Hi,

I'm having no luck at all with nvidia.

Here's my setup.

P4 2ghz, 512mb ram, plenty of HD space.

Mandrake 9.0, kernel 2.4.19-61mdk, KDE 3.1-7tex

Gainward GF4 PowerPack! Ultra/650XP VIVO 128mb (GeForce4 Ti4200 w/Philips SAA7108E)

After two weeks of reload after reload of Mandrake I am now chasing my tail and getting nowhere at all.
I've RTFM'ed and RTFNG'ed and RTFF's ang googled and man'ed and printed out a whole REAM of paper (from forums, readme's, helps, etc..)
All to no avail..
My number one problem is that I need to get RivaTV working, I got the card to do video editing and it is totally non-functional at this point.
I have tried to install RivaTV from tar and from CVS and it refuses to install no matter what I do.
I need to pump audio/video into it from a VCR, capture the video to disk for editing then put it back out to video tape and also make video CD's from the source.

I've lost count of how many times I've reformated my hard drive and started over from scratch.
I'm just banging my head on the desk at this point. I've tried so many things that I'm going in circles, I can't even remember where all the places are that I've found help files at. And usenet was not much use, I got lots of smart-alec "help" (if you can call it help) there but not one thing yet has done me any good.
My system boots and I have video but I think it's just running in a minimal (or simple) mode...
I'm sorry for the LOOOOONG details but I've seen other posts where people say "post your *so-n-so* file" so here they are.
This is about as confusing and tiresome a thing as I've run into yet!!
Thanks!!


Here's the things I've tried...

I ran NVChooser.sh and it told me this,
[root@mdkbox vid]# ./NVchooser.sh
Please download and install the following files:
NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4191.mdk90up.i586.rpm
NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4191.i386.rpm

I did this and no error messages occured.
I edited my /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 as per the nvidia instructions.

[me@mdkbox X11]$ ls
app-defaults/ fs/ prefdm* serverconfig/ twm/ xdm/ XF86Config-4.old XftConfig xkb/ xserver/
applnk/ gdm/ proxymngr/ starthere/ wmsession.d/ XF86Config XF86Config-4.yanc xinit/ Xmodmap Xsession*
encodings.dir lbxproxy/ rstart/ sysconfig/ X@ XF86Config-4 XF86Config.old xinit.d/ Xresources* xsm/
[me@mdkbox X11]$ cat XF86Config-4
# File generated by XFdrake.

# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)
# By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of
# the X server to render fonts.
FontPath "unix/:-1"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
#DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)
#DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)
AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse doesn't work
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension
Load "v4l" # Video for Linux
Load "extmod"
Load "type1"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx" # 3D layer
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "Keyboard"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbOptions" ""
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Microsoft"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Emulate3Buttons"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "monitor1"
VendorName "Dell"
ModelName "Dell P780"
HorizSync 30.0-85.0
VertRefresh 48.0-120.0

# Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)?
# 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync
ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync

# TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.
# 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

# 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync
ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "device1"
VendorName "NVidia"
BoardName "NVIDIA GeForce (fbdev)"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "DPMS"
Option "NvAGP" "1"
Option "DigitalVibrance" "0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "screen1"
Device "device1"
Monitor "monitor1"
DefaultColorDepth 24

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1400x1050" "1280x1024" "1280x960" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "layout1"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
Screen "screen1"
EndSection
[me@mdkbox X11]$


When I boot I get the nifty nvidia logo.
I would think that when this logo is displayed that everything is operating properly, right?? Well, apparently not.

Here's the output of nv_check.sh

[root@mdkbox vid]# ./nv_check.sh
Welcome to the NVidia Driver Installation Checker.
This shell script is meant to help you debug your installation
of the beta NVidia Linux drivers. It is not 100% foolproof.
In particular, you will definitely want to make sure you have
the correct options in your XF86Config to make X work properly.
This script cannot debug your X setup. That being said, it
should prove useful if are having problems with the drivers and
want to check the validity of your driver install.

