I have tried countless times to get the ATI proprietary driver for my dell inspiron to work in slackware... i have compiled re -compiled and tried everything i can think of without tearing apart my laptop to put in a different graphics card... i have no problems compiling the driver, it compiles fine but there are 2 warnings in fglrx_install.log they are:

WARNING: "pci_enable_msi" [/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.ko] undefined!
WARNING: "pci_disable_msi" [/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/fglrx.ko] undefined!

when trying to install the driver it spits me another dumb and totally useless error:

[Error] Kernel Module : Failed to install compiled kernel module - please consult readme.

WTF is the readme going to tell me!!!???? ive read through it dozens of times and it only goes over how to install the driver; no troubleshooting. ive followed the damn thing to the T.

modprobe fglrx gets me this output:

FATAL: Error inserting fglrx (/lib/modules/2.6.27.7-smp/kernel/drivers/char/drm/fglrx.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)

After doing dmesg i am back at square 1 with these 2 errors, the same "warnings" in the fglrx_install.log:

fglrx: Unknown symbol pci_disable_msi
fglrx: Unknown symbol pci_enable_msi

What am i doing wrong here?

Google is our friend!

Appreciate the google comment.

RedEyez: fglrx (catalyst) needs msi enabled in the kernel. So you need to build a custom kernel.

fglrx does not install with the 2.6.29 or 2.6.30 kernels. I tried two 2.2.28 kernels and had problems (not fglrx related) so for running fglrx I am sticking to 2.6.27 kernel. Some people have patched the code to allow compilation but I think they still have problems. So unless you have to have higher than 2.6.27, for now I would stick with the latest 2.6.27 kernel you can download.

You might need pci slot detection.
You must enable msi in the Bus Options section.

I can't remember if needed but I also enable
You also might be able to try the open source drivers (xf86-video-ati or xf86-video-radeonhd). 3D is not working yet for any of the newer hardware though. The latest of slackware-current comes with a reasonably recent stable versions of these. If you must use 2.6.29 or 2.6.30 then stick with these but you will not have any fast 3D with modern hardware (HD series for example).

Not only is Google your friend but also the Forum Search Function.

If i remember right, you also have to enable this in the section named Pseudo filesystems :
Virtual memory file system support (former shm fs) (TMPFS)

Good luck...

Wrong place...
Try under the PCI subsection instead. Make sure you have APIC enabled as well.