Problems Trying to Install Kernel Source

[Gavi]

I have installed Fedora 9 and am now trying to install the latest sound driver from Alsa because understand it supports my sound card whereas the version currently installed doe not. When I run "sudo ./configure" I get --

checking for directory with kernel source... ./configure: line 4685: cd: /lib/modules/2.6.25-14.fc9.i686/source: No such file or directory
/lib/modules/2.6.25-14.fc9.i686/source
checking for directory with kernel build... /lib/modules/2.6.25-14.fc9.i686/build
checking for kernel linux/version.h... no
The file /include/linux/version.h does not exist.
Please install the package with full kernel sources for your distribution
or use --with-kernel=dir option to specify another directory with kernel
sources (default is /lib/modules/2.6.25-14.fc9.i686/source).

After some investigation I discover that the Kernel source package no longer is included in the Fedora distribution, so I found the package kernel-2.6.25-14.fc9.src.rpm and downloaded it. I figured I could install it with yum, so going to the directory where the package file I tried --

yum localinstall kernel-2.6.25-14.fc9.src.rpm

This produced --

[Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
Setting up Local Package Process
Examining kernel-2.6.25-14.fc9.src.rpm: kernel-2.6.25-14.fc9.src
Cannot add package kernel-2.6.25-14.fc9.src.rpm to transaction. Not a compatible architecture: src

So then I tried

rpm -Uh kernel-2.6.25-14.fc9.src.rpm


and got about 50 repetitions of the message:

warning: group mockbuild does not exist - using root
warning: user mockbuild does not exist - using root

I also got what seemed to be a progress indication:

########################################### [100%]

But it happened and exited (took about 1 second to install the kernel source????) that I suspected it really didn't do anything and I cannot find the source anywhere. There is still no /lib/modules/2.6.25-14.fc9.i686/source directory and I cannot find it elsewhere.

How do I get the kernel source installed with yum, or rpm, or anything else that will work?? I am pretty new to Linux, trying to wean myself away from Microsoft. Any help doing so is much appreciated.

[A.Serbinski]

Those errors are normal, the source rpm was built with a username "mockbuild", you're trying to install them using root. When you install a source RPM as root, it installs to /usr/src/redhat/ and what it does is it copies the source archive and patches into SOURCES/ and a spec file into SPECS/ . You would use the "rpmbuild" command to compile it and it would then generate an RPM file and place it in RPMS/yourarch/

You need to either manually patch the files in the archive, or add a patch to the directory and modify the spec file. Take your pick.

Of course, I doubt that this is what you really want to do, more likely you just want to build the current version of alsa against your installed kernel. You don't need full source installed to do this! You need kernel-devel and kernel-headers packages installed.


Also, just to make things easier, try updating your system BEFORE building your new driver. You're running kernel 2.6.25(.0)-14, you *should* be running 2.6.25.11-97. The kernel version you have is the *initial* version, which tells me that you haven't performed ANY updates. If you bring your system up to current, you'll clear out a whole lot of bugs and never know, but one of those kernel updates may bring support for your soundcard with it.

[Gavi]

Thanks, your suggestions worked at least to the point of upgrading the kernel, discovering that my sound card still was not supported, then installing kernel-dev and kernel-headers, then installing the ALSA upgrade,only to discover that it still does not work with my sound card!

Anybody know of any drivers that work with the Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Music adapter? AlLSA and OSS both give me "Could not open audio device for playback". When I try PulseAudio I get "Failed to connect: connection refused". The PulseAudio message reads to me like some sort of permissions or configuration issue. Suggestions?

[A.Serbinski]

You might try the drivers provided by creative: http://opensource.creative.com/soundcard.html
Note: check the "ASIA" link under April 16th. The other links don't seem to work.

[A.Serbinski]

When you built and installed alsa, did you follow this: http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Module-ca0106 ?