At no time will this script EVER make changes to your system.
It is simply a diagnostic tool - fixes of any kind will have to
come from you.

Press enter to continue...

OK, the first thing we need to do is make sure your XF86Config file
is set up correctly. In order to do this, I'm first going to try
and find where this file might be...
checking /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/XF86Config...
not found
checking /usr/X11R6/etc/X11/XF86Config...
not found
checking /etc/XF86Config...
not found
checking /etc/X11/XF86Config...
found
checking /etc/X11/XF86Config-4...
found
I'm going to be doing my checking using /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. If this is not
actually your X config, then quit this script with Ctrl-C, remove
or rename the file, then run this script again.
Press enter to continue

I'm going to check your XF86Config file for the following things:
1) Loading the GLcore and glx modules
2) Specifying the nvidia driver instead of nv

Checking for the Load glx statement...
Load "glx"
It seems to be intact. Now lets see if you're loading the correct
video driver...
Driver "nvidia"
Everything seems fine in your X config file. This is not 100%
guaranteed to be accurate, but lets continue anyway (press enter)...

The next step involves making sure you have the proper files in
the right places, and that the kernel module loaded correctly.
Press enter to begin the test.

First lets make sure you don't have the old modules still present
by mistake...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a...
You don't appear to have any conflicting older drivers. Now lets check
if the new driver files are in place...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so...
Checking /usr/lib/libGL.so...
libGLcore.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1 (0x4005d000)
Checking /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1...
All the files seem to exist. Now I'm going to see if your kernel
module is loaded correctly...
nvidia 1469056 10 (autoclean)
The kernel device /dev/nvidia1 does not exist, is not a device,
or does not have the proper permissions set. This dev entry should
have been created when you created the kernel module. If you
compiled the module by hand, you may have to create this device
manually (major number 195, minor number 1). After this is done,
please run this script again.

Well, I did some reading and saw some people suggesting things to other people so I did those things and here's what I get.

[root@mdkbox vid]# ls -l /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Mar 1 16:38 /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1 -> libGLcore.so.1.0.
[root@mdkbox vid]#
[root@mdkbox vid]# ls -l /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Mar 1 16:38 /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1 -> libGLcore.so.1.0.4191*
[root@mdkbox vid]#
[root@mdkbox vid]#
[root@mdkbox vid]# test -f /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1
[root@mdkbox vid]# echo $?
0
[root@mdkbox vid]# /sbin/modprobe NVdriver
modprobe: Can't locate module NVdriver
[root@mdkbox vid]# rpm -q -l NVIDIA-kernel
package NVIDIA-kernel is not installed
[root@mdkbox vid]#
[root@mdkbox vid]# rpm -qa | grep NVIDIA
NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4191.mdk90up
NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4191
[root@mdkbox vid]# rpm -q -l NVIDIA_kernel
/lib/modules/2.4.19-16mdk/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o
[root@mdkbox vid]#
[root@mdkbox vid]# /sbin/modprobe nvidia.o
modprobe: Can't locate module nvidia.o

[root@mdkbox vid]# /sbin/modprobe nvidia
[root@mdkbox vid]# rpm -q -l NVIDIA_kernel
/lib/modules/2.4.19-16mdk/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o
[root@mdkbox vid]# rpm -q -l NVIDIA_kernel
/lib/modules/2.4.19-16mdk/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o
[root@mdkbox vid]# rpm -qa | grep NVIDIA
NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4191.mdk90up
NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4191
[root@mdkbox vid]# /sbin/modprobe NVdriver
modprobe: Can't locate module NVdriver


[root@mdkbox vid]# glxinfo | grep vendor
server glx vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
client glx vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
[root@mdkbox vid]#


The thread I was finding the above suggestions in ended there, at that point I know not what more to do.
But I assume from what I was reading that something is wrong.

