Modprobe ndiswrapper freezes my OpenSuse 10.2 with Netgear WN511T wireless card
 

Hi,
I have an old Gateway 5300 laptop 750 Mhz. Pentium III with 256 Mb RAM and decided to install OpenSuse 10.2 (uname -a reads 'Linux linux-36li 2.6.18.8-0.9-default #1 SMP Sun Feb 10 22:48:05 UTC 2008 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux').

The problem I'm having is that I can't get my NetGear WN511T wireless card to work. I've downloaded and installed 'ndiswrapper 1.48-6.1 i586' from the OpenSuse page and the newest Windows XP drivers from the NetGear site.

I used 'ndiswrapper -i' with no errors
.
I run 'ndiswrapper -l' and it shows:
netmw14x : driver installed
device (11AB:2A02) present.

I run 'ndiswrapper -m' and it loads in the mod list ('lsmod').

But when I run 'modprobe ndiswrapper' my system freezes. Only a hard reset will get it running again. :(

I have noticed that when I run 'lsmod' again, 'ndiswrapper' doesn't show up in the list. I'm a newbie by the way. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Perhaps this will help. Before you try to modprobe ndiswrapper, do
lsmod | grep "netmw"

with no spaces inside the quotes. this will give you the name of the
kernel module that the kernel is currently using to run your network card.

when you get the module name, type

modprobe -r (driver/kernel module name)

and then

modprobe ndiswrapper

this ought to help, bc I think that ndiswrapper doesn't like the other driver module being loaded. Please let me know how that goes!

When I type (lsmod | grep "netmw"), I get nothing.

Now let me back up. Sorry about not posting well. I was sure that ndiswrapper was loaded in the 'lsmod' list but I can't seem to find it now.

Typing 'ndiswrapper -m' gives the line:
'module configuration already contains alias directive'

Typing 'modprobe ndiswrapper' with the network card in, freezes the system. But if the card is out, it loads fine and then shows in the 'lsmod' list. If I plug in the card with the module loaded, it immediately freezes the system as well.

One other thing I'll post.
Typing 'ndiswrapper -v' gives this:

utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '1.9'
module details:
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.18.8-0.9-default/weak-updates/ndiswrapper.ko
version: 1.48
vermagic: 2.6.18.2-34-default SMP mod_unload 586 REGPARM gcc-4.1

Well this is quite strange. Do you know what chipset the card is based on? I think it's an atheros deal but I'm not sure. It seems to me like there is a conflict between two drivers, namely ndiswrapper and whatever else is trying to run the card. You did try to get the card to work with native linux drivers first before you began ndiswrapper installation right? If not then maybe you should try keeping ndiswrapper off of the compy before you use your card.

Another thing, have you tried one of the newer (or older) versions of ndiswrapper?

When I run NetworkManager, the only card that comes up is the wired Intel card. I tried to add the wireless card manually but it didn't seem to work for me. That was when I started looking at ndiswrapper.

The Netgear WN511T card that I have has a Marvell chipset. 11ab:2a02. As I mentioned, I downloaded the latest drivers from the Netgear site.

I first tried the ndiswrapper that came with Suse 10.2 (Version 1.25****). That didn't work so I downloaded the latest version that was on the Suse update pages. (Version 1.48****) I guess I could download the latest from the ndiswrapper wiki page. But I would hardly think it would help.

Is there anyway to figure out if I have two different devices trying to access the card? I know that I have only one driver installed in ndiswrapper.

From what I understand, Marvell doesn't allow Linux drivers for their chipsets yet.

Any other clue as to why 'modprobe ndiswrapper' would lock up my system? I've basically followed intructions that I've found on various different sites as to how to set up ndiswrapper. But nobody else seems to have this problem.

Still hoping!

