Nvidia 1.0-2960 and Red Hat 7.3 Kernal 2.4.18-5

[Cheetah]

Is it possible to install Nvidia Graphics Drivers ver. 1.0-2960 on Red Hat 7.3 (Kernal 2.4.18-5). I have been trying now for about a day; reading what I can on the forums, and have not been able to get it.

If it is possible, could someone please post a complete step-by-step guide on how to do it?

[DarkLLord]

probably the easiest is to download these two files

http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-2960/NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-2960.rh73up.i686.rpm
http://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-2960/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-2960.i386.rpm

once you downloaded them, do a
rpm -Uv <filename>
where filename are the names of the files you just downloaded

U mean Upgrade
v mean verbose

edit your XFree-Config
remove the lines
Load "dri"
Load "glxcore" (line should be pretty close to this)

somewhere in the file it should say
Section Device

There edit the line
Driver "<whatever>"
to
Driver "nvidia"

and your X-Server should start if I haven't forgotten anything important

Tell me whether it worked

[Thunderbird]

Those rpms won't work. (the kernel module won't work) For 2.4.18-5 you will need the src.rpm or the tar.gz version which you will have to compile. A lot of people have/had problems using kernel 2.4.18-5 on rh and the nvidia drivers. I would stick with the "old" 2.4.18-3. (this kernel isn't that newer, contains a few bugfixes. Something like 2.4.19 is a bit new)

[CN_]

this should work
but there may be some problems like thunderbird said

plz do not use rpms ;)

get the .tar.gz-files and un"tar" them like this:
tar xfvz <filename>

got to the directory where u un"tar"ed the package (if trhe packages's name is bla.tar.gz the directory should be "bla")
and type this:
./configure
make install

do this first with the kernel-driver then with the other one

now you should edit your /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 like said before ;)

[Thunderbird]

The only thing that needs to be typed after extracting the (kernel) tar.gz file is: make

The same for the GLX package. After it you ofcourse need to edit XF86Config(-4).

CN_ I see you never installed the kernel module from tar.gz. The makefiles don't require all that autoconf stuff like configure since nvidia made their own horrible Makefiles.

(perhaps you used deb src packages from apt or src.rpm's)

[jccartwright]

Hello,

I'm still having some trouble building and installing the driver.

I uninstalled the rpms and got the tar files as you suggested (NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-2960.tar.gz, NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-2960.tar.gz) . Starting with the kernel, I typed "make" with no apparent errors and got the following result:

ld -r -o NVdriver Module-linux Module-nvkernel
size NVdriver
text data bss dec hex filename
824061 52788 52396 929245 e2ddd NVdriver
Please run "make install" as root.

so, I ran "make install" as root and got this result:

ld -r -o NVdriver Module-linux Module-nvkernel
size NVdriver
text data bss dec hex filename
824061 52788 52396 929245 e2ddd NVdriver
depmod: *** Unresolved symbols in /lib/modules/2.4.18-5/kernel/drivers/video/NVdriver
make: *** [package-install] Error 1

This is RH7.3 with the 2.4.18-5 kernel rpm installed.

Can you point me to what I might be doing wrong or how to proceed from here?

Thanks!

-- john

[Thunderbird]

You didn't use the kernel-headers for your kernel to compile the kernel module. Make sure you have the 2.4.18-5 headers installed and check if they are used.

[jccartwright]

Thanks for you prompt reply!

I installed two rpms (rpm -Uvh ...):

kernel-2.4.18-5.i686.rpm
kernel-2.4.18-5.src.rpm

I'm not seeing a rpm specifically for the kernel-headers - should I?

Thanks again!

-- john

[jccartwright]

OK, I think that I found them - they seem to be packaged with the glibc updates.

Everything seems to be working now.

Thanks so much for your help!

-- john

[UCMullet]

Originally posted by Thunderbird
You didn't use the kernel-headers for your kernel to compile the kernel module. Make sure you have the 2.4.18-5 headers installed and check if they are used.

I would like to install in the same way, yet I have no idea how to use kernel-headers in the install. Mind telling me?

