Configuring kernel to install driver

me_and · 09-19-2005, 07:55 PM

I want to install a driver for my webcam (first post, can't link -- google for "w9968cf-1.36.tar.gz").

The text file in the tarball seems good, but it states:

Quote:

As noted above, kernel 2.4.20 is the minimum for this driver; for it to work
properly, the driver needs kernel support for Video4Linux, USB and I2C, and the
"ovcamchip" module for the image sensor.

The following options of the kernel configuration file must be enabled and
corresponding modules must be compiled:

Code:

# Multimedia devices
#
CONFIG_VIDEO_DEV=m

# I2C support
#
CONFIG_I2C=m

...

and so on.

Thing is, I'm not quite sure what I need to do. I've tried editing the kernel using the instructions on KernelHowto at the Ubuntu Wiki, but that gives me a menu system for editing the kernel, and this seems to need some sort of text editor.

Any help, preferably with explanations, would be much appreciated -- I'm trying to learn to use Linux, but I don't think I'm doing so well -.-

I'm using Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary) x86, and (I think) the kernel's version 2.6.10.

comprookie2000 · 09-19-2005, 08:09 PM

What kind of webcam?
The modules may allready be there try;

Code:

[root@localhost home]# modprobe usbcore
[root@localhost home]# modprobe i2c-core
[root@localhost home]# modprobe videodev
[root@localhost home]# modprobe w9968cf

me_and · 09-19-2005, 08:53 PM

It's a Creative WebCam Go Plus. Each of those commands just does nothing -- I'm going to make a stab in the dark and assume that means the modules aren't there...

Code:

adam@Nordom:~$ sudo modprobe usbcore
adam@Nordom:~$ sudo modprobe i2c-core
adam@Nordom:~$ sudo modprobe videodev
adam@Nordom:~$ sudo modprobe w9968cf

comprookie2000 · 09-20-2005, 03:59 AM

Looks like you will need to compile a kernel for it to work;
http://www.greenpeanut.com/projects/...oc/w9968cf.txt

me_and · 09-20-2005, 04:13 AM

That's the same document as came with the driver. It's the compiling the kernel that I'm having trouble with though -- I don't know how to make the changes it states before compiling.

comprookie2000 · 09-20-2005, 11:42 AM

For the kernel;
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=56835
Win4lin guide;
http://www.win4lin.com/component/opt...wnload/gid,24/

me_and · 09-20-2005, 05:07 PM

Okay, but how do I enable the modules?

While I think of it, how did you know the modules would be called i2c-core and videodev and so on? Is that something that I just need to know, or is there somewhere to look it up?

comprookie2000 · 09-20-2005, 05:22 PM

You will have to do some reading, it will not be easy.
http://www.greenpeanut.com/projects/...oc/w9968cf.txt

me_and · 09-20-2005, 09:12 PM

Okay, I've got the camera working with xawtv, but GnomeMeeting isn't accepting it. When I ran xawtv, that didn't seem too happy, but it worked:

Code:

adam@nordom:~$ xawtv -c /dev/video0
This is xawtv-3.94, running on Linux/i686 (2.6.10-5-386)
WARNING: v4l-conf is compiled without DGA support.
/dev/video0 [v4l]: no overlay support
v4l-conf had some trouble, trying to continue anyway
ioctl: VIDIOC_QUERYCAP(driver="";card="";bus_info="";version=0.0.0;capabilities=0x0 []): Unknown error 515
Warning: Cannot convert string "-*-ledfixed-medium-r-*--39-*-*-*-c-*-*-*" to type FontStruct
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=48;width=64;format=7): Invalid argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=48;width=64;format=15): Invalid argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=48;width=64;format=5): Invalid argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=48;width=64;format=4): Invalid argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=48;width=64;format=1): Invalid argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=48;width=64;format=13): Invalid argument
no way to get: 384x288 32 bit TrueColor (LE: bgr-)

In GnomeMeeting, it says that Video4Linux is the most common plugin; the one I'm using is V4L2. GnomeMeeting reports that it's failing to open /dev/video0, but it doesn't give a reason why, and I don't know where it would dump that information.