rivafb error with nvidia
 

i recently installed nvidia drivers 6106 and cant log into X its due to a conflict with rivafb module that is compiled in kernal. How can I compile the kernal without this module?

You dont have to recompile the kernel to remove it if its a module
Start a console and become root
type lsmod to find out the name of the module (rivafb?)
type rmmod (module name) to unload it

startx

To make it permanent, look into /etc/modules or /etc/modules.config (don't know which file will keep it in SuSE). Remove all lines referring 'rivafb'.

I cant log into X at all and I dont know how to edit .conf files from failsafe.
As for lsmod I am not able to see all of the modules that are open because they go off the top of the screen. But i have triws rmmod and that does not work it says module not loaded. On other threads here people have had to rebuild the kernal without rivafb within it.

You can run
lsmod|grep riva
to see only the lines of lsmod output with 'riva' string or use ctrl+pgup to scroll the console output.

To edit a file you'd need a console text editor. Examples: vim, emacs, pico, joe (the last two are easier to use, if you have them installed).

Mine did that too. When I tried to install it, it said that my kernel was configured for rivafb and that I had to remove it. I tried to remove it with rmmod, but it said that there was no such module. But after I edited my xorg.cfg file, deleting load "GLcore" and load "dri" and changing the driver line to "nvidia", everything worked fine with GeForce 4 MX. But I have Fedora Core 2 and I don't know which distribution you are using.

You should have at least a text editor at your disposal. Try typing "joe somefilename.file"

Hello,

If you cannot unload the rivafb by rmmod, it probably means this option wasn't compiled as a module but intregatred to the kernel itself.

For 2.4.xx kernel series, you will find this option in the section Console drivers > Frame-buffer support
Then just disable the "nVidia Riva support" and recompile your kernel.

For 2.6.x kernel series, you will find this option in the section Device Drivers > Graphics support
Then just disable the "nVidia Riva support" and recompile your kernel.


Otherwise, you can try to switch off this option by addind this line in your /etc/lilo.conf file:
append = "video = rivafb: off"

But removing useless things of the kernel is a good idea... :)

Hope this will help.

I have kernal 2.6.6-1.435.23 I am currently having the troubles decribed above.
i.e It crashes when it gets to the setting hostname bit.
I had the drivers running fine under the original FC2 kernal (2.6.5-1.358)

Sounds like what I need to be doing. However i cannot find these options anywhere.
Can you please explain to me where I can find these options.

I hear (from reading forums) I will need the kernal sources installed?
where would i get them from?

I am a complete linux noob, redeemed only by the fact that I am willing to learn :)

I have tried many things already, and I am fed up of crashing on startup.

many thanks in advance

(note: i have managed to get this far without posting, but just cant figure this one out, i'm sure there are lots of ppl that are running fedora core 2 2.6.6-1.435.23 and nvidia 6109, so one of you please help meh :( )

edit: I do know how to edit from the command like though, good ol vi :)

I have the exact same problem. I'm running the same kernel and my computer also crashes at the "resolving hostname" part of the bootup sequence.

I don't know how to recompile kernels either and I've become dependent on synaptic, apt-get and the up2date utilities to upgrade my system. Any step by step directions to remove rivafb would be greatly appreciated.

I tried looking for /etc/lilo.conf but all I found was /etc/lilo.conf.anaconda.

Is this the file you mean?

Well, I've managed to compile a new kernel for the first time in my life! without the rivafb.

I followed the instructions to install the nvidia driver - no errors at all.

When I reboot, the computer still freezes at the same point:
Resolving hostname.

Finally got the NVIDIA 6106 drivers working under FC2., thanks to various posts on this forum and in the NVIDIA linux forum.

I found a small note regarding how the new nvidia drivers 6106 are not compatible with USB 2.0.

the ehci USB 2.0 driver module conflicts with the nvidia cards causing the black screen of death.

To get around the problem, I recompiled the kernel. Yes my fellow newbie friends, there is no way around it. Don't worry, it's not hard. This was just the second time in my life that i've ever recompiled the kernel. Just follow the excellent how-to guide given by linux questions.org:

Custom Kernel compilation for Redhat/Fedora Systems

Just remove the ehci USB 2.0 Driver support completely.
Don't forget to remoive the nvidia-riva support as well.

Then, follow the directions given by the NVIDIA readme file to install the drivers. Then you'll get 3d hardware accelleration. You'll lose USB 2.0 speed, but for me, I don't have any USB 2.0 devices anyway so that's okay.

Hope this helps!
sincerely,

yong_sa

:)

The problem is, in all cases where you compile the kernel, now you have a custom kernel which is not always a good thing. Reinstallation at some point would require you have documented and maintained that documentation over the long haul for every change you made. This is just a bad thing. It should not be happening at any time for any desktop user. Anyone doing administration of a large number of computers would be in bad shape. Anyone taking over the administration of a network based on desktop linux boxes would be in serious trouble especially if the documentation was missing or incomplete.

That's what is fundamentally wrong with making this sort of modification and any sort related to linux. I am not shitting you. You have to think past the technie accomplishments you have achieved by recompiling it and think more to how you will maintain it down the road. One undocumented change can cause literally hours upon hours of downtime trying to resolve the issue.

The solution is to not recompile the kernel with special stuff and not remove or add away from what your company has standardized on for the kernel.

By doing so you harm the future upgrade path. This is a linux design issue and it is the techie mindset that will ultimately keep linux from the growth potential it could achieve. Modifying the kernel is a bad thing, not good, no matter whether there are things in there or not.

BTW, using DRI is not considered a good thing as far as I can remember from the nvidia driver installs. Also, the error message indicates that it rivafb is loaded as a loadable kernel module and not as part of the kernel itself, UNLESS nvidia's installer is presenting a false error message. In that case, this is misleading to the point that all the suggestions here are totally incorrect and should not be attempted.

I 100% agree with this. I am starting to see the weaknesses to recompiling the kernel. After modifying the kernel, it was working fine.... until I had to add a conexant modem.

Once I did, I had to recompile the whole thing over again and keep track of the changes I had to make to get the whole kernel running again.

The goal, however, was to get it running, and the only way to get it running was to recompile.... or wait until the FedoraCore team to update their kernel RPM's, which could take several months! Or, wait until NVIDIA came out with a proper driver that works with ALL kernels.... which may never happen!

Agreed... it won't work for a large scale enterprise network in terms of maintenance, but for a Linux hobbyist the Customizing the Kernel is the only solution for now.

Same problem with Madrake 10.1
 

Hey guys... I have the same problem with "rivafb" in Mandrake 10.1.
What can I do to disable this module?? I tried all the step here mentioned, but no one worked. I need your help. What to do in Mandrake 10.1?