[Thunderbird]

The linux kernel headers/source are installed in /usr/src/.
For example the source of 2.4.18-3 can be called: linux-2.4.18-3 and of 2.4.18-5: linux-2.4.18-5.

Next to this there's a symlink I think linux or linux-2.4 to linux-2.4.18-3.

The nvidia makefiles try to use the source /usr/src/linux but when it is pointing to 2.4.18-3 you won't get a correct kernel module for your version.

You need to remove the symlink linux and create a new one using:
ln -s linux-2.4.18-5 linux

It will be something like this for your distro.

[Mogar]

Please, would you post step by step what did you did ? I'm completely newbie in Linux (started to use it some days ago), and almost all that I know how to do is to start the x server (joking, but not so much).


I'm running red hat 7.3 too....

[shatteredhaven]

Hi there,

I'm relatively new to Linux so if I've made any obvious errors, let me know! :)

I followed the instructions in the above posts on installing w/ rpms as well as with tarballs. When installing the correct rpms (according to NVchooser.sh) and altering the XF86Config-4 file, I am unable to boot up my machine. Instead I keep getting a flickering screen and then finally the message:

INIT "x" respawning too fast. Disabled for 5 minutes.

When I follow the instructions for installing the tarballs (as well as altering the XF86Config-4 file) I get the same message, except this time the screen doesn't flicker and I am able to log in via command line.

I am running RH 7.3 with all of the newest updates (Kernel 2.4.18.5). Please let me know if anyone else is having this problem or if I have done something wrong that I'm not seeing. ~Thanx

[hepster]

im having the same problems too
sys rundown:
Athlon XP 1800
Geforce 4 mx 440
512 ram
redhat 7.3
Kernel: 2.4.18-5

whenever i install teh drivers that NVchooser script told me to use NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-2960.rh73up.athlon.rpm
NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-2960.i386.rpm

i edited the files like you said and i get the same errors .. your not alone bro :D ... neone have a clue how to solve ... 3 friends of mine having same errors

[hepster]

ahh also im currently running teh nvidia generic geforce 2 driver (the only one that will work) and everytime i try to play an mpeg the sound comes through but the image is a blue screen ... ??? help?

[Error404]

The least hassle way would IMHO probably be to use kernel 2.4.18-3 as Tbird mentioned above. As in in my case I've been trying kernel -5 for weeks w/o much of a progress. There was something wrong w/ loading GLX extensions, or at least that's what I understood.

In the end I just went on w/ a fresh installation and hadnt even bothered to recompile my kernel. Then installed the source nvidia files. I used the .src files as opposed to the ones suggested by NVchooser.sh.

What I had done may not pertain to your own circumstances. But maybe there's some ground in it for your next attempts :)

[hepster]

ive tried using teh -3 kernel but its still the same error ... almost killed windows trying to get this thing running ...... now that i try to compile from source code i get errors about it not being the compiled the same way as the compiler .. i set from some site i followed the instructions to ignore this (lost the site and the instructions now :D ) and i still get the error .. so im unable to do it that way ... y cant a linux hardware upgrade be as easy as that in windows ... least the wrong driver in windows doesnt cause your moniter to go crazy

[Error404]

Try not to compile your kernel. Just install the nvidia drivers, preferably the .src files.

Cheers :)

[SSJTigger]

Hi, I am also running Red Hat 7.3 Kernel 2.4.18-5. I downloaded the tar files as posted previously, however I get an error message when I type 'make' for the NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-2960.tar.gz.

