Redhat 7.0 kernel not compiling

[khana]

Completely new to linux, no idea on how to compile kernels

What I've got:

amd1800+
Red Hat linux 7.0 - kernel 2.2.16-22
GeForce 4 MX 440 SE
256 MB Ram

I'm trying to install the latest driver (4636) but the installer tells me that it will have to compile a new kernel interface.

then it says that:

You appear to be compiling the NVIDIA kernel module with
a compiler different from the one that was used to compile
the running kernel. ..........
.....In any other case, set the CC environment variable to the
name of the compiler that was used to compile the kernel.

I don't know the name of the compiler used to compile the kernel and I have no clue how to set the CC environment variable to the specific kernel. What file do I have to change and how do I find out which compiler to change it to?

thanks., you can check the log file if you wish.

this is the first time i installed linux, so if you guys can use newbie terms, that would be great

[bwkaz]

What does cat /proc/version say? What about cc -dumpversion?

[khana]

- cat /proc/version says i'm using kernel version 2.2.16-22
and gcc version 2.91.66


- cc -dumpversion returns the value 2.96

[bwkaz]

OK, I don't know if that's a problem or not. I think that it'll work, because the versions are pretty close (2.96 vs. 2.91.66), but perhaps not.

Which gcc 2.96 is this? And now that I ask, I'll have to figure out how to figure that out... probably rpm -qa | grep gcc will tell you. Certain revisions of gcc 2.96 were extremely buggy (they would not compile the kernel correctly, nor would they work with mplayer, or a lot of other programs); I believe the first 2.96 that worked acceptably well was 2.96-76 or so (it was -7X for some digit X, which I believe was 6).

If you have something older, then try to find an upgrade. I believe that gcc did compile itself correctly, though, so you might be able to do that. Maybe. If you do, you'll have to recompile the kernel, too, though, so it's probably not worth it.

If your gcc is OK, you can attempt to do an export IGNORE_CC_MISMATCH=1, then run the installer from the same shell. No guarantees on whether it'll work or not, but it might. It's easier than compiling a kernel for the first time.