Guide to Installing NVIDIA Drivers under 2.6.6

[naventus]

Thanks to the helpful posts of Miilltek, Shah, and Kelmo, I am proud to say that I have successfully installed the NVIDIA drivers under 2.6.6. I am going to quickly put all the instructions and some clarifications so that newbs like me can also make this work.

I will use http://knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.p...4f7083a3639b31 as the core of this guide. I will just fix up some typos and try to explain what's going on with my limited knowledge of linux.

su
cd /usr/src (you need to start here. I had problems because I started in root)
wget ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kerne...-2.6.6.tar.bz2
cp linux-2.6.6.tar.bz2 /usr/src
tar jxvf linux-2.6.6.tar.bz2 (check to see if these files have been put into /usr/src)
rm -f linux
ln -s linux-2.6.6 linux
cp /boot/config-2.6.6 linux/.config
cd linux/include
ln -s asm-i386 asm
cd .. (again, check to see if linux-2.6.6 is in the folder usr)
make oldconfig
patch -p1 <../knoppix-kernel26.patch
cd /usr/bin
rm -f gcc (the kernel image was compiled with gcc-2.95 but symlink is to gcc-3.3)
ln -s gcc-2.95 gcc
cd /usr/src
make (this will compile your kernel, will take sometime to finish- on my 2.4 around 1 hour)

apt-get update
apt-get install nvidia-kernel-common nvidia-kernel-source
tar zxvf nvidia-kernel-source.tar.gz
cd modules/nvidia-kernel
debian/rules KSRC=/usr/src/linux-2.6.6 KVERS=2.6.6 kdist_image
cd ..
dpkg -i nvidia-kernel-2.6.6_1.0.5336-6_i386.deb
apt-get install nvidia-glx
cd /usr/bin (typo here)
rm -f gcc
ln -s gcc-3.3 gcc

Edit /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 :

Drivers Section
Replace "nv" with "nvidia"

Modules Section
Remove or comment out lines including "dri" and "GLCore"
Ensure there is a line with Load "glx"

Hopefully I added just a miniscule amount of polish; I think most people will now be able to use these instructions without having to play around too much/meet troubles.

On a side note, my glxgears fps jumped from 290 to 1560ish... how acceptable is 1560 for a Geforce 2 MX200 PCI 32 MB card?

[kelmo]

Good to see you had some success. I must have missed your request. Did you say that this procedure works after a 'beginner' type install?

[naventus]

Yea. This worked under a 2.4 kernel beginner install of knoppix 3.4. I used, however, the 2.6 option in the lilo list (and even removed the other two from the lilo.conf file). I found that under the debian install that the 2.6 kernel had a few more problems booting.

[shah]

Tip :

If you get " configure: error: C preprocessor "/lib/cpp" fails sanity check" while compiling package; after installing NVIDIA Driver; or you screw up somewhere;it means that your kernel headers are missing from /usr/include. To repair this just simply run as SU :

cd /usr/src
rm -f linux
ln -s linux-2.6.6 linux (you can change to whatever kernel you use)
cp /boot/config-2.6.6 linux/.config (answer no to overwrite)
cd linux/include
ln -s asm-i386 asm

Done.[/b]

[Cuddles]

Ok, I need some serious help here...

My current situation, and how I got here, can be found in the Froum: General ... Topic: "Nvidia kernel 2.6.6 crash - help" started by myself...

Summary:
Did Kano scripts for Nvidia 6106, and did the sources script, died, it appears, because I can't get into KDE, and am stuck in textual login boot...

I have an "on-motherboard" via kt133 video that appears to be getting the agp and "knocking out" the nvidia - I can't disable this agp within the BIOS, but was working this way back in Knoppix v3.3 fine - so, unless something seriously changed in v3.4 - it should still work in v3.4...

Can I resolve all of this by doing all that you have here?
Also, I can get into KDE, under 2.6.6 if I re-edit XF86Config-4 and replace the "nvidia" back to "nv" - but I get noise lines in my desktop...