Here's the latest that I've been able to do (sorry for the long post):

I unistalled my driver in ndiswrapper:

linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -l
netmw14x : driver installed
device (11AB:2A02) present
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -r netmw14x
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -l
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -m
module configuration already contains alias directive

I checked the module list and ndiswrapper isn't running on a fresh boot:

linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # lsmod
Module Size Used by
xt_pkttype 6016 3
ipt_LOG 10624 8
xt_limit 6912 8
af_packet 29320 0
snd_pcm_oss 53376 0
snd_mixer_oss 21248 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq 60272 0
snd_seq_device 12812 1 snd_seq
button 10896 0
battery 14468 0
ac 9476 0
ip6t_REJECT 9344 3
xt_tcpudp 7296 3
ipt_REJECT 9472 3
xt_state 6272 12
iptable_mangle 7040 0
iptable_nat 11524 0
ip_nat 21804 1 iptable_nat
iptable_filter 7168 1
ip6table_mangle 6528 0
ip_conntrack 52960 3 xt_state,iptable_nat,ip_nat
nfnetlink 11032 2 ip_nat,ip_conntrack
ip_tables 17604 3 iptable_mangle,iptable_nat,iptable_filter
ip6table_filter 7040 1
ip6_tables 18756 2 ip6table_mangle,ip6table_filter
x_tables 18180 10 xt_pkttype,ipt_LOG,xt_limit,ip6t_REJECT,xt_tcpudp,ipt_REJECT,xt_state,iptable_nat,ip_tables,ip6_tabl es
ipv6 264480 15 ip6t_REJECT
apparmor 55828 0
aamatch_pcre 18304 1 apparmor
loop 20488 0
dm_mod 60184 0
pcmcia 40892 0
firmware_class 14080 1 pcmcia
ide_cd 42272 0
cdrom 38432 1 ide_cd
e100 39688 0
mii 9600 1 e100
uhci_hcd 26892 0
usbcore 128004 2 uhci_hcd
snd_maestro3 29828 1
snd_ac97_codec 95648 1 snd_maestro3
snd_ac97_bus 6400 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm 86916 3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_maestro3,snd_ac97_codec
snd_timer 27908 2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
yenta_socket 30348 3
snd 61188 10 snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_maestro3,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer
rsrc_nonstatic 17024 1 yenta_socket
shpchp 40224 0
soundcore 13792 1 snd
pcmcia_core 43412 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
snd_page_alloc 14984 1 snd_pcm
i2c_piix4 12428 0
intel_agp 27804 1
pci_hotplug 35136 1 shpchp
i2c_core 25216 1 i2c_piix4
agpgart 35528 1 intel_agp
parport_pc 42084 1
lp 15652 0
parport 39752 2 parport_pc,lp
ext3 141192 2
mbcache 12804 1 ext3
jbd 70324 1 ext3
edd 13892 0
fan 8964 0
piix 14084 0 [permanent]
thermal 18568 0
processor 34664 1 thermal
ide_disk 20480 4
ide_core 130248 3 ide_cd,piix,ide_disk

Then I ran modprobe ndiswrapper without a driver installed and it loaded fine:

linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # modprobe ndiswrapper
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # lsmod
Module Size Used by
ndiswrapper 195344 0
xt_pkttype 6016 3
......................
ide_core 130248 3 ide_cd,piix,ide_disk

Then I installed the driver again and ran 'dmesg':

linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -l
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -i NetMW14x.inf
installing netmw14x ...
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # ndiswrapper -l
netmw14x : driver installed
device (11AB:2A02) present

It didn't freeze on me! Here's an edited copy of 'dmesg' immediately after this. I think I have the relevant parts here.

linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # dmesg
Linux version 2.6.18.8-0.9-default (geeko@buildhost) (gcc version 4.1.2 20061115 (prerelease) (SUSE Linux)) #1 SMP Sun Feb 10 22:48:05 UTC 2008
.........................
piix4_smbus 0000:00:07.3: Found 0000:00:07.3 device
shpchp: Standard Hot Plug PCI Controller Driver version: 0.4
Yenta: CardBus bridge found at 0000:00:08.0 [107b:5300]
Yenta: ISA IRQ mask 0x0838, PCI irq 10
Socket status: 30000006
Yenta: CardBus bridge found at 0000:00:08.1 [107b:5300]
Yenta: ISA IRQ mask 0x0838, PCI irq 10
Socket status: 30000006
PCI: Enabling device 0000:00:0c.0 (0000 -> 0003)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKC] enabled at IRQ 11
PCI: setting IRQ 11 as level-triggered
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:0c.0[A] -> Link [LNKC] -> GSI 11 (level, low) -> IRQ 11
...............................
e100: Intel(R) PRO/100 Network Driver, 3.5.10-k2-NAPI
e100: Copyright(c) 1999-2005 Intel Corporation
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:0d.0[A] -> Link [LNKA] -> GSI 10 (level, low) -> IRQ 10
e100: eth0: e100_probe: addr 0xe8020000, irq 10, MAC addr 00:10:A4:83:C9:4E
.........................
NET: Registered protocol family 10
lo: Disabled Privacy Extensions
IPv6 over IPv4 tunneling driver
ip6_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
Netfilter messages via NETLINK v0.30.
ip_conntrack version 2.4 (2047 buckets, 16376 max) - 228 bytes per conntrack
.....................
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
NET: Registered protocol family 17
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=78 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=58
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=78 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=58
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=78 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=58
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
JBD: barrier-based sync failed on hda3 - disabling barriers
SFW2-INext-DROP-DEFLT IN=eth0 OUT= MAC= SRC=169.254.11.228 DST=224.0.0.251 LEN=113 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=5353 DPT=5353 LEN=93
pccard: CardBus card inserted into slot 1
ndiswrapper version 1.48 loaded (smp=yes, preempt=no)
usbcore: registered new driver ndiswrapper
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T #

But if I try (lsmod | grep "netmw") at any point in the game (I tried at a few different places), it doesn't show me anything.

linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T # lsmod | grep "netmw"
linux-36li:~/Desktop/WN511T #

Is there any info here that would help figure it out?

I'm giving the latest version of ndiswrapper a shot. I tried to compile it, and I came up with this error.

linux-36li:~/Desktop/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.52 # make distclean
make -C driver clean
make[1]: Entering directory `/root/Desktop/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.52/driver'
Makefile:35: *** Cannot find kernel version in /usr/src/linux-2.6.18.8-0.9-obj/i386/default, is it configured?. Stop.
make[1]: Leaving directory `/root/Desktop/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.52/driver'
make: *** [clean] Error 2
linux-36li:~/Desktop/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.52 #

What have I done wrong? How do I fix it?

That looks like you don't have your kernel source code installed. There is almost certainly a package for it either on your install disks or on a Suse repository.

Right. I had to install that as well as gcc to get ndiswrapper to install. After I had that installed, I used the commands 'make distclean' then 'make' then 'make install'. All seemed to go well, but it doesn't show up as installed in YaST. Is that normal? Will it still work OK?

If there were no errors, then things are heading in the right direction. What you need to do now is follow the installation instructions and install your Windows driver (ndiswrapper -i). Once that is done, you can load the module (modprobe ndiswrapper) and then see if your card shows up in the output of iwconfig. If it does, you can configure it and request an IP address.

I've got the same scenario as before. When I 'modprobe ndiswrapper' with the network card inserted, my laptop freezes. I can modprobe and it loads fine with the card out. If I insert it, everything's a dead freeze.

I've now tried something else. I removed my driver from ndiswrapper and took out the network card. I ran 'modprobe ndiswrapper' and it loaded fine. Then I inserted the card and reinstalled the driver. Doing 'ndiswrapper -l' shows that the driver is loaded and 'lsmod' shows that ndiswrapper is running. But I get no connection even after configuring with YaST.

Why this and what next?

I'm starting to think that your Windows driver might not be compatible with ndiswrapper. I would visit the ndiswrapper wiki site and see if anyone has posted a link to a driver for your card. Hopefully that will take care of the issue. The other thing is to look in your log files (/var/log/syslog, /var/log/messages, and the output of dmesg) and see if there are any clue from ndiswrapper.

My apologies for not suggesting this before, but since you have a Marvel chipset, there is a native Linux driver. Apparently the OLPC project used the Marvel chipset, and the driver has been in the Linux kernel since 2.6.22. According to your first post, you have an older kernel, so you might try upgrading to 2.6.22 or later.

