NVdriver missing?

[xedx]

maybe im dumb or something but I tried everything I can find about installing the drivers from nvidia.com but even compiling cant push through. One more thing that is weird is when I do a RPM -ivh on the NVidia kernel modules it produces an error that was looking for the Nvdriver. How can i have a nvdriver when its a first-time install.
thanks for anyone that can help
btw mine is a stock 2.4.18-6mdk kernel provided by Mandrake 8.2
thanks!

[bwkaz]

The install process for the kernel module (at least the source version, I'm not so sure about the RPM version, but I'd bet it does it too) is something like the following:

0) Compile the NVdriver file (only as a part of the source install, not the RPM install)

1) Copy the NVdriver file to the /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/video

2) Load the module

My guess is that step 1 failed, that's why it can't find the module when it tries to do step 2. Are you installing as root? Only root has permission to write to anything under /lib/modules (or, more accurately, only root should have permission to do that).

What does /sbin/modprobe NVdriver as root, after you do the install, produce -- exactly?

[xedx]

when using rpm im logged in as root, but the problem is when i do
RPM -ivh --force --nodeps NVI*****.rpm it still complains that it cant find NVdriver on /lib/modules/******/kernel/drivers/video. how can I have one if its a 1st time install?...


thanks for the response :)

[PaladinCowboy75]

Same problem here....

[bwkaz]

It's trying to load the kernel module after it copies it to that directory, that's why it should work. Obviously it won't if the copy fails for some reason (or if the copy is going to the wrong directory... are you sure you're using the RPMs that NVchooser says to use?)

PaladinCowboy75 -- You said in your other post you're using Mandrake 9. There aren't any drivers specifically for Mandrake 9, so you have to compile from source. Just make sure you've installed a kernel-source whose version matches whatever kernel you're running, before you try to do the build. Mandrake's Software Manager program can help with this.

[PaladinCowboy75]

Okay... I'm gonna ask a stupid question.... How do I use the softwareware manager to check my kernel source... and are you talking about NVidia kernel, or Linux kernel ?????????????

[bwkaz]

Open up Software Manager, go to the "installed packages" tab or button or whatever it is now, and do a search for kernel-source. If anything comes up, then you should be OK. If not, go to the "not-installed packages" or whatever, and do the same search. Install the version that matches the output of uname -r.

I meant the Linux kernel source. You also need the NVIDIA_kernel sources to build the nVidia driver, but you don't need them to use it or anything like that.