Below is the error I receive.
cc -c -Wall -Wimplicit -Wreturn-type -Wswitch -Wformat -Wchar-subscripts -Wparentheses -Wpointer-arith -Wcast-qual -Wno-multichar -O -MD -D__KERNEL__ -DMODULE -D_LOOSE_KERNEL_NAMES -D_X86=1 -Di386=1 -DUNIX -DLINUX -DNV4_HW -DNTRM -DRM20 -D_GNU_SOURCE -DRM_HEAPMGR -D_LOOSE_KERNEL_NAMES -D__KERNEL__ -DMODULE -DNV_MAJOR_VERSION=1 -DNV_MINOR_VERSION=0 -DNV_PATCHLEVEL=2960 -I. -I/usr/src/linux/include -Wno-cast-qual nv.c
In file included from /usr/include/linux/vmalloc.h:8,
from nv-linux.h:29,
from nv.c:27:
/usr/include/asm/pgtable.h:17:24: asm/fixmap.h: No such file or directory
In file included from nv-linux.h:53,
from nv.c:27:
/usr/include/linux/autoconf.h:1:2: #error Invalid kernel header included in userspace
In file included from nv.c:41:
/usr/include/linux/delay.h:13:23: asm/delay.h: No such file or directory
In file included from nv.c:42:
/usr/include/linux/interrupt.h:44:25: asm/hardirq.h: No such file or directory
/usr/include/linux/interrupt.h:45:25: asm/softirq.h: No such file or directory
nv.c:57:53: asm/uaccess.h: No such file or directory
nv.c:59:51: asm/softirq.h: No such file or directory
In file included from /usr/include/linux/highmem.h:5,
from nv.c:63:
/usr/include/asm/pgalloc.h:6:24: asm/fixmap.h: No such file or directory
make: *** [nv.o] Error 1

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Error404]

Hi SSJTigger

I cant really say for sure probably you're missing some dependency packages needed to compile your nvidia drivers.

I'd make sure if gcc (cant recall its full name) is installed or not. Just type rpm -q gcc to see if its there. If not then try installing it first. You might run into some dependencies error when trying to install gcc. Fall back and install the required files first and then continue untill all missing/dependent files are installed.

As for the kernel header error, make sure you have the kernel-sources and glibc-kernheadersfor kernel version 2.4.18-5 installed. You'll need these both
(glibc-kernheaders is the new name for kernel-header file).

hope this gives you some ideas.

Cheers :)

[SSJTigger]

Thanks for the advice. Bear with me, I'm a newbie at Linux. I checked for the gcc package with the 'rpm -q gcc' and it said: 'gcc-2.96-112', which I assume means it is installed. For the kernel source and kernel header where can I find them. when I type 'rpm -q glibc-kernheaders' it tells me 'glibc-kernheaders-2.4-7.16', does that mean that the kernel header is for kernel 2.4-7?

[Anthaus]

Get the kernel-source from Redhat. you should find it in the same ftp folder where kernel-2.4.18-5 is located.
Don't worry about the architecture for the sources (i386, i586, i686, SMP, athlon) it should work regardless of your setup. Just make sure it is the same version as you kernel (2.4.18-5).

UPDATE: New kernel files at Redhat: 2.4.18-10 Don't forget to install the kernel-source as well.

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2002-158.html

[Error404]

You'll find the files you'll probably be needing in that folder.
IF possible try downloading the gcc, glibc-kernheaders and kernel-source from there. These files combined may take more than just a couple of tens of MBs of your disk space but it helps if everything is there.

Cheers:)

[SSJTigger]

Hi, I cannot seem to find the kernel source and glibc-kernel header in ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub for 2.4.18-5. However, upgraded to 2.4.18-10 and installed the source thinking that may solve my problem. However, after the kernel upgrade I tried to uninstall and reinstall the nvidia drivers however when I try to uninstall NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-2960.rh73up.i386.rpmiit tells me that it is not installed, yet when I try to install it, it tells me that it is already installed. So I'm a little not sure what to do. I attempted modifying XF86Config-4 again and now I get a different error, unable to initialize NVDriver. Is this because they are not there when it says they are or is there something else wrong?

[Anthaus]

The RH 7.3 RPMs are tailored for kernel 2.4.18-3 (out of the box). After upgrading to 2.4.18-5 or 2.4.18-10 the tarballs should work better for you. The RPMs don't need the kernel-source, but the tarballs do.

Try the tarballs.

tar xvzf NVIDIA_kernel.blah.blah.blah.tar
tar xvzf NVIDIA_GLX.blah.blah.blah.tar

cd NVIDIA_kernel
make install
cd ..
cd NVIDIA_GLX
make install

reboot