New Nvidia Driver (4191) problem with RedHat 8.0

Hi all,

I am on RedHat 8.0 with a custom kernel (2.4.20-pre2), Athlon and a Geforce 2 MX 400.

I have been using the Nvidia driver for a while now without any problems (version 3123). I downloaded the source for GLX and Kernel_modules and installed without any problems.

Few days ago I tried to install the new driver (4191) and I therefore did the same thing: downloaded the source for GLX and kernel Modules. The installation goes well but when I do a startx
I am getting errors (see copy of the XF86logs and my XF86config files at the end of the email):

(WW) System lacks support for changing MTRRs
(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module!
(EE) NVIDIA(0): *** Aborting ***
(II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
(II) UnloadModule: "vgahw"
(II) Unloading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libvgahw.a
(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

If I reinstall the old driver it works fine...
So it looks like the new driver doesn't work on my system.
I can't see what is wrong, could the line "(WW) System lacks support for changing MTRRs" be the answer? if so where do I change this in the kernel?

I tried to look for some info on the internet but couldn't find any. If you have any ideas please let me know!
Thanks a lot!

Sylvain.

-------------------
XFREE86 LOGS
-------------------

XFree86 Version 4.2.0 (Red Hat Linux release: 4.2.0-72) / X Window System
(protocol Version 11, revision 0, vendor release 6600)
Release Date: 23 January 2002
If the server is older than 6-12 months, or if your card is
newer than the above date, look for a newer version before
reporting problems. (See http://www.XFree86.Org/)
Build Operating System: Linux 2.4.18-11smp i686 [ELF]
Build Host: daffy.perf.redhat.com

Module Loader present
OS Kernel: Linux version 2.4.21-pre2-sm1 (root@whatever) (gcc version 3.2 20020903 (Red Hat Linux 8.0 3.2-7)) #4 Sat Jan 4 17:22:57 GMT 2003 PF
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/XFree86.0.log", Time: Mon Jan 6 13:35:43 2003
(==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/XF86Config"
(==) ServerLayout "Anaconda Configured"
(**) |-->Screen "Screen0" (0)
(**) | |-->Monitor "Monitor0"
(**) | |-->Device "NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX (generic)"
(**) |-->Input Device "Mouse0"
(**) |-->Input Device "Keyboard0"
(**) Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
(**) XKB: rules: "xfree86"
(**) Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
(**) XKB: model: "pc101"
(**) Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
(**) XKB: layout: "gb"
(==) Keyboard: CustomKeycode disabled
(**) FontPath set to "unix/:7100"
(**) RgbPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
(==) ModulePath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
(--) using VT number 7

