Debian installation problem

[JRNB]

Hello,

So, I have a bit of Linux experience, but none with installing X. I'm using Debian 3.0. My default nVidia driver for X didn't work, so I got the new driver today.

I have a 2.4.18 kernel (built myself), with the k7 processor set. I installed the Debian package, "2.4.18 kernel headers for k7 chipset". The nVidia driver installer couldn't find them, so I pointed them to the directory with the --kernel-include-path option.

It started to build, but it said it could not load "nvidia.o". It said the most likely problem was that I was using the wrong headers. I've tried the same thing with the k6, bf24, and vanilla 386 headers, but with no luck.

Any ideas?

[Andy Mecham]

If you have configured kernel sources for your running kernel, then point the installer at those.

--andy

[JRNB]

Thanks --

So, I tried doing that (pointing the installer to /usr/src/kernel-source-2.4.18/include), and I got the following message:

<quote>
ERROR: The kernel header file
'/usr/src/kernel-source-2.4.18/include/linux/modversions.h' does not
exist. The most likely reason for this is that the kernel header files
in '/usr/src/kernel-source-2.4.18/include' have not been configured.
</quote>

Just to be doubly sure, I reconfigured with menuconfig. Same problem. Is there something stupid I'm missing?

[Andy Mecham]

make dep?

--andy

[JRNB]

make clean,
make mrproper,
make menuconfig,
make dep,
make bzImage.
(I don't need to enable modules -- do I, for the driver? -- so I didn't re-make them.)

[EDIT -- I just read the FAQ, and while the issue isn't addressed directly, there are enough references to the "driver module" that I'm going to try enabling modules.]

[JRNB]

It turns out that this was precisely my problem -- modules turned off, because it was recommended to me for security reasons, and because it cost me nothing originally. I suppose I should have thought of this earlier.

Thanks for playing the role of "rubber duck" for me, much appreciated. ;)

[blubb0r]

Well im completely noobish, even experienced enough to start my pc (and to put a debian cd in my cdrom to install).
So what do i have to do to install?
Already tried sh NVIDIA-Lin..., tried it with an apt-getted 2.4.18 kernel, tried make (not possible, so i made makefile, which ended up with some error 1 and 2).
So here i am, waiting for some help.

As I am really new to Debian and Linux, I will install i again, and then try to install the driver. So relatively exact advices like "install the kernel 2.4.... and then make... would be really nice.

thx alot

blubb0r