Linux - HardwareThis forum is for Hardware issues.
Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I'm a below average Linux newb, so please bare with me.
I have just installed Sabayon linux and I'm struggling with getting my XFX GeForce 8800GTS to work. I have tried following this guide:
-http://www.sabayonlinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Get_Ati_or_Nvidia_Video_Cards_working_in_Sabayon
However when I type "emerge =gentoo-sources-2.6.18" I get "failed: Name or service not known" a lot of times and it stops with "!!! Couldn't download 'genpatches-2.6.18-1.base.tar.bz2'. Aborting."
I'm not yet familiar with Sabayon, but I plan to try it very soon, it looks very cool Also, I don't really understand the 'emerge' method of software upgrades/installations.
I do however have an nVidia card, and have tried (and currently am still helping someone) helping folks get them working.
Here's just a tip or 2 to help get you started. Hopefully it helps a little bit.
The file /usr/src/linux is usually a symlink, not an actual folder. When it exists, it points to the location where the source-code for your running kernel resides.
Perhaps you have a folder called /usr/src/linux-2.6.xx or something similar? I'm not sure what kernel Sabayon comes with, but the folder would be in /usr/src/ and would be named the same as the kernel.
The idea with the emerge and other nVidia driver installers is usually that the installer 'builds' the driver and installs it as a module into the folder /lib/modules/<your-kernel-name>/drivers/video/
If you can determine that your kernel-source is actually there somewhere in /usr/src, then you should try creating the symlink in /usr/src/ and point it at the kernel-source folder. If you do NOT have the source-code for your kernel, you will have to use whatever updater thing Sabayon has, or some other means, of downloading/installing the kernel source, before running the nVidia installer.
Thank you for an informative reply. I haven't got anything in my /usr/src/ directory except for 3 files called ".config", ".keep" and "nvidia-bug-report.log."
So I guess I would have to go and download the kernel sources somewhere. uname -r says: "2.6.18-gentoo-r5" so that's probably the one I need sources for.
Hmm, yes well, that would indeed be the right file. As to where to get it, I'm sorry, but I don't know what the story is on the Gentoo repositories or package managers, or how it works..
I'll bet someone around here does though, perhaps you should try another forum here that is similar to Gentoo/Sabayon? Also, keep the .config file, as that is very likely the kernel-config of your installed kernel.
I'm certain you can get the kernel-source you need from wherever it is that updates your distro though.
Have you looked on the install disk by chance?
Another idea would be to use your file-browser (Konqueror or whatever it is) and search the installation, and see if you can locate that source-file. Search for something like *2.6.18-gentoo*
Last edited by GrapefruiTgirl; 03-20-2007 at 09:10 AM.
in ubuntu I'd use locate/updatedb to find files but here locate gives me an error:
"locate: fatal error: Cold not find user database `/var/lib/slocate/slocate.db`: No such file or directory
So I have to get into the GUI again to be able to search.
Hmm.. That's weird.. The link you found usually points to /lib/modules/<kernel-name>..
Oh well, anyhow, Yes I agree, /usr/src/linux-2.6.18-gentoo-r5 should hold the kernel source.
Have you figured out how to auto-get it? Or like, download it somehow using the package manager?
And, check that the source isn't already on teh install disk, maybe in /extra or something like that.
If it isn't you can download it manually from any kernel repository, just check XX.kernel.org, where XX= your country code, like us.kernel.org for united states.
Or use Google to locate a source for kernel downloads. It will be a .tgz or bz2 or RMP package.
Last edited by GrapefruiTgirl; 03-20-2007 at 10:36 AM.
Hm, seems weird, like there's a bunch of very basic stuff, not included with that OS.
Great that you got the source that's step one!
(oh, I went to have a nap, lol, didn't even notice you were missing!)
OK, explain this 'emerge' to me.. Basically, is that how you build stuff with gentoo/Sabayon?
And were you doing the emerging as root user?
Last edited by GrapefruiTgirl; 03-20-2007 at 12:54 PM.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.