, I downloaded the kernel 2.4.20 source tarball and I'll be compiling my own kernel for the very first time. I hope everything goes well. Then I'll tackle the nVidia drivers.

You're right! Something is totally different between the running kernel and what's in the /usr/src/linux directory. What? I don't know. I spent a few hours on irc.openprojects.net and the first thing someone said: "have you compiled your own kernel?" :)

Thanks,
Hector

[hecresper]

Wait a minute!

Slackware 8.0 comes with 2 kernels:

2.2.19 and 2.4.5

During installation, I picked to install both kernels and both of their respective source trees. The system is using kernel version 2.2.19 as default. There's a symlink in /usr/src/ that points linux to the source tree of the 2.2.19 kernel. If everything is in place, then why is the nVidia driver install failing? I should be able to make it work with what I have. This is very odd.

Any comments?

[bwkaz]

Supposedly, the drivers work with 2.2 kernels, but I've seen some people have problems with them. I'd make sure you have the ability to run a 2.4 kernel (by booting to 2.4.5 once), then compile 2.4.20 yourself, like you were planning on doing. Make sure you boot into it before trying the nVidia drivers -- I know it sounds obvious, but I've made that mistake quite a few times.

Once you're running a kernel you compiled yourself, the drivers become a piece of cake -- you always will have the kernel source installed.

[hecresper]

Ok,

I did something totally different. I ended up installing Slackware 8.1 which comes with only one kernel: 2.4.18. I was told at irc.openprojects.net that nothing needs to be done to the source tree to install the nVidia drivers. I should be able to follow the instructions from nVidia. If something does go wrong, they suggested I do a 'make dep' inside the source tree. I'll try to get to it tonite, but somehow I doubt that'll be the case.

I'll keep everyone posted.

[hecresper]

Finally! Quake 2 has come to my Linux!

I installed Slackware 8.1, downloaded the nVidia drivers, installed them as instructed, download the icculus.org q2 install script, mounted the q2 cdrom, ran the script. Voila! Quake 2 is up and running!

Im a happy camper! So to speak! I don't camp! But you know what I mean! ;)