New install of slack 9.1: modprobe can't load any modules.
 

I just installed Slack 9.1. After reboot, and before login, modpobe trys to load some modules but can't find the modules.dep file.

I'm relatively new to linux, having installed Mandrake 9.1 and Redhat 9 with neither of them really to my liking. I want to learn more about linux and have been told/read that Slack will give me a better understanding of the power of Linux.

So far, I haven't added any users yet. I logged in as root and ran xf86config setup file and can't startx because no modules are being loaded, so my usb mouse causes X to fail.

Am I missing something during the installation process? I've read and re read the book on Slackware's site and can't see anything I'm missing.

lsmod shows no modules at all loaded. And if I type in modprobe, I get the same error that happens during bootup. (Can't load moudle xxx. modules.dep doesn't exist)

Any help for this newbie is much appreciated.

Re: New install of slack 9.1: modprobe can't load any modules.
 

modules.dep is supposed to live in /lib/modules/`uname -r` (unless slack does it differently, I have no experience with Slackware). Check if it's there, and if it's not, run

That should create the file.

Of course, this is assuming your kernel is built with loadable modules support in the first place ;).

Re: Re: New install of slack 9.1: modprobe can't load any modules.
 

Thanks for the reply robates!

Ok so my next question:

Do I need to compile the default kernel that was used to install Slack to include support for loadable modules or is that included in the default kernel?

Edit: modules.dep is in fact in /lib/modules/`2.4.22

Re: Re: Re: New install of slack 9.1: modprobe can't load any modules.
 

As I've said - I have never seen a Slack system up close, so I have no idea whether or not it includes module support by default. :)

You can check the existence of the directory I mentioned before (/lib/modules/`uname -r` - those are backticks BTW, uname -r gives you your kernel version, so this is really /lib/modules/your_kernel_version).

Also, check for the existence of /proc/modules. If both this and the directory I mentioned above exist, chances are your kernel supports modules.

Did the depmod -ae do anything?

I didn't type depmod -ae yet, as I'd have to reboot to Slack. (I'm using Redhat at the moment)

/lib/modules/2.4.22/modules.dep is there.
I'll have to reboot to check for /proc/modules.

depmod -ae returned:

depmod: Can't open /lib/modules/2.4.20-8/modules.dep for writing

So now I see sort of the problem. uname -r returns 2.4.20-8 and /lib/modules/ only has 2.4.22 in it. So I have the wrong kernel for the modules that I have. Any idea how to fix this?

The obvious really: install the correct kernel, or the correct modules ;). The slackware docs should help you with that.

Or, if you compiled the kernel yourself, do a make modules_install in your kernel source dir, I keep forgetting that myself as well ;)

I didn't compile my kernel. This is a brand new install on a freshly formatted HD. Guess I need to go figure out how to get the right kernel image copied over to my /boot/vmlinuz.

Thanks for the help.

Am I missing something here:

/boot contains vmlinuz-ide-2.4.22
No where does it mention 2.4.20-8

How come uname -r comes up with 2.4.20-8

There is a kernel running with that version (do cat /proc/version to make sure). The /boot/vmlinuz-ide-2.4.22 is not the kernel running. There must be another one lurkin around in there.

cat /proc/version shows that 2.4.20-8 is running.

How do I change that to 2.4.22?

You can't. That's the kernel speaking to you. You *are* running a 2.4.20-8 kernel.

You could try booting the 2.4.22 kernel (is that a Red Hat kernel or a Slack kernel?) for your Slackware by modifying your bootloader config.

Ok I think I see the problem.
2.4.20-8 is my redhat kernel

from lilo.conf:

boot=/dev/hdb #Redhat

image =/boot/vmlinuz
label="Slack"
root=/dev/hdd1
vga=normal
read-only

can I just change image=/boot/vmlinuz to image=/dev/hdd1/boot/vmlinuz?

Really strange, I installed Slack 9.1 without a problem. Indeed, the kernel used by Slack 9.1 is 2.4.22. As I see that you didn't do much. I suggest you to try a new fresh install. I think your bootloader is loading the kernel from some old linux install install, did your mandrake or red hat installations created a /boot partition? maybe (somehow) your lilo is loading that kernel and mounting your slack / partition.... I'm just guessing...

No, no - don't reinstall. Just change lilo.conf to

image=/boot/vmlinuz-ide-2.4.22

Or make a symlink 'vmlinuz' pointing to 2.4.22.