(WW) Open APM failed (/dev/apm_bios) (No such device)
(II) Module ABI versions:
XFree86 ANSI C Emulation: 0.1
XFree86 Video Driver: 0.5
XFree86 XInput driver : 0.3
XFree86 Server Extension : 0.1
XFree86 Font Renderer : 0.3
(II) Loader running on linux
(II) LoadModule: "bitmap"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libbitmap.a
(II) Module bitmap: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer
ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.3
(II) Loading font Bitmap
(II) LoadModule: "pcidata"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libpcidata.a
(II) Module pcidata: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 0.1.0
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.5
(II) PCI: Probing config type using method 1
(II) PCI: Config type is 1
(II) PCI: stages = 0x03, oldVal1 = 0x00000000, mode1Res1 = 0x80000000
(II) PCI: PCI scan (all values are in hex)
(II) PCI: 00:00:0: chip 1106,3099 card 1106,3099 rev 00 class 06,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:01:0: chip 1106,b099 card 0000,0000 rev 00 class 06,04,00 hdr 01
(II) PCI: 00:0a:0: chip 14f1,2f00 card 148d,1031 rev 01 class 07,80,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:0b:0: chip 1073,000d card 1073,000d rev 03 class 04,01,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:0c:0: chip 1516,0803 card 1516,0803 rev 00 class 02,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:11:0: chip 1106,3147 card 1106,3147 rev 00 class 06,01,00 hdr 80
(II) PCI: 00:11:1: chip 1106,0571 card 1106,0571 rev 06 class 01,01,8a hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:11:2: chip 1106,3038 card 0925,1234 rev 23 class 0c,03,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 00:11:3: chip 1106,3038 card 0925,1234 rev 23 class 0c,03,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: 01:00:0: chip 10de,0110 card 0000,0000 rev b2 class 03,00,00 hdr 00
(II) PCI: End of PCI scan
(II) LoadModule: "scanpci"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libscanpci.a
(II) Module scanpci: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 0.1.0
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.5
(II) UnloadModule: "scanpci"
(II) Unloading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libscanpci.a
(II) Host-to-PCI bridge:
(II) PCI-to-ISA bridge:
(II) PCI-to-PCI bridge:
(II) Bus 0: bridge is at (0:0:0), (-1,0,0), BCTRL: 0x08 (VGA_EN is set)
(II) Bus 0 I/O range:
[0] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0000ffff (0x10000) IX[B]
(II) Bus 0 non-prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
(II) Bus 0 prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
(II) Bus 1: bridge is at (0:1:0), (0,1,1), BCTRL: 0x0c (VGA_EN is set)
(II) Bus 1 I/O range:
(II) Bus 1 non-prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0xdde00000 - 0xdfefffff (0x2100000) MX[B]
(II) Bus 1 prefetchable memory range:
[0] -1 0xcdc00000 - 0xddcfffff (0x10100000) MX[B]
(II) Bus -1: bridge is at (0:17:0), (0,-1,0), BCTRL: 0x08 (VGA_EN is set)
(II) Bus -1 I/O range:
(II) Bus -1 non-prefetchable memory range:
(II) Bus -1 prefetchable memory range:
(--) PCI:*(1:0:0) NVidia GeForce2 MX/MX 400 rev 178, Mem @ 0xde000000/24, 0xd0000000/27, BIOS @ 0xdfef0000/16
(II) Addressable bus resource ranges are
[0] -1 0x00000000 - 0xffffffff (0x0) MX[B]
[1] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0000ffff (0x10000) IX[B]
(II) OS-reported resource ranges:
[0] -1 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[6] -1 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) Active PCI resource ranges:
[0] -1 0xdffe7c00 - 0xdffe7fff (0x400) MX[B]
[1] -1 0xdffe8000 - 0xdffeffff (0x8000) MX[B]
[2] -1 0xdfff0000 - 0xdfffffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[2] -1 0xdfff0000 - 0xdfffffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0xdfef0000 - 0xdfefffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[5] -1 0xd0000000 - 0xd7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[6] -1 0xde000000 - 0xdeffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0x0000e000 - 0x0000e01f (0x20) IX[B]
[8] -1 0x0000e400 - 0x0000e41f (0x20) IX[B]
[9] -1 0x0000fc00 - 0x0000fc0f (0x10) IX[B]
[10] -1 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[11] -1 0x0000ec00 - 0x0000ec07 (0x8) IX[B]
(II) Active PCI resource ranges after removing overlaps:
[0] -1 0xdffe7c00 - 0xdffe7fff (0x400) MX[B]
[1] -1 0xdffe8000 - 0xdffeffff (0x8000) MX[B]
[2] -1 0xdfff0000 - 0xdfffffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0xdfef0000 - 0xdfefffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[5] -1 0xd0000000 - 0xd7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[6] -1 0xde000000 - 0xdeffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[7] -1 0x0000e000 - 0x0000e01f (0x20) IX[B]
[8] -1 0x0000e400 - 0x0000e41f (0x20) IX[B]
[9] -1 0x0000fc00 - 0x0000fc0f (0x10) IX[B]
[10] -1 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[11] -1 0x0000ec00 - 0x0000ec07 (0x8) IX[B]
(II) OS-reported resource ranges after removing overlaps with PCI:
[0] -1 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[6] -1 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
(II) All system resource ranges:
[0] -1 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0xdffe7c00 - 0xdffe7fff (0x400) MX[B]
[6] -1 0xdffe8000 - 0xdffeffff (0x8000) MX[B]
[7] -1 0xdfff0000 - 0xdfffffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[8] -1 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B]
[9] -1 0xdfef0000 - 0xdfefffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[10] -1 0xd0000000 - 0xd7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[11] -1 0xde000000 - 0xdeffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[12] -1 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[13] -1 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[14] -1 0x0000e000 - 0x0000e01f (0x20) IX[B]
[15] -1 0x0000e400 - 0x0000e41f (0x20) IX[B]
[16] -1 0x0000fc00 - 0x0000fc0f (0x10) IX[B]
[17] -1 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[18] -1 0x0000ec00 - 0x0000ec07 (0x8) IX[B]
(II) LoadModule: "dbe"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libdbe.a
(II) Module dbe: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 Server Extension
