Ok, good and bad news. I managed to get the 2.6 kernel up and running. But the nvidia installer refuses to build a kernel module of some kind. I assume i have to follow the instructions here. Little problem though. I don't have the smp 2.6 kernel version, does this mean that the nvidia installer will only work if one has this smp kernel???

I am so confused because the idea of installing the smp version of 2.6 was to make the Nvidia driver work. But during my quest to install 2.6 kernell, i was told to install the 2.6 source kernel. How do i install the smp version then to be able to use the nvidia driver? I have the exact same version of the kernel, 2.6.17.13, but without the bloody smp. That's like having $40 bucks per child according to Lewis Black.

I guess, what i need to ask is: is it posible to install the driver on 2.6.17.13 or other kernel? Or do you HAVE TO install the smp?

If this sounds too stupid, please remember i am a newbie, and this manual appears to be for pros.

If you have an smp processor and want to take advantage of it you should install the packages in the extra/linux-smp-2.6.17.13 directory. You also need to install the source in the extra/linux/2.6.17.13 directory. Follow the instructions here for getting Nvidia to compile. This worked fine for me.

Alternatively just install everything in the extra/2.6 directory. However, if you do this you will not get smp support (unless you compile your own)

Huh, where to start here...

You do not need SMP support to run the NVidia driver. If you choose to run the SMP kernel that comes with Slackware 11 (the 2.6.17.13-smp version), you will have a particular problem when trying to use the NVidia installer. That, and ONLY THAT, is what the instructions I posted above are about.

SMP has nothing to do with graphics. SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) support is for machines that have more than one CPU, such as large servers and the new dual/quad-core boxes. If you have a standard home desktop system that isn't one of the newer dual-cores, SMP does nothing for you.

Then why can i not install the driver on my machine!? Has anybody done it here? The smp solution won't work for me since i don't need smp then. I just need to install the driver so i can move on to having my work machine up and running to do some actual work. Jejejeje.

Let's put it a little bit simpler: i got the 2.6 kernel, how do i install the nvidia driver?

Not knowing exactly what you've done up to this point, I can't say for sure why it's not installing for you. Is the NVidia installer giving you any particular error message?

I assure you that I am running Slack 11 with the 2.6.17.13-smp kernel and the NVidia driver is installed, and that it works just fine.

In general, these are three critical things that have to be in place for the NVidia installer to work:

* /usr/src/linux is a symlink pointing to the kernel source code for the kernel you're running.
* /lib/modules/(version)/build symlink is pointing at the same place that /usr/src/linux is. (version) is your kernel version, e.g. "2.6.17.13".
* This source code is the same version as the kernel you're running.

So, here's the detailed procedure:

Start by ensuring that you have the following packages from /extra installed:
kernel-generic-2.6.17.13
kernel-modules-2.6.17.13
kernel-source-2.6.17.13

If you're not sure, you can look in /var/log/packages, which lists of all the packages currently installed.

Assuming that all the packages are in place, the next step is to ensure that you are really booting into the 2.6.17.13 kernel. Easiest way is to type the command "uname -r" (no quotes) at a command prompt, and it will report the kernel version. It should say "2.6.17.13."

Also, just to be complete, we could verify that /usr/src/linux and /lib/modules/2.6.17.13/build are pointing to the /usr/src/linux-2.6.17.13 directory. The command "ls -l /usr/src" should give you a short directory listing, one line of which looks literally like:
linux -> linux-2.6.17.13

If all the above checks out correctly, just follow NVidia's directions for your card from there. It really ought to work at that point.

Here's the error message i get when running the installer.
I will try to upgrade gcc by myself, but if one of you knows i should do something else, please be sure to let me know.

First, gcc is fine, leave it be. Change gcc versions and you won't be having a nice day.

The error message means that it's one of a few things:

CHECK: What does the output of "uname -r" say?

* If it's not the same version you think you're building for, then you've booted into the wrong kernel and need to reboot into the correct one. This probably isn't your problem, but it's really good to check because there's a chance you'll spot a problem. Heck, it might say "-smp" at the end, right? That would solve this!

* If uname reports "2.6.17.13", then the version string in the file /usr/src/linux-2.6.17.13/include/linux/version.h does not match what the kernel reports. That could have happened at some point while chasing the smp problem.

If it's the latter case, the easy, quick-and-dirty fix for this is to actually delete the entire /usr/src/linux-2.6.17.13 directory, and then re-install the 2.6.17.13 source package with the upgradpkg utility; it works just like installpkg except that it'll just replace the missing files. The version string will then be correct, so you can re-run the NVidia installer and it should work fine this time. Best of all, the process will take all of a few seconds. Check that /usr/src/linux is a symlink to /usr/src/linux-2.6.17.13, and you're golden.

Ok, i checked the things you suggested, and here's the results.

uname -r yielded: 2.6.17.13 (this is the kernel i installed)

cat /usr/src/linux/include/linux/version.h yielded: #define UTS_RELEASE "2.6.17.13"


I guess everything matches, right? What to do next? I also checked if i had these installed:
kernel-generic-2.6.17.13
kernel-modules-2.6.17.13
kernel-source-2.6.17.13
For my surprise, i only have the source part installed, the others have either i486 and i686 mess again. Within the slack dvd, inside the linux-2.6.17.13 directory, there are files that have generic and modules, but as one of you kindly explained to me, the i486 mess doesn't matter. There are no simple generic or modules for 2.6.17.13. Same thing happens when i get into the linux-2.6.17.13-smp directory on the dvd, there are files generic and modules, but with the same i486 and i686, and for instance, if i have the source for i486, then the modules or generic for i486 doesn't exist there, only for i686. I am going once again to kernel.org to see if i can find those three packages without the ?&*)(?:@!#$% i numbers before it.

Now, just for the hell of it, i am going to try installing the smp kernel one more time. I guess the nvidia driver only works with the smp version of the kernel, even if i don't have a machine with smp. I am really and now severly confused, i have never seen such debate over something so easy as to install a couple of things. Please somebody shed some light into this mess.

Trebek
Are you trying to install the nvidia drivers from a graphical display? Your error can also imply that a driver is already running. Also which version of the nvidia installer are you using? NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-8774-pkg1.run supports some older hardware that has been dropped with the newer NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-9626-pkg1.run package. Both install fine to the stock slack 11 kernels of all flavors on multiple machines.

Alright, if by graphical display you mean installing from a terminal within X, i am not doing so. I drop out of X either by logging out or by telinit 3, like i used to with FC, and then running the installer. The installer i am using is this one:
NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-9746-pkg1.run
It's the latest version. If you agree, i will try some other legacy drivers, see what happens. In fact, i am already downloading the 8774 you suggested.

Thanks for the advice dude.

My friend, you were correct!!! The installer for 8774 worked like a charm, I GOT THE NVIDIA SPLASH SCREEN NOW!!!!!

Thank you so much to everybody who helped me in my quest to use Slackware, i am learning like hell about linux now that i found Slackware. Thanks to agx for the patience and to TNWestTex for the wise words.

LQ rules!!!