OK, I'll try the kernel upgrade. I found a site that showed how to back up the previous kernel and everything seemed to go well. And looking at this post about upgrading the kernel seems hopeful. Would it be what I need to do? I'll download a new kernel from kernel.org.

You've really got two options when you upgrade a kernel. The easier approach is to look in a Suse repository for a pre-compiled kernel and install that as you would any other RPM. If you go to kernel.org, you'll be taking a second approach, which would be to configure and compile your own kernel. If you go this direction, you'll want to do your homework on how that is done. I've got some basic instructions on my help site and there are literally dozens of other help sites just a google away. If you compile your own kernel, the biggest thing is to have a backup kernel available before you begin so that when the new kernel gets screwed up (and it will get screwed up, believe me) you still have a way to boot into your computer and fix things. I've lost count of how many times I've screwed up my kernel configuration, but the first time was the only time that I didn't have a good kernel in place in case of trouble. I ended up doing an OS reinstall that time.

Could you tell me where to find an openSUSE repository with the 2.6.22 or newer kernel? I'm running 2.6.18.8-0.9 and the only thing that I find on the SUSE repo site is 2.6.18.8-915.1.

I have successfully backed up my old kernel. I think I'm only left with the second option. The kernel I downloaded is 2.6.24.3. That is if the other isn't an option.

Sorry, since I don't use Suse, I really don't know where you would look for a repository. There is a Suse forum here, maybe that would be a good place to ask about the best way to upgrade a kernel on Suse.

Well, here goes! I'll post on how it turns out. Thanks for the help so far.

Ok, the kernel composing went fine. I combined the instructions from these two sites:
Unofficial SUSEFAQ - Kernel Compiling
How To Compile A Kernel - The SuSE Way
It booted up on the first try without a problem! :)

I downloaded the kernel from kernel.org stated as kernel 2.6.24.3. But after I installed it, it shows up as kernel 2.6.18.8-0.9. Same as what I had. But then my old system was completely updated. Did I do something wrong?

Then I tried out the NetGear wireless card. It still doesn't register in YaST. I tried to manually install it to no avail. So I tried ndiswrapper again with the same congealing effect that I had before. :(

As far as windows drivers, I've tried the one from the ndiswrapper wiki that they say works for them as well as the next newer version direct from the NetGear site. Not sure why they don't work.

PS. I have a friend with WinXP that wants a network card. I think I'm selling this one and buying something else. Not sure what else to do.

Also, I only have a 10GB hard drive. It get's full too quickly. I'm going to have to redo my system and look for a lighter desktop. Maybe XFCE or something. Or maybe a smaller distro.

There are really only a couple of ways that this could happen. Either you didn't copy the new kernel into /boot or you didn't update grub to point at the new kernel. I'm guessing grub is the problem, but that is just a guess.
That actually wouldn't be a bad idea if it let you get a card that is better supported, like the Intel chipset or the Atheros chipset.

Yeah, that isn't a lot of room. However, if you like Suse, you could always just trim it down to just the stuff you need.

Ok, I've done just a little searching and found a broken link.
When I type 'ln -s linux-2.6.24.3 linux', it doesn't want to link. I comes up with 'link (broken). I figure that is the reason it didn't install correctly. What can I do to make it work? I'm logged in as root.

Here, I'll list the commands that I used in Terminal to compile the kernel in /usr/src.

ln -s linux-2.6.24.3 linux
cd /usr/src/linux
make mrproper
make cloneconfig
touch /usr/src/linux/include/linux/modversions.h
make menuconfig
----followed instructions from HowToForge----
make rpm
cd /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i386/
rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.24.3modified.i386.rpm
mkinitrd
----modified my bootloader and rebooted.----

well you followed a rather unorthodox way of compiling a kernel, that's for sure. I'm not sure why you would make it into an rpm. That's beside my point though. what you ought to do is compile your kernel again, this time making sure that you configure it so that support for your root FS (ext3, reiserFS, whatever) is COMPILED in, not just a module. Then you don't have to use an initrd. This is a good practice to take since initrd's have a habit of corrupting themselves from time to time. Easier to simply cut out the middle man.