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.1
(II) Loading extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
(II) LoadModule: "extmod"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libextmod.a
(II) Module extmod: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 Server Extension
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.1
(II) Loading extension SHAPE
(II) Loading extension MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
(II) Loading extension BIG-REQUESTS
(II) Loading extension SYNC
(II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
(II) Loading extension XC-MISC
(II) Loading extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
(II) Loading extension XFree86-Misc
(II) Loading extension XFree86-DGA
(II) Loading extension DPMS
(II) Loading extension FontCache
(II) Loading extension TOG-CUP
(II) Loading extension Extended-Visual-Information
(II) Loading extension XVideo
(II) Loading extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
(II) Loading extension X-Resource
(II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/linux/libfbdevhw.a
(II) Module fbdevhw: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 0.0.2
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.5
(II) LoadModule: "glx"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so
(II) Module glx: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.4191
Module class: XFree86 Server Extension
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.1
(II) Loading extension GLX
(II) LoadModule: "record"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/librecord.a
(II) Module record: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.13.0
Module class: XFree86 Server Extension
ABI class: XFree86 Server Extension, version 0.1
(II) Loading extension RECORD
(II) LoadModule: "freetype"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libfreetype.a
(II) Module freetype: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.1.10
Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer
ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.3
(II) Loading font FreeType
(II) LoadModule: "type1"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libtype1.a
(II) Module type1: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.0.1
Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer
ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.3
(II) Loading font Type1
(II) Loading font CID
(II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o
(II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.4191
Module class: XFree86 Video Driver
(II) LoadModule: "mouse"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/mouse_drv.o
(II) Module mouse: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: XFree86 XInput Driver
ABI class: XFree86 XInput driver, version 0.3
(II) NVIDIA XFree86 Driver 1.0-4191 Mon Dec 9 11:51:41 PST 2002
(II) NVIDIA Unified Driver for all NVIDIA GPUs
(II) Primary Device is: PCI 01:00:0
(--) Assigning device section with no busID to primary device
(--) Chipset NVIDIA GPU found
(II) resource ranges after xf86ClaimFixedResources() call:
[0] -1 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0xdffe7c00 - 0xdffe7fff (0x400) MX[B]
[6] -1 0xdffe8000 - 0xdffeffff (0x8000) MX[B]
[7] -1 0xdfff0000 - 0xdfffffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[8] -1 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B]
[9] -1 0xdfef0000 - 0xdfefffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[10] -1 0xd0000000 - 0xd7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[11] -1 0xde000000 - 0xdeffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[12] -1 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[13] -1 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[14] -1 0x0000e000 - 0x0000e01f (0x20) IX[B]
[15] -1 0x0000e400 - 0x0000e41f (0x20) IX[B]
[16] -1 0x0000fc00 - 0x0000fc0f (0x10) IX[B]
[17] -1 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[18] -1 0x0000ec00 - 0x0000ec07 (0x8) IX[B]
(II) resource ranges after probing:
[0] -1 0xffe00000 - 0xffffffff (0x200000) MX[B](B)
[1] -1 0x00100000 - 0x3fffffff (0x3ff00000) MX[B]E(B)
[2] -1 0x000f0000 - 0x000fffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[3] -1 0x000c0000 - 0x000effff (0x30000) MX[B]
[4] -1 0x00000000 - 0x0009ffff (0xa0000) MX[B]
[5] -1 0xdffe7c00 - 0xdffe7fff (0x400) MX[B]
[6] -1 0xdffe8000 - 0xdffeffff (0x8000) MX[B]
[7] -1 0xdfff0000 - 0xdfffffff (0x10000) MX[B]
[8] -1 0xe0000000 - 0xe7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B]
[9] -1 0xdfef0000 - 0xdfefffff (0x10000) MX[B](B)
[10] -1 0xd0000000 - 0xd7ffffff (0x8000000) MX[B](B)
[11] -1 0xde000000 - 0xdeffffff (0x1000000) MX[B](B)
[12] 0 0x000a0000 - 0x000affff (0x10000) MS[B]
[13] 0 0x000b0000 - 0x000b7fff (0x8000) MS[B]
[14] 0 0x000b8000 - 0x000bffff (0x8000) MS[B]
[15] -1 0x0000ffff - 0x0000ffff (0x1) IX[B]
[16] -1 0x00000000 - 0x000000ff (0x100) IX[B]
[17] -1 0x0000e000 - 0x0000e01f (0x20) IX[B]
[18] -1 0x0000e400 - 0x0000e41f (0x20) IX[B]
[19] -1 0x0000fc00 - 0x0000fc0f (0x10) IX[B]
[20] -1 0x0000e800 - 0x0000e8ff (0x100) IX[B]
[21] -1 0x0000ec00 - 0x0000ec07 (0x8) IX[B]
[22] 0 0x000003b0 - 0x000003bb (0xc) IS[B]
[23] 0 0x000003c0 - 0x000003df (0x20) IS[B]
(II) Setting vga for screen 0.
(II) Loading sub module "vgahw"
(II) LoadModule: "vgahw"
(II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libvgahw.a
(II) Module vgahw: vendor="The XFree86 Project"
compiled for 4.2.0, module version = 0.1.0
ABI class: XFree86 Video Driver, version 0.5
(**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 16, (--) framebuffer bpp 16
(==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 565
(==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(--) NVIDIA(0): Linear framebuffer at 0xD0000000
(--) NVIDIA(0): MMIO registers at 0xDE000000
(WW) System lacks support for changing MTRRs
(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module!
(EE) NVIDIA(0): *** Aborting ***
(II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
(II) UnloadModule: "vgahw"
(II) Unloading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/libvgahw.a
(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