Also, When I try to play any games, and these are the least of my concerns, I get strange results.
I opened a shell window and tried to run a few games so I could get the
output results, here's what I got when I tried to run,
Quake3, glxgears and Chromuim.
Tuxracer also runs but SOMETIMES the sound is horrible, very choppy like
there is an IRQ problem with the sound and the video conflicting and I get
no sound at all on chromium.

I can boot into Gnome or any of the other desktops and run Q3 just fine, I
enabled ALL the high res effects and pushed them as high as they go and
it's freaking awesome, I just can't get it to run anymore under KDE..

When I try to start it the screen switches res and goes black and that all.
I can do control alt plus and get the screen back to normal size but it
leaves a black void that will not go away and everything in that area is
totally blacked out.

I then hit control esc and one the task bar at the bottom I maximize
"processtable" and scroll it until I can see "Quake3.x86" just below that
black box. I click that line then click the kill button, at this point I
assume a box pops up asking me if I want to kill the selected process
because nothing happens until I hit the space bar.

At that point Quake is killed off and the screen returns to normal.

nv_check says that the drivers are not installed but if that's true then how
come it works for everything else (except Q3 in KDE) and works perfectly in
OTHER desktops??


[me@mdkbox quake3]$ ./quake3.x86
Q3 1.32 linux-i386 Oct 7 2002
----- FS_Startup -----
Current search path:
/home/me/.q3a/baseq3
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak8.pk3 (9 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak7.pk3 (4 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak6.pk3 (64 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak5.pk3 (7 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak4.pk3 (272 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak3.pk3 (4 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak2.pk3 (148 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak1.pk3 (26 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3/pak0.pk3 (3539 files)
/home/me/games/quake3/baseq3
./quake3.x86/baseq3

----------------------
4073 files in pk3 files
execing default.cfg
execing q3config.cfg
couldn't exec autoexec.cfg
Hunk_Clear: reset the hunk ok

------- Input Initialization -------
Joystick is not active.
------------------------------------
----- Client Initialization -----
----- Initializing Renderer ----
-------------------------------
----- Client Initialization Complete -----
----- R_Init -----
...loading libGL.so: Initializing OpenGL display
...setting mode 7: 1152 864
Using XFree86-VidModeExtension Version 2.1
XF86DGA Mouse (Version 2.0) initialized
XFree86-VidModeExtension Activated at 1152x864
Using 4/4/4 Color bits, 24 depth, 0 stencil display.
GL_RENDERER: GeForce4 Ti 4200/AGP/SSE2
Initializing OpenGL extensions
...ignoring GL_S3_s3tc
...ignoring GL_EXT_texture_env_add
...using GL_ARB_multitexture
...using GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array
XF86 Gamma extension initialized

GL_VENDOR: NVIDIA Corporation
GL_RENDERER: GeForce4 Ti 4200/AGP/SSE2
GL_VERSION: 1.4.0 NVIDIA 41.91
GL_EXTENSIONS: GL_ARB_depth_texture GL_ARB_imaging GL_ARB_multisample GL_ARB_multitexture GL_ARB_point_parameters GL_ARB_shadow GL_ARB_texture_border_cl
amp GL_ARB_texture_compression GL_ARB_texture_cube_map GL_ARB_texture_env_add GL_ARB_texture_env_combine GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3 GL_ARB_texture_mirrored
_repeat GL_ARB_transpose_matrix GL_ARB_vertex_program GL_ARB_window_pos GL_S3_s3tc GL_EXT_abgr GL_EXT_bgra GL_EXT_blend_color GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT
_blend_subtract GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array GL_EXT_draw_range_elements GL_EXT_fog_coord GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays GL_EXT_packed_pixels GL_EXT_paletted_t
exture GL_EXT_point_parameters GL_EXT_rescale_normal GL_EXT_secondary_color GL_EXT_separate_specular_color GL_EXT_shadow_funcs GL_EXT_shared_texture_pal
ette GL_EXT_stencil_wrap GL_EXT_texture3D GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_cube_map GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp GL_EXT_texture_env_add GL_EX
T_texture_env_combine GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3 GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_lod GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias GL_EXT_texture_object GL_EXT_
vertex_array GL_HP_occlusion_test GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_KTX_buffer_region GL_NV_blend_square GL_NV_copy_depth_to_color GL_NV_depth_clamp GL_
NV_fence GL_NV_fog_distance GL_NV_light_max_exponent GL_NV_multisample_filter_hint GL_NV_occlusion_query GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil GL_NV_pixel_data_ran
ge GL_NV_point_sprite GL_NV_register_combiners GL_NV_register_combiners2 GL_NV_texgen_reflection GL_NV_texture_compression_vtc GL_NV_texture_env_combine
4 GL_NV_texture_rectangle GL_NV_texture_shader GL_NV_texture_shader2 GL_NV_texture_shader3 GL_NV_vertex_array_range GL_NV_vertex_array_range2 GL_NV_vert
ex_program GL_NV_vertex_program1_1 GL_NVX_ycrcb GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap GL_SGIS_multitexture GL_SGIS_texture_lod GL_SGIX_depth_texture GL_SGIX_shadow
GL_MAX_TEXTURE_SIZE: 4096
GL_MAX_ACTIVE_TEXTURES_ARB: 4