Your ln command didn't work because more than likely you already have a file in /usr/src called linux, which is the source for your original kernel, 2.6.18.8. rather than soft link your new source to the linux directory, your computer told you to get stuffed :-P. So you probably recompiled 2.6.18.8 instead of 2.6.24.3. So here's what you do.

cd /usr/src/linux-2.6.24.3
cp ../linux/.config ./
make menuconfig

this pops up an ncurses based menu which allows you to set and unset each and every single option a kernel has. There are a ton, but you only need to worry about the filesystem stuff. when you exit, menuconfig will write the .config file and you'll be set for liftoff.

make mrproper
make

And it'll go for a half hour or so. Or maybe ten minutes if your rig is sweet. After that do your thing with GRUB (making sure this time that you do NOT include an initrd line for this kernel since you've taken care of FS support and don't need one) and reboot. You should then be running a brand new kernel! Make sure to keep your old kernel's information still in GRUB so if you get a kernel panic with your new one you can still boot the old one.

Happy Hunting :-)

Ok, here's what I come up with next. I did as you said and tried to compile the kernel. I did 'make menuconfig' and then tried 'make mrproper' and 'make'. I wish I knew more of what this stuff means. Here's what I get:

linux-36li:/usr/src/linux-2.6.24.3 # make menuconfig
HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
HOSTCC scripts/basic/docproc
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/conf.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/kxgettext.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/lxdialog/checklist.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/lxdialog/inputbox.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/lxdialog/menubox.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/lxdialog/textbox.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/lxdialog/util.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/lxdialog/yesno.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/mconf.o
SHIPPED scripts/kconfig/zconf.tab.c
SHIPPED scripts/kconfig/lex.zconf.c
SHIPPED scripts/kconfig/zconf.hash.c
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/zconf.tab.o
HOSTLD scripts/kconfig/mconf
scripts/kconfig/mconf arch/x86/Kconfig
.config:32:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SUSE_KERNEL
.config:105:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol X86_XEN
.config:149:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol X86_CMPXCHG64
.config:162:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol X86_APIC_AUTO
.config:201:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol REGPARM
.config:220:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOFTWARE_SUSPEND
.config:222:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SUSPEND_SMP
.config:229:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_SLEEP_PROC_FS
.config:230:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_SLEEP_PROC_SLEEP
.config:235:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_HOTKEY
.config:242:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_IBM
.config:243:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_IBM_DOCK
.config:245:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_SONY
.config:246:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_PCC
.config:248:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ACPI_CUSTOM_DSDT_INITRD
.config:266:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol APM_RTC_IS_GMT
.config:297:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol X86_SPEEDSTEP_CENTRINO_ACPI
.config:320:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol PCI_GOXEN_FE
.config:327:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol HOTPLUG_PCI_PCIE_POLL_EVENT_MODE
.config:378:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol HOTPLUG_PCI_SHPC_POLL_EVENT_MODE
.config:395:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NETDEBUG
.config:409:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_ROUTE_FWMARK
.config:411:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_ROUTE_MULTIPATH_CACHED
.config:537:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CONNTRACK
.config:538:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CT_ACCT
.config:539:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CONNTRACK_MARK
.config:540:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CONNTRACK_SECMARK
.config:541:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CONNTRACK_EVENTS
.config:542:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CONNTRACK_NETLINK
.config:543:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_CT_PROTO_SCTP
.config:544:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_FTP
.config:545:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_IRC
.config:546:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NETBIOS_NS
.config:547:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_TFTP
.config:548:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_AMANDA
.config:549:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_PPTP
.config:550:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_H323
.config:551:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_SIP
.config:558:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_MATCH_DSCP
.config:563:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_MATCH_HASHLIMIT
.config:568:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_TARGET_TCPMSS
.config:569:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT
.config:570:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_NEEDED
.config:575:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_SNMP_BASIC
.config:576:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_IRC
.config:577:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_FTP
.config:578:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_TFTP
.config:579:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_AMANDA
.config:580:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_PPTP
.config:581:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_H323
.config:582:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_NAT_SIP
.config:586:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IP_NF_TARGET_DSCP
.config:687:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol DECNET_ROUTE_FWMARK
.config:712:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_SCH_CLK_JIFFIES
.config:713:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_SCH_CLK_GETTIMEOFDAY
.config:714:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_SCH_CLK_CPU
.config:757:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_ESTIMATOR
.config:958:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol MTD_OBSOLETE_CHIPS
.config:1067:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol PARIDE_PARPORT
.config:1116:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol CIPHER_TWOFISH
.config:1154:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol BLK_DEV_IDEDMA_FORCED
.config:1155:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IDEDMA_PCI_AUTO
.config:1156:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IDEDMA_ONLYDISK
.config:1185:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IDE_CHIPSETS
.config:1197:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IDEDMA_IVB
.config:1198:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IDEDMA_AUTO
.config:1255:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol AIC79XX_ENABLE_RD_STRM
