I am running Slackware 10.2 kernel 2.6.12 on a Dell
Dimension E510:

Pentium 4 630 w/HT
1 GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400 MHz
ATI Radeon X600SE video w/256MB Hypermemory
TV tuner is single w/remote

dmesg only recognizes an "ATI unknown device"
on PCI bus 2, with an assigned number of 4d53.

I've tracked down all the other devices and figured
out (process of elimination) that that has to be
the TV tuner card.

I tried recompiling the kernel with videolinux
directly in, and it loaded, but no matter what I
do, /dev/video, /dev/video0, etc. are not working
(cat /dev/video0 gives a "no such device" even when
ls /dev/video shows it).

You may recognize I am a rank Linux amateur. I have
googled all over the place, RTFM'ed every piece of
info I can find, and I'm still totally lost. Please
help.

it could be a dev problem.. i'm having the same thing with my web cam.

maybe you need to install a different or updated driver.. maybe even compile it so you can see what is lacking..

good luck.

I've tried several (compiled all of them myself) but even if I hit the right one by accident if nothing else,
will the driver be able to drive it? Wouldn't I have to compile it straight into the kernel?

BTW, here is the output from lspci on that card:

02:00.0 Multimedia Controller: ATI Technologies Inc: Unknown device 4d53

W/O videolinux compiled into the kernel, dmesg doesn't even get a sniff.

Anybody have an idea which drivers I should try?

i'm not tooo up to snuff with slack...sooo, but try to install webmin if you haven't.. it will give you a better shot at seeing what is going on.

it is a admins dream come true.. install ALL the modules you can, except those like isdn, or others you KNOW you will not ever use, which can choke the system on boot up if you forget initially to check it 'off' after installing webmin.

you need to find the driver (or compatible one) for that tv card for it to be recognized.

for future referenece, there is USUALLY no need these days to compile anything into the kernel, unless it is very new, or something reallly special..and ati/tv cards are neither.

worse comes to worse you can ndiswrapper windoze drivers.. but lets not worry about that until we have to.

let us know..

You've lost me again. (Sorry to be so dumb...)

What is webmin? And where can I get it?

http://www.webmin.com

it is a program for adminitrators to help configure different aspects of linux.

it makes it much easier to set up and control your system.

i guess with slack you will need to compile it, but that will be worth it because it will work that much better.

although there might be a binary that will install on slack.

webmin will not solve your current problems, but will make it easier to control your whole system, which will then make it easier to fix problems in the future..including your current video one.

but like i said above, you will still need to get the proper driver or create one with ndiswrapper for your current issue with ati.

Thanks for the tip. I'm downloading it right now.
I'll set it up and let you know how it works.

In the meantime, would it do any good to try to install
the ATI drivers off their web site? There seem to be
some, but I'm not sure if those are for the TV card or
for the video card, and I'm not having any trouble with
that. I know the card works; I run a dual boot system
(Slackware 10.2 + Windows XP MCE) and it works fine in
Windows.

Well, webmin may be pretty good, but you're right, didn't fix problem. Should I just give
up and get another card? Maybe a WinTV from Hauppage or something? I don't want to lose
the TV capability in XP, either.

I am still totally lost. Comments, anybody?

YES!! if you see the driver for you tuner card-- surely get it!

that will fix your problems

also sometimes other people write drivers that are better/newer for cards.. so don't over look that also!

good luck, let us know..