PIXELFORMAT: color(32-bits) Z(24-bit) stencil(0-bits)
MODE: 7, 1152 x 864 fullscreen hz:N/A
GAMMA: hardware w/ 0 overbright bits
CPU:
rendering primitives: single glDrawElements
texturemode: GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR
picmip: 0
texture bits: 32
multitexture: enabled
compiled vertex arrays: enabled
texenv add: disabled
compressed textures: disabled
Forcing glFinish
Initializing Shaders
...loading 'scripts/lightningnew.shader'
...loading 'scripts/explode1.shader'
...loading 'scripts/gfx.shader'
...loading 'scripts/tim.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_button.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_floor.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_light.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_object.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_support.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_trim.shader'
...loading 'scripts/base_wall.shader'
...loading 'scripts/common.shader'
...loading 'scripts/ctf.shader'
...loading 'scripts/eerie.shader'
...loading 'scripts/gothic_block.shader'
...loading 'scripts/gothic_floor.shader'
...loading 'scripts/gothic_light.shader'
...loading 'scripts/gothic_trim.shader'
...loading 'scripts/gothic_wall.shader'
...loading 'scripts/hell.shader'
...loading 'scripts/liquid.shader'
...loading 'scripts/menu.shader'
...loading 'scripts/models.shader'
...loading 'scripts/organics.shader'
...loading 'scripts/sfx.shader'
...loading 'scripts/shrine.shader'
...loading 'scripts/skin.shader'
...loading 'scripts/sky.shader'
...loading 'scripts/test.shader'
----- finished R_Init -----

------- sound initialization -------


[1]+ Stopped ./quake3.x86
[1]+ Killed ./quake3.x86
[me@mdkbox quake3]$



[me@mdkbox quake3]$
[me@mdkbox quake3]$ glxgears
9048 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1809.600 FPS




