Hi, I'm new to Linux, so please excuse my ignorance.
Well, believe it or not I am trying to install a modem at this time
The modem is a PCTEL 789T
I downloaded the modem driver: pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11.tar.gz from a linmodems.org link web site.
My Linux kernel version is: 2.6.18-1.2798.fc6-i686.

Entry screen to the console show me the following:
Fedora Core release 6 (Zod)
Kernel 2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 on an i686
Localhost login:

The installation of the driver produces the following messages on screen after ending

checking for running

kernel version...2.6.18
checking for ptserial...ptserial-2.6.c
checking for gcc...4.1.1 (4.1)
checking for kernel gcc version...4.1.1 (4.1)
searching for kernel includes...found at /lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6/build/include
checking for autoconf.h.../lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6/build/include/linux/autoconf.h
checking for asm/mach-default...yes
checking for kernel version in linux/utsrelease.h...UTS_RELEASE is 2.6.18-1.2798.fc6
checking type of tty_struct.count...int
checking for presence of udev...present (kernel version 2.6.13 or later)
detecting your modem...found. Your modem is a pct789 type modem.

compilation done



installation done

linmodem: version magic '2.6.19-1.2798.fc6 SMP mod_unload 686 REGPARM 4KSTACKS gcc-4.1'
should be '2.6.19-1.2798.fc6 SMP mod_unload 586 REGPARM 4KSTACKS gcc-4.1'

** error activating modem driver via insmod
please read the FAQ about reporting problems and report
this problem. A transcript of the attempted activation
has been saved in src/make.log. When reporting problems to
the development team, please send us this file.

And this is the installation log file (make.log)

CC vuart.o
LD binary.a
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6/build M=/home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src
make[1]: se ingresa al directorio `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6-i686'
LD /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/built-in.o
CC [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/linmodem-2.6.o
CC [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/ptserial-2.6.o
CC [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/ptserial_pci-2.6.o
CC [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/ptserial_hw-2.6.o
LD [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/linmodem.o
LD [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/pctel.o
LD [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/pctel_hw.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST
WARNING: could not find /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/.binary.a.cmd for /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/binary.a
CC /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/linmodem.mod.o
LD [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/linmodem.ko
CC /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/pctel.mod.o
LD [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/pctel.ko
CC /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/pctel_hw.mod.o
LD [M] /home/modem/driver/pctel-0.9.7-9-rht-11/src/pctel_hw.ko
make[1]: se sale del directorio `/usr/src/kernels/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6-i686'
rm -f /dev/ttyS_PCTEL0
echo "KERNEL==\"ttyS_PCTEL0\", SYMLINK=\"modem\"" > /etc/udev/rules.d/70-pctel.rules
install -D -m 644 linmodem.ko /lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6/misc/linmodem.ko
install -D -m 644 pctel.ko /lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6/misc/pctel.ko
install -D -m 644 pctel_hw.ko /lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6/misc/pctel_hw.ko
/sbin/depmod -a
/sbin/insmod linmodem.ko
insmod: error inserting 'linmodem.ko': -1 Invalid module format
make: *** [insmod] Error 1

The command insmod linmodem.ko gives:
linmodem: version magic '2.6.19-1.2798.fc6 SMP mod_unload 686 REGPARM 4KSTACKS gcc-4.1'
should be '2.6.19-1.2798.fc6 SMP mod_unload 586 REGPARM 4KSTACKS gcc-4.1'

insmod: error inserting ‘linmodem.ko’: -1 Invalid module format

It seems as if the system can not insert modem modules, but driver installation is fine.

The version I have of Fedora is the only one I installed and I never updated the kernel, so there are not kernel sources conflict.

If anyone has any idea on how to solve my problem, I'll thank you for your answers

Hi there, welcome to LQ!

I don't want to rain on your parade, but there's not usually much good news to be had with these software Winmodems.

The first thing I see is this:
Last time I encountered this while building a modem driver, the workaround for it was very horrendous - I'll point you to a link in a moment (which probably will not help you, but you may like to read it anyway).

Second thing I see:
Wrong vermagic version (architecture difference, 586 vs 686). I don't know what the implication of this is, or how to work around that. Are you as sure as you can be, that you have downloaded exactly the correct driver? Maybe provide us the link to where you got it, someone may be able to suggest if it is the best version, or if another might work better.

Third thing:
Are you really using Fedora Core 4? That's pretty old. Normally I'd suggest trying something newer, but in the case of these rotten modem drivers, a newer OS is usually not helpful, because the modem driver development often lags behind OS and kernel advancement by a significant amount. However, if you continue to have troubles installing software and/or drivers, please consider a more modern distribution - you may have better success (except with modem drivers).

Fourth thing:
Believe it or not, you might have better success connecting to the internet using a microwave oven, than that modem. I have the exact same modem and have never made it work, on kernels ranging from 2.4.33* up to around 2.6.something. I had it *almost* working at one point, but it never did work. These software modems are garbage, generally, designed for Windows, and often only work on Windows.. If you can get a hardware modem, or a USB modem, you might have better luck, but no guarantee. One modem I do have that works (last I checked), is an Intel 536EP PCI modem. Of almost half a dozen of these crap modems I have, only that one has ever worked.

So, earlier I mentioned a thread, about the "WARNING: could not find..." message above. The thread is here, and it just details my experiences with my Intel modem, and building and hacking at the driver to make it work when it didn't want to. It also talks a little bit about these "WinModems" in general.

Best of luck!

GrapefruiTgirl:

Thank you very much for your reply
The idea to install the modem was just for experiment.
But it seems that this is going to be very problematic. I thought the solution would be simpler
You're right. I should switch to a newer version.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Greetings