I have used the "nv" attempt to just get into KDE to get KPPP running - then do a ctrl-alt-F1 to get root console ( text login ) - but with a internet connection - used this a few times to be able to get the scripts and downloads...

If I go with this re-compile of the kernel - I need more information... ( serious newbie when it comes to kernel source compiling )

1 ) is this done in k2.4 - or can it be done in k2.6.6 boot
2 ) I installed with "debian-like" during the hdd install - does that effect anything
3 ) do I get into KDE and the run a terminal window, or do I drop to ctrl-alt-F1 to do these things
4 ) if I am running outside KDE, I have no clue how to get dial-up internet from a textual boot login prompt

Please explain everything, and where it is done... I have had way too many surprises on this "upgrade" from v3.3 already, and spent since Friday trying to get a "working" v3.4 system ( like I had it, only Thursday, running v3.3 )

I need help, and I hoped to have all this "done" before work Tuesday, and I don't think I'm gonna make it now....

Thanks immensely, forever gratituide,
Ms. Cuddles

[Cuddles]

Nevermind, it worked flawlessly - pardon some of my "never done a kernel compile" issues...

I do have one question though, considering you did it, and the "cleanness" of your LILO, you must have the answer...

Following through your steps, word for word, and step for step... I kept waiting for a "cp" command to copy the new compiled kernel to the /boot area, or something... and found that, I guess, I compiled "directly" into my "working" booted kernel, right???

I mean, when you compile a program, it gets created where you are compiling, and when it becomes executable, you move it to where it should be, this appears not to be the case with a kernel compile ( I'm lost )

Here is what I did: (for fear of messing something more up during this)
cd /boot
cp config-2.6.6 config-2.6.6pre
cp initrd.img-2.6.6 initrd.img-2.6.6
cp vmlinuz-2.6.6 vmlinuz-2.6.6

added a "duplicate" entry in lilo.conf to point to the 2.6.6pre - and booted under the "...pre" lilo setup...
I then did all the steps you had on your initial post here...

What can I do now? Do I need the ...pre, can I just go back to the 2.6.6 in LILO, or should I rename the 2.6.6pre files back to the 2.6.6 and boot those? Right now, I am booting the 2.6.6pre in LILO thinking that these were the files that the "compile" was done under, can someone give me a clue what I did, or where my "kernel" is, what is my LILO?

Here is what my /boot area looks like, maybe you can figure out from that???

root@Morpheus:/boot# ls -l
total 17484
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           17 Jul  2 08:01 System.map -> System.map-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root       582790 Apr 17 13:59 System.map-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root       758043 May 14 14:39 System.map-2.6.6
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root       758043 Jul  5 19:56 System.map-2.6.6pre
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Jul  2 08:28 boot.0200
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Jul  2 08:27 boot.0300
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Jul  2 08:27 boot.1600
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root        42923 Apr 17 13:33 config-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root        53510 May 14 14:37 config-2.6.6
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root        53510 Jul  5 19:56 config-2.6.6pre
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           34 Jul  2 08:01 debian.bmp -> /usr/share/lilo/contrib/debian.bmp
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           38 Jul  2 08:01 debianlilo.bmp -> /usr/share/lilo/contrib/debianlilo.bmp
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root         4096 Jul  2 08:27 grub
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           17 Jul  2 08:27 initrd.img -> initrd.img-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root      3455157 Jul  2 08:27 initrd.img-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root      4062664 Jul  2 08:27 initrd.img-2.6.6
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root      4062664 Jul  5 19:57 initrd.img-2.6.6pre
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Jul  2 08:27 knoppix-old-mbr.2004-07-02
-rw-------    1 root     root       240128 Jul  5 20:05 map
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           33 Jul  2 08:01 sarge.bmp -> /usr/share/lilo/contrib/sarge.bmp
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           31 Jul  2 08:01 sid.bmp -> /usr/share/lilo/contrib/sid.bmp
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           14 Jul  2 08:27 vmlinuz -> vmlinuz-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root       994807 Apr 17 13:59 vmlinuz-2.4.26
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root      1370454 May 14 14:39 vmlinuz-2.6.6
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root      1370454 Jul  5 19:58 vmlinuz-2.6.6pre
root@Morpheus:/boot#

Thanks for any help on the "clean-up" after getting my NVidia working perfectly

[kelmo]

Ms. Cuddles,

If you want to differentiate between two kernels of the same page, chande the Makefile in the root dir of your kernel sources before configuring anything.