[me@mdkbox quake3]$ chromium
randomizing.
SDL initialized.
video mode set (bpp=32 RGB=888 depth=24)
-OpenGL-----------------------------------------------------
Vendor : NVIDIA Corporation
Renderer : GeForce4 Ti 4200/AGP/SSE2
Version : 1.4.0 NVIDIA 41.91
Extensions :
GL_ARB_depth_texture GL_ARB_imaging
GL_ARB_multisample GL_ARB_multitexture
GL_ARB_point_parameters GL_ARB_shadow
GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp GL_ARB_texture_compression
GL_ARB_texture_cube_map GL_ARB_texture_env_add
GL_ARB_texture_env_combine GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3
GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_ARB_transpose_matrix
GL_ARB_vertex_program GL_ARB_window_pos
GL_S3_s3tc GL_EXT_abgr
GL_EXT_bgra GL_EXT_blend_color
GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_blend_subtract
GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array GL_EXT_draw_range_elements
GL_EXT_fog_coord GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays
GL_EXT_packed_pixels GL_EXT_paletted_texture
GL_EXT_point_parameters GL_EXT_rescale_normal
GL_EXT_secondary_color GL_EXT_separate_specular_color
GL_EXT_shadow_funcs GL_EXT_shared_texture_palette
GL_EXT_stencil_wrap GL_EXT_texture3D
GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_cube_map
GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp GL_EXT_texture_env_add
GL_EXT_texture_env_combine GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3
GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_lod
GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias GL_EXT_texture_object
GL_EXT_vertex_array GL_HP_occlusion_test
GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_KTX_buffer_region
GL_NV_blend_square GL_NV_copy_depth_to_color
GL_NV_depth_clamp GL_NV_fence
GL_NV_fog_distance GL_NV_light_max_exponent
GL_NV_multisample_filter_hint GL_NV_occlusion_query
GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil GL_NV_pixel_data_range
GL_NV_point_sprite GL_NV_register_combiners
GL_NV_register_combiners2 GL_NV_texgen_reflection
GL_NV_texture_compression_vtc GL_NV_texture_env_combine4
GL_NV_texture_rectangle GL_NV_texture_shader
GL_NV_texture_shader2 GL_NV_texture_shader3
GL_NV_vertex_array_range GL_NV_vertex_array_range2
GL_NV_vertex_program GL_NV_vertex_program1_1
GL_NVX_ycrcb GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap
GL_SGIS_multitexture GL_SGIS_texture_lod
GL_SGIX_depth_texture GL_SGIX_shadow
------------------------------------------------------------
1 CDROM drive(s).
Tracks: 1
track 0: data

Data track(s) only. CD audio not available.

open /dev/dsp: Device or resource busy
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!! ATTENTION !! - one or more errors were encountered during audio check.
!! Audio will be disabled.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...startup complete.
high scores:
01/01/2000 nobody 250000
01/01/2000 nobody 200000
01/01/2000 nobody 150000
01/01/2000 nobody 100000
01/01/2000 nobody 50000
init----> 40.00fps gameSpeed = 0.52
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 50.25fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 0.999
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 49.75fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1.001
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 50.25fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 0.999
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 49.75fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1.001
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 47.85fps gameSpeed = 0.54
init----> 50.25fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 0.999
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 49.75fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1.001
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
init----> 50.25fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 0.999
init----> 50.00fps targetAdj = 1, tmp = 1
exit.
wrote config file (/home/me/.chromium)
done.

Download the latest version of Chromium B.S.U. at
http://www.reptilelabour.com/software/chromium

[me@mdkbox quake3]$ tuxracer
Tux Racer 0.61 -- a Sunspire Studios Production (http://www.sunspirestudios.com)
(c) 1999-2000 Jasmin F. Patry <jfpatry@sunspirestudios.com>
"Tux Racer" is a trademark of Jasmin F. Patry
Tux Racer comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software,
and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions.
See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html for details.

Use the source drivers NVIDIA_kernel-1.0-4191.tar.gz and NVIDIA_GLX-1.0-4191.tar.gz Search the posts for the install instructions there are several how to's on this.

If I were you I will switch to other distro. SuSE Linux 8.1 was my choice, since Live-Eval CD detect all of my hardware without any problem. Cannot say this with RH and MDK on my rig.

Hhmmm... KDE on RH ... also sounds fishy for me. I have similar problem with RH 8.0 Psyche before, same thing goes with MDK9.0 and I have nVidia card too ;-)


Dont worry, you may try this with your MDK:
Install newest kernel (mine is like k_athlon 2.4.20 but not for you)
Install newest KDE (mine is like kdebase-3.1 etc.)
Install newest XFree86 (mine is like 4.3.0)
Install newest NVIDIA_kernel (mine is like yours but for SuSE)
Install the exact pair of above package (NVIDIA_GLX)
...

