LinuxQuestions.org - NVIDIA driver installation

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NVIDIA driver installation

Hi,
Please answer the questions
why does nvidia driver needs kernel headers?
what are kernel headers?
In windows nvidia driver installation doesnt ask for anything.why it asks for kernel headers in linux?
I tried to install nvidia drivers using livna also but no use.

Thanks
CoolGuy.

the kernel headers are required for the compilation of third-party programs so that they'll be in accordance with code of your current kernel. the kernel headers are almost the same as the files you'll see in /usr/src/linux-2.6.12.1/include.

however only stable headers must be installed. you can get stable headers from your distro's site by searching for a package named 'linux-headers' or 'kernel-headers'. you might also find the headers in your installation cd.

while installing nvidia drivers i get a message that there are no precompiled kernel headers.how to install kernel headers?

you must first download the package. also do not clean-up the compiled files in /usr/src/linux-2.6.12.1 before installing nvidia.

btw what distro are you using?

perhaps you already have your kernel's sources. just try to do the install.

before installing the nvidia driver, you must first compile and install your kernel. remember not to clean the kernel's sources. after compiling the kernel, run the nvidia package with the argument

Code:

-k '2.6.12.1'

in it.

you can also read the domentation of fc4 here: http://fedoranews.org/mediawiki/inde...anually_on_FC4

Fedora doesn't ship with the kernel-source RPM. You must install it separately. BTW, you may only need to install kernel headers package (kernel-devel RPM). This can be found on CD4, the DVD or online. If you have updated your kernel (using yum or up2date), then use yum to install the package.

Code:

# yum install kernel-devel

The default kernel source can be found through any Fedora mirror. This one is my favorite, ftp://mirrors.playboy.com/fedora/.

Find out which kernel version you have.

Code:

# uname -r

2.6.11-1.1369_FC4

Select the source from the mirror the matches the uname output.

Code:

kernel-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4.src.rpm 03-Jun-2005 13:32 41M

Install the package.

Code:

# rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4.src.rpm

  1:kernel                ########################################### [100%]

Set it up.

Code:

# rpmbuild -bp --target=noarch /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/kernel-2.6.spec

The source files will be properly located in '/usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-2.6.11/'. Note this is an example and your kernel version number may not be the same!!! If you don't grab the correct headers, your subsequent nVidia driver installation won't work.