Help installing Quadro FX 1800 Linux driver

[rokit]

I have downloaded a Linux 64 driver for my Quadro FX 1800 off of NVIDIA's website. After following their directions and running "# init 3" and "# sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-185.18.36-pkg2.run --kernel-source-path /usr/src/kernels/2.6.30.5-43.fc11.x86_64" I get the following error:

"Unable to load the kernel module 'nvidia.ko'. This happens most frequently when this kernel module was built against the wrong or improperly configured kernel sources, with a version of gcc that differs from the one used to build the target kernel, or if a driver such as rivafb/nvidiafb is present and prevents the NVIDIA kernel module from obtaining ownership of the NVIDIA graphics device(s), or NVIDIA GPU installed in this system is not supported by this NVIDIA Linux graphics driver release."

How would I check to see if I have rivafb/nvidiafb drivers already present? Or could it be some other problem? Thanks.

[sidebrnz]

Don't use the drivers from the nVidia site; you'll just have to reinstall them every time there's an update to either xorg or the kernel. Instead, do a forum search for autoten. Once you've found it, install and run it. One of the many things it will do is install kmod-nvidia, which will get updated along with the kernel so that you won't have to worry about it.

[ozjd]

Have a look at the nvidia thread in my signature.

I would recommend the akmod driver as it will automatically create the new driver for a kernel update if the kmod is released at the same time, something that often happens.

[rokit]

I'll try it. Thanks. I just noticed all the extra NVIDIA options in add/remove software after I installed RPM fusion.

[rokit]

Ok, I installed the "Akmod package for nvidia kernel modules" from add/remove software because that seemed like the simplest way to go. It said akmod-nvidia-185.18.36-1.fc11 (x86_64) which sounded right since the driver I downloaded from Nvidia said 185.18.36. Unfortunately, now my display is all messed up (the resolution is not right and it's very slow). I tried to access the display properties under system>preferences>Display and it said:

You are attempting to run "system-config-display" which requires administrative privileges, but more information is needed in order to do so.

I put in the root password and nothing happened. I tried accessing Display again and nothing happens. Any way I can fix this?

[sidebrnz]

You also need kernel-devel and kernel-headers, although for some reason akmod doesn't list them as dependencies, as well as gcc. If you have all of that, reboot, let akmod do its magic and see what happens...

[rokit]

Ok, I already had kernel-devel, kernel-headers, and gcc. I rebooted and nothing changed. I did a little reading at this site (http://fedorasolved.org/Members/zcat/akmods) and found this:
-------------------------
Normally, your akmods are automatically rebuilt into kmods when you 1) install a NEW kernel for which no kmod yet exists, or 2) reboot into an old kernel for which no kmod yet exists, or 3) reboot and there's an updated akmod version to be rebuilt for the same (or newer) kernel version.

You can either reboot now to have the kmod rebuilt by the "akmods" service scripts, or, you can force it to rebuild now:

[root@f9-64vm1 ~]# service akmods restart
Checking kmods exist for 2.6.25.9-76.fc9.x86_64 [WARNING]
Building and installing nvidia-kmod [ OK ]

The "[WARNING]" is to inform you that the kmod doesn't exist, so it's being rebuilt and installed. It should take less than a minute to build on decent hardware. If it just says "[OK]" then you either already have the livna kmod installed, or have already rebuilt the akmod previously. If it says "[FAILED]", then something went horribly wrong, but the first thing to check is that you have also installed "kernel-devel".
-----------------------

I tried running service akmods restart and it failed:

[root@rockinlinux rokit]# service akmods restart
Checking kmods exist for 2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64 [ OK ]
Files needed for building modules against kernel
2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64 could not be found as the following
directories are missing:
/usr/src/kernels/2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64/
/lib/modules/2.6.29.4-167.fc11.x86_64/build/ [FAILED]

I don't know why it's looking for the above kernel when my kernel is 2.6.30.5-43.fc11.x86_64. Any ideas?

[rokit]

I know why it didn't work. I didn't have the KERNEL installed LOL. I installed it off of a live CD so I guess that's why. Still, I'm confused why the kernel would not have gotten installed because I was not using the Live CD anymore. I looked in add/remove software though and there it was: The Linux Kernel....not installed, haha. I was going to just install 2.6.29, but now that I installed 2.6.30, I guess akmod took care of that because now when I boot into Linux, GRUB shows both of them, although my /usr/src/kernels folder still shows only 2.6.30.

I also just now realized that there is a system>administration>display as well as a system>preferences>display. I'm not sure why, but the former still does nothing when I give the root password and the latter is all jacked up. It gives the right resolution, the wrong Hz, and it can't detect the display whereas it could before. I mean it looks like it's working and I can enable desktop effects, but do you know how to fix that?

[rokit]

Ah, I just now noticed the nVidia display settings under Applications>System Tools. It detects my monitor and is using the correct hz. I guess both the System>Administration>Display and System>Preferences>Display are being overriden.