Sometimes linux kernel of choice has a big impact on others (KDE 3.1, XFree86, NVIDIA_*). So good luck!


Have a lot of fun!

Nvidia changed the name of the kernel module with the latest driver, instead of NVdriver it is now called nvidia. Do "modprobe nvidia" to load it if it's not already there (check with "lsmod").
I have a version of nv_check that has been edited for the new module name here.

Ok! I just tried your newer version and this is what it tells me,

[root@mdkbox vid]# ./nv_check.sh
Welcome to the NVidia Driver Installation Checker.
This shell script is meant to help you debug your installation
of the beta NVidia Linux drivers. It is not 100% foolproof.
In particular, you will definitely want to make sure you have
the correct options in your XF86Config to make X work properly.
This script cannot debug your X setup. That being said, it
should prove useful if are having problems with the drivers and
want to check the validity of your driver install.

At no time will this script EVER make changes to your system.
It is simply a diagnostic tool - fixes of any kind will have to
come from you.

Press enter to continue...

OK, the first thing we need to do is make sure your XF86Config file
is set up correctly. In order to do this, I'm first going to try
and find where this file might be...
checking /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/XF86Config...
not found
checking /usr/X11R6/etc/X11/XF86Config...
not found
checking /etc/XF86Config...
not found
checking /etc/X11/XF86Config...
found
checking /etc/X11/XF86Config-4...
found
I'm going to be doing my checking using /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. If this is not
actually your X config, then quit this script with Ctrl-C, remove
or rename the file, then run this script again.
Press enter to continue

I'm going to check your XF86Config file for the following things:
1) Loading the GLcore and glx modules
2) Specifying the nvidia driver instead of nv

Checking for the Load glx statement...
Load "glx"
It seems to be intact. Now lets see if you're loading the correct
video driver...
Driver "nvidia"
Everything seems fine in your X config file. This is not 100%
guaranteed to be accurate, but lets continue anyway (press enter)...

The next step involves making sure you have the proper files in
the right places, and that the kernel module loaded correctly.
Press enter to begin the test.

First lets make sure you don't have the old modules still present
by mistake...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.a...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libGLcore.a...
You don't appear to have any conflicting older drivers. Now lets check
if the new driver files are in place...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o...
Checking /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so...
Checking /usr/lib/libGL.so...
libGLcore.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1 (0x4005d000)
Checking /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1...
All the files seem to exist. Now I'm going to see if your kernel
module is loaded correctly...
nvidia 1469056 10 (autoclean)
Your kernel module seems to be OK! Way to go, we're almost there now!
Press enter to move on to the last test...

I'm going to check for duplicate OpenGL libraries on your system.
Having such libraries can cause OpenGL applications to run incorrectly.
Press enter to begin the test.

Checking for libGL.so or libMesaGL.so in /lib, /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib,
and /usr/X11R6/lib...
I found the following possible conflicting files:
/usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so.1 /usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so.1.0 /usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so.1.3.403
Unless you know what you're doing, I recommend removing these files
to prevent applications from using them instead of /usr/lib/libGL.so
[root@mdkbox vid]#

Now I see that it is unhappy about a file conflict but I'm not sure which one, can you suggest what I should do now?
I don't want to dork up my system once again!

Thanks!!

Just delete the conflicting files. They are from Mesa openGL and conflict with files in the nvidia GLX package, you don't need the mesa ones unless you intend to install certain packages from source. All openGL apps will run fine with the nvidia files.

The KDE problem is a problem with the NVIDIA 4191 drivers and the new version of QT that kde 3.1 uses.

The problem is not in your configuration or installation of the drivers.

The only way to fix this is to remove qt and kde and compile them all from source. When you compile qt, you have to specify the noglx option during the configuration. it's something like ./configure --noglx

If you do a quick GOOGLE search for "nvidia kde 3.1" you will find many users with the same exact problem.

This is a known bug or conflict between qt and NVIDIA.
Take a look.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I would stay away from KDE 3.1 or us the nv driver instead of nvidia.

