NVIDIA Driver Problem in Fedora Core 2 w/ 2.4.26 kernel
 

I recently got ahold of a copy of Fedora Core 2 and installed it. When I learned that its kernel was incompatible with the drivers from NVIDIA for my video card, I downloaded the 2.6.7 kernel, compiled it, and got the driver to run fine. I also have an Intel modem, and when I figured out that their drivers are compatible only with the 2.4 kernel, I decided to get the 2.4 kernel. I compiled it, and it seemed to boot fine; the only "FAILED" message was about iptables. I then reinstalled the NVIDIA driver under the 2.4 kernel, since the module is dependent on the kernel version. When I restarted, however, X failed to start. It said that the nvidia module had failed to initialize. I tried doing "insmod nvidia" to manually load the module. Then, I tried "startx". What happened was the GNOME splashscreen came and everything loaded like normal, but the mouse pointer was stuck to the center of the screen. Is there some configuration in the kernel source I could have messed up, or does this problem have to do with the fact that FC2 uses X.org instead of XFree86? (I hope it's not the latter, since I can't really fix that.) Thanks!

lasindi

Do you have the mouse module(s) loaded? Or do you have mouse support added in the kernel?

Try "modprobe psmouse" if it's a ps/2 mouse.

Fedora Core 2 w/ 2.4.x kernels
 

I am having the same issues with Fedora Core 2. I need to use 2.4.26 kernel because it has the scanner.o driver for my scanner support as the libusb driver is somewhat screwed up. I recompiled my kernel and I get the message "Cannot mount root" error message. I am wondering what I could be doing wrong. I create the initrd file, but perhaps there is another process in which to do this?? Please let me know, I use grub as my bootloader with Fedora Core 2. Any idea what I should make sure I check or not check? It seems like ext3 filesystem needs support at the module level only apparently. I am unsure why, but in terms of the configuration I have, that is all set that way. Any other ideas why I am getting this error message?

The 2.6.7 kernel I recompiled went fine, but I cannot use that for similiar reasons like yours.

- Ryan

It sounds like your problem is nothing like mine, though I think I know what's wrong. Did you enable ext3 support in the kernel (should be under "File Systems" somewhere when you run "make menuconfig" to configure the kernel before you compile)? I got this error before once when I was compiling my first kernel, and forgetting ext3 was my problem.

I tried "insmod psmouse" and it told me that no such module exists. It seems that I'm missing some configuration in the actual kernel. Could anyone tell me specifically what I need to configure in the 2.4 kernel?

lasindi

Iasindi,

To answer your question, I know that ext3 support has been now enabled as a module and ALSO built-in and neither support seem to allow the kernel to boot. Now I recall this is the procedure with the 2.4.26 kernel opposed to the procedure with the 2.6.7 kernel

2.4.26 kernel
---------------------
make xconfig
make dep
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
cp System.map /boot/System.map-linux-2.4.26
mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.4.26.img 2.4.26


2.6.7 kernel
---------------------
make xconfig
make clean
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
cp System.map /boot/System.map-linux-2.6.7
mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.7.img 2.6.7

The 2.6.7 kernel works fine, but I need the 2.4.26 kernel instead

I need that scanner.o module to get installed so that I can get my scanner working. I have so many things setup here that I don't want to have to backtrack and "reinstall" the entire OS once again. What else could be stopping this thing from booting?

Fedora Core 2
Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop
Pentium4-M, 1GB RAM

I actually have installed my kernels in a considerably different way. For 2.6:

For 2.4:
It doesn't seem like you're copying the bzImage file to your /boot directory. Try that, naming it "vmlinuz-2.x.x", and then adding a configuration like this to your /boot/grub/grub.conf file.
Make sure that the "hd0" in "root (hd0,0)" is "hd" followed by the number of your /boot partition (remember that the first partition is 0). If you only have Linux on your computer, it should be "hd0". I have dual-boot with Windows, and Windows installed on the first partition, so my /boot partition is the second one; that means I use "hd1". Hope this helps; good luck!

lasindi

It actually looks like we rebuild our kernels the same way actually.

Here is my grub.conf


title Fedora Core (2.6.7d)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/bzImage-linux-2.6.7d ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.7d.img

title Fedora Core (2.4.26)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/bzImage-linux-2.4.26 ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /boot/initrd-2.4.26.img

As you will see the files are here and the files are actually copied and located in the /boot directory. The 2.6.7 kernel has no problems whatsoever. Anything needed for the system.map file??
The 2.6.7 kernel is what I am using right now and I have no problems booting it.

- Ryan

It actually booted after I removed the " rhgb quiet option which was after the root=LABEL=/

Now it's booted farther but still says it cannot mount root, so it wants me to specify where root is. I will specify root=/dev/hda2, if that doesn't work, I'm going to change grub back to root=LABEL=/ and compile the ext3 as a module instead.




title Fedora Core (2.4.26)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/bzImage-linux-2.4.26 ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /boot/initrd-2.4.26.img

I never use "root=LABEL=/". Instead, I always use the /dev/hdax designation. Double check that /dev/hda2 is your root partition. You should be able to find this in the "Info Center" in KDE or in GNOME's "System Monitor". For some reason, using labels never works for me.

Just as a sidenote, I don't think you need the "initrd ..." stuff. It probably won't hurt anything to leave it or to get rid of it.

lasindi

I got it to boot correctly FINALLY with the root=/dev/hda2, wierd why this 2.4.26 kernel works fine with it, but 2.6.7 kernel needs the other thing. Anyways, I got my scanner working with this configuration, but now the FIREWIRE (which says is supported and the Network card) are not showing up. I know these will end up working (should) since I had them all working with Redhat 9 and the kernel it had which was older than 2.4.26 Grrr, getting there!!!

- Ryan