.config:1343:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SATA_INTEL_COMBINED
.config:1389:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol CD_NO_IDESCSI
.config:1390:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol AZTCD
.config:1391:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol GSCD
.config:1392:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol MCDX
.config:1393:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol OPTCD
.config:1394:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SJCD
.config:1395:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ISP16_CDI
.config:1396:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol CDU535
.config:1439:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IEEE1394_OUI_DB
.config:1440:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IEEE1394_EXTRA_CONFIG_ROMS
.config:1441:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IEEE1394_CONFIG_ROM_IP1394
.config:1442:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol IEEE1394_EXPORT_FULL_API
.config:1583:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol DGRS
.config:1659:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_RADIO
.config:1660:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_WIRELESS_RTNETLINK
.config:1726:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NET_WIRELESS
.config:1765:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol DLCI_COUNT
.config:1832:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NETPOLL_RX
.config:2006:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol INPUT_TSDEV
.config:2007:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol INPUT_TSDEV_SCREEN_X
.config:2008:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol INPUT_TSDEV_SCREEN_Y
.config:2109:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol NOZOMI
.config:2143:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol TIPAR
.config:2176:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol I8XX_TCO
.config:2272:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol CRASHER
.config:2299:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol I2C_ISA
.config:2469:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol VIDEO_SAA7134_DVB_ALL_FRONTENDS
.config:2479:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol VIDEO_CX88_DVB_ALL_FRONTENDS
.config:2531:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol RADIO_MIROPCM20
.config:2532:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol RADIO_MIROPCM20_RDS
.config:2545:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol DVB
.config:2657:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol VIDEO_VIDEOBUF
.config:2659:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol VIDEO_BUF
.config:2660:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol VIDEO_BUF_DVB
.config:2754:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol BACKLIGHT_DEVICE
.config:2756:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol LCD_DEVICE
.config:2761:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol BOOTSPLASH
.config:2801:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SND_AC97_BUS
.config:2926:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol OSS_OBSOLETE_DRIVER
.config:2927:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_BT878
.config:2928:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_EMU10K1
.config:2929:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol MIDI_EMU10K1
.config:2930:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_FUSION
.config:2931:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_ES1371
.config:2932:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_ICH
.config:2936:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_VIA82CXXX
.config:2937:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol MIDI_VIA82CXXX
.config:2941:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_AD1816
.config:2942:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_AD1889
.config:2943:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_ADLIB
.config:2944:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_ACI_MIXER
.config:2945:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_CS4232
.config:2951:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_NM256
.config:2958:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_OPL3SA2
.config:2967:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol AEDSP16_MPU401
.config:2968:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SOUND_TVMIXER
.config:2984:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_BANDWIDTH
.config:2998:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_OHCI_BIG_ENDIAN
.config:3034:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_HIDINPUT
.config:3047:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_AIPTEK
.config:3048:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_WACOM
.config:3049:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_ACECAD
.config:3050:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_KBTAB
.config:3051:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_POWERMATE
.config:3052:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_TOUCHSCREEN
.config:3053:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_TOUCHSCREEN_EGALAX
.config:3054:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_TOUCHSCREEN_PANJIT
.config:3055:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_TOUCHSCREEN_3M
.config:3056:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_TOUCHSCREEN_ITM
.config:3057:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_YEALINK
.config:3058:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_XPAD
.config:3059:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_ATI_REMOTE
.config:3060:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_ATI_REMOTE2
.config:3061:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_KEYSPAN_REMOTE
.config:3062:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol USB_APPLETOUCH
.config:3230:warning: symbol value 'm' invalid for EDAC
.config:3243:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol EDAC_POLL
.config:3254:warning: symbol value 'm' invalid for RTC_INTF_SYSFS
.config:3255:warning: symbol value 'm' invalid for RTC_INTF_PROC
.config:3256:warning: symbol value 'm' invalid for RTC_INTF_DEV
.config:3303:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol EXT3_FS_NFS4ACL
.config:3320:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol FS_NFS4ACL
.config:3347:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol ZISOFS_FS
.config:3373:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol RAMFS
.config:3388:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol JFFS_FS
.config:3389:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol JFFS_FS_VERBOSE
.config:3390:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol JFFS_PROC_FS
.config:3458:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol RXRPC
.config:3551:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol DEBUG_RWSEMS
.config:3563:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol UNWIND_INFO
.config:3564:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol STACK_UNWIND
.config:3579:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol KDB
.config:3589:warning: symbol value 'm' invalid for SECURITY_CAPABILITIES
.config:3590:warning: symbol value 'm' invalid for SECURITY_ROOTPLUG
.config:3591:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SECURITY_SECLVL
.config:3593:warning: trying to assign nonexistent symbol SECURITY_APPARMOR
#
# configuration written to .config
#


