Trying to compile GeForce4 drivers on Debian 3 (yes, I gave up on Slackware).

Compiled the driver no problem, but when it came time to compile the kernel, I got an error message to the effect of "your kernel was compiled with something different than you are using now. jerk." and a suggestion that I turn on IGNORE_CC_MISMATCH. I did so, and it worked, except that my kernel source seems not to exist!

There is no /usr/src/linux directory! Clearly I didn't install the kernel source, so how do I do this without reinstalling the whole system? Thanks!

ok, /usr/src/linux is a sym-link into the actual kernel source tree

so if you have a source tree ( ls /usr/src ) then just create a sym-link to /usr/src/linux

if you actualy have no kernel source, then apt-get one (i think thats what you debian people use right?)

its important to get the kernel sources that were used to compile the kernel that you use, that way its sure to be most compatible

http://www.kernel.org is where the linux kernels are kept if you want a fresh tree

Just create a sym-link.... is that all? :P I have no idea what that means, man!

/usr/src/linux is a symbolic link to your kernel tree.

Grab a kernel (kernel.org).
Extract it to /usr/src.
Create a symbolic link (ln -s /usr/src/linux-x-x-x /usr/src/linux)
(linux-x-x-x is the kernel source that you've extracted)

Now you are ready to tweak your kernel.

Aaaaah very clever! I think I understand now. Thanks!

You really ought to grab your kernel via apt-get. The kernel source you compile the driver against must be the same as the kernel running on your system, otherwise things can fail in strange ways. Do uname -r to see what kernel you are running, and then do: apt-get install kernel-source-<version>.

This is necessary since many distros, including Debian, do not use stock Linux kernels, but ones that have been specially modified with backports and the like. Therefore a vanilla kernel.org kernel will probably not match up with the kernel you're running on your system.