The extraversion section is appended to the kernel and all it's important files. Here is an exert from my kernel:-

VERSION = 2
PATCHLEVEL = 6
SUBLEVEL = 7
EXTRAVERSION = -kls-ck4
NAME=Zonked Quokka

Only lower case, no funny symbols.

This saves your confusion post-install. Also if you install a kernel with the exact same name, the modules in /lib/modules/$KV will cause the install process to tell you so.

[Cuddles]

Ms. Cuddles,

If you want to differentiate between two kernels of the same page, chande the Makefile in the root dir of your kernel sources before configuring anything.

The extraversion section is appended to the kernel and all it's important files. Here is an exert from my kernel:-

VERSION = 2
PATCHLEVEL = 6
SUBLEVEL = 7
EXTRAVERSION = -kls-ck4
NAME=Zonked Quokka

Only lower case, no funny symbols.

This saves your confusion post-install. Also if you install a kernel with the exact same name, the modules in /lib/modules/$KV will cause the install process to tell you so.

So, Kelmo, If I understand you correctly...

If I didn't do the above during my kernel compile, it doesn't matter what boot I was under...

Looking at my /boot folder listing, in my previous post, then

...2.6.6 files are the same as ...2.6.6pre files - and that I can removed one "set" of them, and just boot one of them - since nothing was changed other than copying them for LILO to use...

So, even though I booted under the ...2.6.6pre files in /boot (during the kernel compile), the 2.6.6 files will also work to boot off of ????? (and the 2.6.6pre files can be deleted, and the eroneous 2.6.6pre entry in LILO can also be removed)

Thanks for giving me any understanding of what I did, and am, doing here...

Ms. Cuddles
PS - now if someone can make a "Guide to installing ALSA as simple as this, with the NVidia"...

[Markus]

There's a few howtos on alsa and debian kernel compiling if you google, like:
http://www.desktop-linux.net/debkernel.htm
http://www.sonic.net/~rknop/linux/debian_alsa.html
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=2949&page=1
http://newbiedoc.sourceforge.net/tut...ernel-pkg.html

BTW, seems to be a matter of taste while I set a kernel version when compiling as in:
fakeroot make-kpkg --append-to-version=.160604 kernel_image (use any date)
And so my lilo.conf contains:
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.6-16.06.04
label="Linux-2.6.6"
read-only

[Cuddles]

I think I understand now...

So, Markus, if, lets say, I want to rip out the knx-alsa and replace it, in the kernel compile proceedure above, the one I used to get NVidia running, where, and what, would I do???

I assume that I would get the alsa-source tarball, un-tar it into the /usr/src folder, thus creating a sub-folder that contains the source for alsa [?]

Where in the steps above would I "insert" and "remove" this "code" -=- remove = knx-alsa and insert = alsa-source [?]

I looked at the "alsa" information in the link you provided, and, again, I am lost... I am thinking that "some" of the steps in "both" of these articles, the "nvidia compile" and the "alsa compile" get "merged" somewhere, right???

Assuming I did all the steps in this article, as far as the apt-get installs for nvidia, do I need to repeat them again, or can I just "skip" those because I already did them???

Since alsa did not "inherit" from the CD hard drive install proceedure, like it did in v3.3 - I am working with a "seriously" partial install of alsa at the time, so my thought is, since I already went through a kernel compile already, why not do it again, and this time, get alsa working the "right" way...

Thanks to anyone for "further" assistance in this,
Ms. Cuddles