*** End of Linux kernel configuration.
*** Execute 'make' to build the kernel or try 'make help'.

linux-36li:/usr/src/linux-2.6.24.3 # make mrproper
CLEAN scripts/basic
CLEAN scripts/kconfig
CLEAN include/config
CLEAN .config .config.old
linux-36li:/usr/src/linux-2.6.24.3 # make
HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
HOSTCC scripts/basic/docproc
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/conf.o
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/kxgettext.o
SHIPPED scripts/kconfig/zconf.tab.c
SHIPPED scripts/kconfig/lex.zconf.c
SHIPPED scripts/kconfig/zconf.hash.c
HOSTCC scripts/kconfig/zconf.tab.o
HOSTLD scripts/kconfig/conf
scripts/kconfig/conf -s arch/x86/Kconfig
***
*** You have not yet configured your kernel!
*** (missing kernel .config file)
***
*** Please run some configurator (e.g. "make oldconfig" or
*** "make menuconfig" or "make xconfig").
***
make[2]: *** [silentoldconfig] Error 1
make[1]: *** [silentoldconfig] Error 2
make: *** No rule to make target `include/config/auto.conf', needed by `include/config/kernel.release'. Stop.
linux-36li:/usr/src/linux-2.6.24.3 #

I also would like to know if I could remove all of the modules that I won't be needing in 'make menuconfig' as in the display drivers and ethernet cards and stuff that I don't have. Would it be necessary and would it help make the system lighter?

;) Thanks for the compliment. I really don't know what I'm doing.

OK, I found that doing 'make mrproper' removes the .config files. So I did 'make clean' instead. Then I used the 'make' command to build the kernel. Is that ok? Also, when I go to YaST to add my new kernel to GRUB, I don't find it listed.

Uh, no, that isn't OK. Here would be the proper sequence: make clean, make mrproper, make menuconfig (or make oldconfig or make xconfig), make, make install, make modules_install. If you run make clean or make mrproper after running make old/menu/x/config, it will wipe out the .config file you need.

To start, you probably want to run make oldconfig. That will take the existing configuration and then ask you questions about what is new. You can then go back with make menuconfig or make xconfig and do some tweaking to it.
Absolutely this is a good idea. One of the points of rolling your own kernel is to customize it to your hardware. However, not having a bunch of extra modules around doesn't really make anything lighter since modules that aren't used just take up disk space. Of course if disk space is a limitation, then not having them around is a good thing.