When reporting a problem related to a server crash, please send
the full server output, not just the last messages.
This can be found in the log file "/var/log/XFree86.0.log".
Please report problems to xfree86@xfree86.org.

------------------
XF86config file
------------------
# File generated by anaconda.
#

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Anaconda Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
FontPath "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "fbdevhw"
Load "glx"
Load "record"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86"
Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb" #Option "XkbVariant" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
# Modified by mouseconfig
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "COMPAQ V700"
HorizSync 30.0 - 85.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 160.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection

Section "Device"
# no known options
#BusID
Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX (generic)"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX (generic)"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX (generic)"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX (generic)"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

I had the same problem as well.
What I'd do if I were you is to use Synaptic (to be found on Connectiva website) and :
- be sure that the previous RPMs are surely uninstalled (those from your 3.1.2.3 version)
- then recompile the SRPMs for your kernel and then install them cleanly.

Just in case :
the COMPLETE & DETAILED procedure :

First, visit the Linux section of the nVidia driver download area and get the following two files:

NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4191.src.rpm (at top of page)
NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4191.src.rpm (at bottom of page)

Save these files to your machine. Now, open up a terminal (konsole, gnome-terminal) and become root (also called superuser). Change to the directory containing the packages and install them with:

cd /path/to/packages

rpm -i NVIDIA* (or rpm -ivh NVIDIA* for verbose output and to print hash marks [#] indicating installation progress)

Since these are only source packages, we haven't actually installed any drivers yet, we've just placed the necessary files onto the system to get us started. To verify that everything is where it should be, issue the command:

ls /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/

You should see two files listed: NVIDIA_GLX.spec and NVIDIA_kernel.spec These two files simply tell RPM how to create packages using the source files. These source files were installed into /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES. Once you're satisfied everything went according to plan:

cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS

This is the directory the source packages were installed into. /usr/src also contains the source code for the Linux kernel itself (assuming it was selected when you installed Psyche). Once inside the /usr/src/redhat directory, you might want to take a look around and see if you can get a feel for what the various directories are for. If you aren't comfortable with that, don't worry, it's not necessary. Next, the hard part (if you've been exploring, before you proceed make sure your working directory is /usr/src/redhat/SPECS – you can use the pwd command to display this for you):

rpmbuild -bb NVIDIA* (“rpmbuild” should be self-explanatory, the bb means “build binary” -- man rpmbuild at the console or #rpmbuild into Konqueror's address bar or a command box for more information)

It should only take a few minutes for the two packages to be built. You'll see information scrolling by as your request is carried out. Don't worry if you don't know what any of it means, since not many people do. Once the build process finishes, you're almost there. Now, to install the packages we just built:

cd /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/ (this is where rpmbuild puts the packages after they are ready)

rpm -Uvh NVIDIA*

RPM will process for a moment, indicating its progress with hash marks and by displaying a percentage. If all has gone well, you should see both packages install and then be returned to a command prompt. At this point, I would suggest you view the README located on nVidia's website, as it contains a great deal of information about using, troubleshooting and customizing the nVidia drivers. For the impatient, I'll include here the minimum changes you need to make to your system to get the drivers working.

