I have recently installed a new wireless ethernet card and have the new kernel module rt61.ko. If I use insmod rt61.ko, it inserts the modules without a problem.

I have installed it in:

/lib/modules/2.6.17-5mdvcustom/extra/rt61.ko and
/lib/modules/2.6.17-5mdv/kernel/drivers/net/rt61.ko and
/lib/modules/2.6.17-5mdv/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rt61.ko

but it still won't load on power up. Any suggestions?

Mike

PS I am using Mandriva 2007 Free

I just went to the Red Hat site to look up details for the answer to your question. Geez. That site is a nightmare for trying to find an answer. Then when you do finally find the documentation it is only available as a downloadable file. Bastards. So I didn't look up the detail that I had in mind. Instead I will tell you all of the possible variations, which are three so that's not too bad.

There is a file in which you can list modules for Linux to load during system startup. This file is either /etc/modprobe.conf or /etc/modules.conf or /etc/modules. You can edit whichever of these possibilities apply to Red Hat and add the module(s) that you want to have loaded. When you look in the /etc directory you may find that more than one of these files exist. That does NOT mean that they are all used during system startup. No. Only one of them is active. I will have to leave the task of figuring out which of these is active to you since that Red Hat web site really upset me.

Sorry that I couldn't be more specific. I just couldn't deal with the Red Hat web site.

Since you are using Mandriva 2007.0 Free, you may be best served to set up the new wireless card in MCC, but if you simply wish to load the driver you have, then you can add it to /etc/modprobe.conf. Note that you will have to have root permissions to edit any file in /etc

HTH,

Mandriva. Hmmm. I gotta stop using drugs.

Does Mandrake have an /etc/sysconfig/modules directory? If it does then you most like need to an executable file with content like the following:

Don't forget to make it executable.

I hate to sound stupid, but what is MCC?

One thing I noticed here is the name of one of your directories, normally you have to compile drivers against the current running kernel which can be displayed with command $uname -r.
The directory in question is /lib/modules/2.6.17-5mdvcustom/extra/rt61.ko and

The word "custom" has me thinking you did'nt edit the Makefile in /lib/modules/2.6.17-5mdvcustom/build to reflect the actual kernel installed, for instance if you have Hyper threading Intel processor, the result of the uname -r command should be something like "2.6.17-5mdvsmp". On the fourth line of that Makefile should read EXTRAVERSION = -5mdvsmp, normally Mandrake/Mandriva has something like this: EXTRAVERSION = -5mdvcustom like the name of the directory suggests which means your module does not match the kernel version in use. You must edit the fourth line of the Makefile to reflect the extraversion (everything after the dash in the results of uname -r command) before compiling any modules.
The Makefile has that "custom" there because they expect people will compile themselves a new kernel when Mandrake/Mandriva puts out a kernel update and that's what will show up along side your old kernel in the boot menu giving you the choice to boot the old kernel or the CUSTOM kernel which should tip you off as to which is which upon re-boot.
Another easy mistake one could make (at least in my Mandrake LE 2005)is after first installation, if you open the GUI Mandrakelinux update, and select "all" in the list of items to update, and in that list is a kernel-source update, you end up mistakingly installing a kernel source that does not match the current running kernel and newly compiled modules won't work. The name of that directory I mentioned above will reflect the kernel-source installed.

PS:MCC = Mandrake Control Center

I checked in /etc/modprobe.preload, and I think this where I should be listing the modules. It currently has intel-agp in the list, and when I looked for it, I found intel-agp.ko.gz. What is the deal with the gz at the end. Are the kernel modules gzipped?

Yes, some compiler kits do not have a script with this necessary step, you should put an entry in modprobe.preload spelled exactly as the module (case sensitive). If as your post says that when you issue lsmod command and the module loads means you have a successful compile, if it does not load upon "re-boot" means you should enter it in modprobe.preload. The module entry (s) that end in .gz are modules that are not unpacked yet and will not get loaded, usually the installation of some related packages should unpack the module.
Also, there is the possibility that the module is already un-packed but will not get loaded if the entry in modprobe.preload shows a gzipped module, check with search or find files by entering intel-agp.ko without the .gz in /lib directory, if something shows up that means it is unpacked but may not be getting loaded because of the .gz at the end of the entry in modprobe.preload, you can also make a search for the full name with the .gz at the end and if something shows up, that means it is present but not being used, perhaps because it is not required.
That intel module is probably for on-board intel graphics, if you have no graphics problems I would'nt worry about it, if you have a graphics card (not intel), than that is why it is not unpacked and not needed.