Modprobe: "Invalid module format" errors -- the woes of 3rd-party modules

[MarkE]

On multiple occasions, when trying to install third-party modules for Fedora Linux (such as asterisk/zaptel modules (www.asterisk.org) and an issue I am now having with a Linuxant compilable HSF modem driver (www.linuxant.org)), I can't install the module with modprobe because Fedora Core 5 complains:

FATAL/WARNING: Error inserting <modulename> (/lib/modules/2.6.17-1.2139_FC5/<rest_of_modulepath...>): Invalid module format

I believe this has something to do with the difference between the kernel version being registered as 2.6.17-1.2139_FC5 as opposed to 2.6.17. I had to recompile the kernel for asterisk to work, and that program had an issue that I believe required me to change the version stored in /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES/linux-2.6.17/include/linux/version.h from 2.6.17 to the longer string. This also got the installation of the Linuxant modem driver installation to compile its modules and work more smoothly, but still the complaints come when inserting the module. Also, with asterisk, although changing the version number got its install script to run successfully, when I tried to insert the Zaptel modules, the same thing happens -- invalid module format.

The file version.h in the kernel source is actually created after the make process is done (regardless of when you do make install). Therefore, the issue of the programs whose install scripts have to check the kernel source to get the version number seems to be fixable, but as for the system's active kernel itself, running uname -r ALWAYS gives me 2.6.17-1.2139_FC5.

If I have to use a compiled kernel, how do I get around this issue of the kernel rejecting "Invalid module format"s?

Help is appreciated.

[MarkE]

Problem solved -- I didn't have the latest kernel version installed, I found that I might not be booting up from the right one in /etc/grub.conf so I fixed that, and I have to install the kernel source using the kernel-devel package (not decompressing the kernel-src rpm from the fedora sources directory) because that decompresses it more smoothly and sets up the right symlinks in /lib/modules/.../build, etc. Now the modules compile successfully :-) and I can install my Linuxant HSF modem driver and asterisk and zaptel (no more complaints), and I can run asterisk and it uses OSS/dsp (the speakers) so this is a happy ending for this thread but now I can't get asterisk to recognize the modem as a channel because I don't know how to configure it right so someone please help me and this sentence is getting so long and run-on.