I use kde-3.1 and qt-3.1 and the latest nvidia driver and everything is fine here.

Aussie,

I would be interested to find out if you did anything special to get 3.1 to work without any problems while using the NVIDIA drivers. Did you compile it from source? If so, what order and did you using give any options during any of the configure's?

I'm using Slackware 8.1 with kernel 2.4.20 and XFree86 4.2.1. I have never had any problems with the nvidia drivers or stability problems until trying KDE 3.1.

I installed the NVIDIA drivers from the source files from nvidia's website. They work great with kde 3.0 or any other window manager. I installed KDE 3.1 using the slack packages from kde.org's ftp (in contrib/slackware/). 3.1 runs fine for me using the nv driver, but if I enable the nvidia driver, kde starts crashing left and right. It's a bad crash too, I can't even get back to the console or get the keyboard to respond. The mouse moves, but that's it.

Thanks.

I'm using qt and kde from cvs ATM (kde-3.1.1) but I used to build it from source with slightly modified slackware build scripts.

This is the order I build in,
ftp://mirror.pudas.net/slackware/sla...de/build-order
And you can find the build scripts in each sub directory,
ftp://mirror.pudas.net/slackware/slackware_source/kde

I've found that most nvidia related X lockups are caused by conflicts between the nvidia openGL libs and mesa openGL libs, they both do the same job but don't play nice with each other.
KDE-3.1.x from source needs mesa openGL libs installed for several packages (kdegraphics and kdeartwork especially) but will run fine with the nvidia openGL libs.

Before I compile any of the kde packages, should I install the NVIDIA kernel and glx first. So that they will reference the nvidia libraries while compiling instead of mesa?

Hopefully this makes sense.

Also, what gcc are you using? 2.95.3 or 3.2?

I noticed you are listing the kde sources for version 3.0.1 and not kde 3.1.

Hopefully, we are talking about the same version, and you're just stating that directory because you used the same order and build scripts. correct?

Thanks again.

You should install the nvidia drivers, but some of the kde source packages won't compile unless you have the mesa openGL installed, what I do is have the latest mesa source compiled so all I have to do is "make install" before I do the kde packages, then after the build is finished I do "make uninstall" on mesa and reinstall the nvidia glx package. You can have the two togeter at the same time as long as you don't attempt to run a 3d program as thats when the lib conflict happens.

2.95.3 in slack 8.1 and 3.2 in slack 9.0, either one will work.

Yes, I only linked those files for the build scripts, you will need to edit them and change the version number and compiler flags (optional).

hi

i don't know if this will work but after a couple of months of strugling i finally figured out the nvidia driver install

i use slackware 9.0 but i think it will work on most linux distros

go to nvidia and download a file with a .run extension and get the kernel that corespnds with your distro

whot i do is install the kernel and then run the .run file out of mc and then nvidia install program builds the modules for my system when it is done i usually reboot and run the xfree86setup so it autodetect my screen setup and then do a kdm command

from there u can fine tune ur system

ps. if u r using mandrake the .run file might not even have to compile modules for ur distro cause the most fav systems for pre-compiled modules is suse, rh and mandrake

good luck

I just got my card running
Just do what g452 said and get the latest nvidia drivers (.run [self extracting archive]) and read the README

something like log in as ROOT (su) and not running X and type
sh [filename of driver file].run

and edit the X86config file in etc/X11 i think (from memory this) and edit the necessary lines as out lined in the readme

it shouldn't affect whether or not you're running X. I did install nvidia drivers successfully while giggling around in X, but either case you will have to restart X; also, because you're installing the drivers to kernel, you'll have to reboot for the kernel modules to start working, and that's where the X gets restarted anyway. you should remember that X is a program after all, though a server program, and just like you can upgrade a program while running it (at least I've done so), you can alter things affecting X while running it, if you just restart it after you're done. most of the time, anyway. I'm not saying you won't get problems this way, but it's not any magical rule that you must live in a dark console world for a while to get your 3d drivers installed.