Everything seemed to go Ok till I tried to boot from the new kernel. It went down through:

RAMDISK driver initialized: 16 RAM disks of 64,000K size 1024 blocksize

and on till it got to:

md: autorun ...
md: ... autorun DONE.
VFS: Cannot open root device "hda2" or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option; here are the available partitions:
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

Does that mean that I still need an initrd? I thought I had compiled support for Reiserfs.

That usually means one of two things. Either you didn't compile your file system (or compiled it as a module) or you didn't add support for your disk hardware. If you've got older disk drives (ATA/IDE) then you need to activate support in Device Drivers > ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support. If you've got newer SATA drives, you need to enable SCSI disk support. (Device Drivers > SCSI Device Support). Make sure you compile this support into the kernel and not as a module. In general, if your file system and basic disk hardware support are compiled into the kernel, you don't need an initrd.

Yes I apologize for my mistake earlier - I meant to say that you issue make mrproper first and then run the configuration, since mrproper removes old configuration files and such. Sorry for being dumb. What type of file system do you have on your root partition (/) ? If you don't have support for that file system compiled into your kernel it won't boot without an initrd. Also I'm not quite sure where all of your warnings came from when you ran make menuconfig. Did you actually get to the configuration menu or did it just give you the warnings and stop?

I got the new kernel up and running! ;) Thanks so much for the help so far. But I've still got some issues. I noticed that the AppArmor fails to load. And also, I noticed that I can't connect to the Internet. I going to try to get a log of the startup.

As far as the internet not working, it came up with a thing about FATAL: Module ip_conntrack not found. Is securityfs loaded? I did a little checking and installed the latest iptables patch. It might be that I hadn't configured it well from the start.

Any clues as to why AppArmor didn't load?

Well I'm glad to hear that you finally managed to get your kernel working and that you now have internet access(?). As far as AppArmor not loading goes, you might have to deal with that on its own. Unless it's something that has been overlooked in it's configuration, It's probably a problem worth it's own thread. You can start it here or in the Linux Software.

If the patch solved the problem, great, but that is more likely a kernel configuration issue. A lot of the iptables modules aren't compiled by default, so you may need to go through your kernel config and add them. Look in Networking > Networking Options > Network Packet filtering Framework. A lot of the needed modules are in the options below that.

I've never used AppArmor, so I really don't know. A complete and total guess is that it is somehow dependent on the kernel, so it either needs to be recompiled against your new kernel or there is some kernel configuration that needs to be tweaked.

Thanks so much for your help guys! Much appreciated. I wouldn't have been able to do it with out you guys.

Hi I have similar problem but im a newer newbie than the last guy, so this may make you laugh... I have the same error message.... and I dont know how to configure the kernal in that folder. I have searched the DVD opensuse for a kernal file but there are hundreds of RPM's (which one am i looking for?

Im trying to get my wireless network card working so i can go on the net using linux. i have the same marvel chipset, so i guess i'll need to run this ndiswrapper and the XP driver. I will need a little more guidance i supppose.

Thanks in advance. :)

Since I don't use Suse, I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but you're probably looking for something along the lines of kernel-version-src.rpm. You might want to ask this question in the Suse forum to get a definitive answer. By the way, you won't need to configure anything, just having the source code for your running kernel (which will include the configuration files Suse used) will be sufficient for ndiswrapper to compile.

Hi genuisgene, go into YaST and then into Software Management. Do a search for 'kernel' and it should bring up 'kernel-sources' or something like that. Select that one. I think you need to do a search for 'gcc' and install that as well with all the dependencies that it automatically brings up.

Opensuse
 

I have used OpenSuse. They have a web. Take a look above, as they have a IRC where you can chat with people who have used it. They also have a page on ndiswrapper. The latest version is 10.3, I think.

Wificraig has an answer for a problem with ndiswrapper. Find his post answer in the newbies section. I do not know how to tell you where it is. There is no URL to give for it. It has a tag of ndiswrapper.