NVidia troubles
 

having finally struggled until I was able to compile a proper and working kernel I now find myself with a new problem. Every time I try desperately hard to install the nvidia driver I always find myself with an error that goes somewhat like " Unable to determine the version of the kernel sources located in /lib/modules/2.6.32.8 try installing the necessary packages for instance in Red Hat Systems try to install the kernel sources RPM or if you know where the sources are located try using the --kernel-sources-path command " and each time I try to use this command I am given this very same error I have even tried using all the other list of options that are available for use with the Nvidia kernel But absolutely nothing works.can someone please tell me how to istall this driver so it can determine the kernel version a I am using or perharps how to compile the kernel so that it's version ca be easily determined by the nvidia driver.

specs:
Celeron 4
NVidia geforce FX 5200
4gb Ram
Zenwalk linux 6.2

The reason it is not building is you distribution has the nouveau driver it is the open source driver. it is loaded at boot. you will have to blacklist the driver. if that does not work you will have to rebuild the kernel and disable the nouveau driver
in there you will see blacklist nvidiafb edit it to this. Note the pound sign .
now go here http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
boot to runlevel 3 login as root and run sh ./NVIDIA-Linux-bla blah

now reboot. this is old news.As long as the naveau driver is loaded you will be unable to build the Nvidia driver.
this was done this way so you would not break your xorg.
the out put will always read unable to find kernel source or something like that.

I don't think, Zenwalk uses the nouveau driver.

I would rather guess, that the "build" link in /lib/modules/´uname -r´/
is pointing to the wrong "linux-<version>" in /usr/src/

..

It is in the default kernel and you must black list it. zenwalk uses a vanilla kernel.
look at the kernel he is using it was when the module was put in and this was the kernel when we started trouble shouting it.
You can do that for ever go back and look at all the post from everyone.
go look at zenwalk change log it was pulled on May 25 2010 but in april it was blacklist just like Slackware. which means the nouveau gallium driver for 3d is not stable enough for most linux systems and is very limited. this is the driver they are refering to.
This has been documented in nouveau wiki. and In LQ If the nouveau driver for this is loaded the out put on bulding the kernel is what you been looking at. no headers no kernel source. It will not let you build it.http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...6-33-a-792515/

say somehow the build link is after all pointing to the wrong Linux version. what do I do then because even when I try to use the command --kernel-source=/lib/modules/2.6.32.8 it still gives me the very same error message. how do I then treat this problem is there an option I am suppose to select when compiling the kernel or am I suppose to do something else completely.

""--kernel-source=/lib/modules/2.6.32.8"" : This is not the source.
The source is /usr/src/linux-´uname -r´


cd /lib/modules/2.6.32.8/

rm build
ln -s /usr/src/linux-2.6.32.8/ build

... Then the "build" link should be correct,
... if you want to use 2.6.32.8 and it really is ´uname -r´
...

I guess no one want's to believe the people that worked this problem out with the nouveau blacklist and build the Nvidia Kernel. if you have nouveau loaded the your nvidia buid will fail. so read this FC thread.

Drakeo is right - Nouveau & nVidia do not necessarily play nice together - as you can see in some other LQ threads from the past few months where he and I (mostly him) and others have fiddled with this on and off..

Another thing that may at some point have a bearing on this situation, is whether the particular version of the nvidia driver the OP is working with, is one of those that needed to be patched in order to work with certain kernel versions. I did not see above, what particular nvidia driver the OP is trying to use, but I believe that problem was fixed after maybe two driver versions, and is now gone. FWIW I just yesterday installed the freshest 64bit nVidia binary driver on my 2.6.33.1 kernel, and it was simple as pie.

At this moment, I cannot remember exactly which kernel version & driver version were affected, but the result was as the OP indicated: "Cannot determine kernel version; build fails". It happened even if the kernel source was right where it should be, and even with the --kernel-source= flag.

Making sure Nouveau is not involved (or un-involving it) would be a prudent first step. Then, if necessary due to continuing troubles, consider upgrading either the kernel, or the nVidia driver version you're working with, or both.

What version of Nvidia are you trying to install? At one point, I don't recall which version, the linux kernel moved some headers to a different location causing the Nvidia installer to fail. Nvidia eventually caught up but, if you are using an older version of the installer, it will fail because it is still looking in the old location for headers which determine the kernel version. I suggest you make sure you are using the latest version of the Nvidia installer.

Cheers, Lou

If you are using the latest driver is the latest 173.14.25 this should build for your kernel and the 2.6.33.4 kernel
but has not been updated for the FC13 xorg yet. If you feel you want to try there beta go to the nvidia beta and archives.http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

In the nvidia ftp page there is a "173.14.27"
BUILT for xorg 1.8
ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/
173 is still supported .
and the forum page
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=122606