I am currently installing a driver for my NVIDIA Quadro FX 540 graphics card on my PC, which is currently running Debian 5.0. I have downloaded the following driver from the Nvidia site, NVIDIA_Linux-x86_64-185.18.14-pkg2. When I start the run command I am able to accept the Nvidia licence.

The installer then finds that it does not have a precompiled kernel interface and offers to download one from the Nvidia site. This is my first problem as my PC is not connected to the internet, so I say No to this option. The installer then tries to compile a kernel interface, which is when my second problem occurs. The installer is unable to compile the interface because I then get an error message telling me that I am trying to compile the NVIDIA kernel module with a compiler different from the one that was used to compile the running kernel. Specifically the NVIDIA kernel module wants to use gcc 4.1 but my kernel has been built with gcc 4.3. Although the installer offers to use the incorrect compiler, I understand that at least for kernel 2.6.26 this is not advisable.

This is my first attempt at installing a graphics driver on a Linux PC, so I really do not know where to go from here. I have tried searching through the forums, and using Google, but I can't find any information that specifically addresses this problem. Any advice (but preferable constructive) at this stage will be most appreciated.

You should use the same gcc version to compile kernel modules. If you have both gcc 4.1 and 4.3 installed, you have to change your PATH, so the path to the gcc 4.3 binary comes first.
Or you can recompile your kernel with gcc 4.1 and then build the nvidia kernel module.
Regarding the 1st "problem", it's not a problem actually, as it's very rare that the installer can find a precompiled module for your kernel.

Regards

bathory

Thanks for your response.

I have checked my PC for gcc versions. Of the several dozen files that mention a gcc version, almost all of them referred to version number gcc 4.3. Three INFO file names referred to gcc 4.2 and there was one archive file named gcc-4.2-base_4.2.4-6_amd64.deb. I did not find any files with names that included gcc 4.1. I conclude from this that my system has been compiled using gcc 4.3 and that gcc 4.1 is not present on my system.

I do have some other Linux distros on DVD; it is possible that gcc 4.1 is present on one or other of those. Are gcc files distro specific, or can they be used on any Linux distro?

I am a bit unsure regarding your comment regarding whether or not I have gcc 4.1 and 4.3 installed. Do you mean that if I had gcc 4.1 installed then the nvidia installer would use that to compile the nvidia kernel module, and I could then use the graphics card with my current system without having to recomplile the Linux kernel and other kernel modules using gcc 4.1. (I wish there was a smiley for crossed fingers).

I suspect (but hope otherwise) that you are going to tell me that I either:
(a) need to find an nvidia driver for my graphics card that can be compiled using gcc 4.3. So far I have not been able to find any drivers that meet this requirement.

or

(b) I need to install gcc 4.1 and recompile my kernel, all other kernel modules, before I can compile the nvidia kernel using gcc 4.1. I will try this if I need to, but I must admit to being reluctant to do so for two reasons. First, I have never tried to compile the kernel before. Second, I assume that the kernel developers used gcc 4.3 instead of gcc 4.1 for a reason, so I do not know what unexpected effects the older version compiler may produce.

In any case, I will have to do something (even if it comes to a full reinstall of Debian). The partial install of the nvidia driver has caused problems with my X server, so I am unable to get any GUI working. I am able to log in as myself or "root" but only for CLI interactions.

I'm also confused with your situation. nvidia-installer will use your current gcc to build its module. To me it looks like you've upgraded your kernel to a newer version compiled with gcc 4.3, but your system still has 4.1 installed.
To find your gcc version, use your distro's package manager, or run:
Anyway for (a) and (b) questions I've done a little search cause I don't use debian and came into the following post in debian forums:

bathory

Thank you for the information you have provided.

When I enter gcc -v I get the following response:

this appears to confirm that my kernel was compiled using gcc 4.3.


I assure you that I would not have a clue how to go about upgrading my kernel. Also, as indicated in my last posting, I cannot find any files on my system that include the characters "gcc 4.1" in any part of the filename, which seems to indicate that I don't have gcc 4.1 on my system.

So it would appear that my system has been compiled using gcc 4.3, but I dont know why the nvidia installer wants to use gcc 4.1. It looks as if the nvidia installer is expecting to find gcc 4.1 on my system for some reason. I have looked on the internet* and I have found several 64 bit nvidia drivers for my graphic card. They all have different file names, so I am assuming that they are different to each other in some way. All of them appear to have been created in mid to late 2008. Perhaps gcc 4.1 was the most recent version of the compiler at that time so that is why the compiler expects to find it?

For your information, I only installed Debian 5.0 about two weeks ago. I do not have internet* access on my personal PC, so I purchased the complete set of 5 Debian 5.0 AMD 64 DVDs from a Debian certified site. My version of Debian was installed from those DVDs. It is my understanding that these 5 DVDs give me access to the entire repository of Debian packages, although I cannot confirm this. If my understanding is correct, then I should be able to install the packages you refer to, although as I need to do this from my DVDs and not via the internet, it is likely that updating the package list will have no effect.

* In case these two points sound contradictory, I do not have internet access on my own PC but I can access the internet from public terminals, and occasionally I can use a friend's PC that is connected.


I am not sure how to do this, but I assume that it requires me to uninstall any nvidia packages that I have added to me PC. I will read up on how to do this, the research will be good for me, and I will see what happens. If all else fails I will just reinstall Debian from the DVDs. I know that this is usually only recommended as a last resort, but it will mean that my system will be working properly within about 60 minutes. This should restore the X server, and likewise my GUI interface; I will then be able to run the package manager then take the other steps that you suggested.

Before reinstalling try this nvidia debian package.
More details about nvidia kernel module for your distro you can find here

Regards