At this point the drivers themselves are installed and ready to go. Now all we have to do is tell XFree86 we want to use them instead of its own drivers. Since this requires making changes to the (vitally important!) XFree86 configuration file, we'll make a backup copy of it before going any further. This is extremely important! Without a clean working copy of this file, you will not be able to access your desktop.

cp /etc/X11/XF86Config /etc/X11/XF86Config-original

Now if you manage to mangle XF86Config you can copy XF86Config-original to XF86Config and start over with a known-good configuration. For those of us who aren't vi or emacs aficionados, Red Hat has included an excellent screen-based text editor called pico. Considering the number of capable and friendly GUI-based editors included with modern Linux distributions, you might question the need for using or even being aware of console-based alternatives -- until, like now, you're doing something that has the potential to render your GUI unavailable. As a general rule, you should always have a familiar console-based editor available for just such times. There are few things more frustrating than needing to make a simple change to a configuration file and being stumped because you have no idea how to do so from the command line. That being said, still as root user, issue the command:

pico -w /etc/X11/XF86Config (always use the -w switch with configuration files, since it prevents pico from applying any line wrapping and thus mangling the file)

Locate the line containing Driver "nv" and replace it with Driver "nvidia". To search in pico you press CTRL+W and enter the search term (shortcuts are displayed at the bottom of the interface). Now, find the section called Module and make sure Load "glx" is one of the entries. If not, add it to the list. Also in the Module section, remove or comment out any lines that contain Load "dri" and Load "GLcore". (You comment out a line by prefacing it with a hash mark, as in #Load "GLcore".)

That's it! You should be ready to go. Save all your work, and press CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE to restart the X server. If all went well, you should see the nVidia splash screen pop up briefly and then be presented with the standard GDM login screen. Once your desktop has loaded, press ALT+F2 to bring up a command box and type in tuxracer (this assumes TuxRacer is installed, of course) to test your new drivers. If something has gone wrong along the way, make sure the nVidia packages are installed correctly and that your changes to XF86Config are correct (now you'll see why I pointed out the need for a backup file and an easy-to-use editor!).

rpm -qa |grep NVIDIA will query the RPM database for any installed package with "NVIDIA" in its name (as always, case matters). If you don't see both packages listed, something has gone wrong. Back up to the section that explains building the packages and try again.


This should be quite helpful.

Thanks a lot for such a quick reply!!!
I will try this tonight!

Thanks again!!
Sylvain.

Hi,

I just tried what you suggested and it still does the same thing.
I followed your instratuction exactly, I rebuilt the package without any problems... I then installed the packages.
The only warning I had was an old GLX file was present and therefore renamed to <file>.save
That old GLX file was there because of my previous installation with the tar ball file.

I tried to restart in level 3, rebuild the packages, install them...
still no luck, same old problem: no screen found (NVIDIA module failed to initialised).

I looked on some other forum and apparently one guy had the same problem, this was due to a conflict with the USB support (!?!?!?)
His only option was to go back to the "nv" driver.

I had to go back to the old NVIDIA driver, and I have no problem.
Annoying though... cos I'd like to use those new drivers.
Could it be because I am using a custom 2.4.20 kernel ?

Anyway thanks for your help.

Cheers,
Sylvain.

Could be a stupid question coming from my side but are you really sure you uninstalled perfectly the previous files (GLX + Nvidia driver).

To be really sure I suggest you to use Synaptic from Connectiva as I used to have this kind of problem as well ...

Give it a try, you never know.

Hi again,

You may be right. My old driver were not installed from RPM (but from a tarball) so I may still have some old files.

I am gonna try to delete files manually (or download the old rpm, install the old rpm and uninstall it).

I didn't know synaptic. Looks good!!!!

Thanks,
Sylvain.

My previous experience tells me that when I tried to uninstall those RPMs manually (read : via the console RPM -e) it told me that they were not installed ... but when I then tried to reinstall I was told they were already installed ..... hlglghlhlghlghlghl weird isn't it ?

Thanks to Synaptic everything went fine about this issue, so use it as much as you can & have fun !

i love this message board I always google about and end back here

Yeah so far every one of my problems has been solved by some smart guy in this board.

root@backyard:/home/kater# lsmod
Module Size Used by Tainted: P
NVdriver 988448 10
root@backyard:/home/kater#

Is this module running? (NVdriver).