Nvidia drivers and Kernel Files - Setback after setback...

[M4dn3ss]

After installing Sabayon on an old PC I decided to install the appropriate Nvidia drivers for its GPU, a crappy old Geforce FX5200
I downloaded the appropriate driver from here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux-display-ia32-173.14.36-driver.html

So I logged into the console as root and typed " sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-173.14.36.pkg1.run" to run the installer and I received an error saying that GCC or CC or something wasn't found. After a bit of trawling through the internet I typed the command "export CC=gcc4.6.3" (I'm not really sure what it actually does) and ran the installer again

This time, a different error message:

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The kernel header file '/lib/modules/3.5.0-sabayon/source/include/linux/kernel.h' does not exist.
The most likely reason for this is that the kernel source path '/lib/modules/3.5.0-sabayon/source' is incorrect.
Please make sure you have installed the kernel source files for your kernel and that they are properly configured; on Red Hat Linux systems, for example, be sure you have the 'kernel-source' or 'kernel-devel' RPM installed.
If you know the correct kernal source files are installed, you may specify the kernel source path with the '--kernel-source-path' command line option.

I went onto the Sabayon package website and found a version of the Sabayon Linux kernel 3.5 (when I typed "uname -r" it came up with "3.5.0-sabayon") from the following link: http://packages.sabayonlinux.org/show/linux-sabayon,22832891,portage,arch,0,standard

I extracted the file into a directory on the desktop and went back into the console to try and install the driver. I had to use the '--kernel-source-path' command line option to point to this folder.

A different error message then appeared, saying:

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The kernel header file (folder)/include/linux/version.h does not exist. The most likely reason for this is that the kernel sources files in (folder) have not been configured

(I couldn't remember exactly what the folder was but it was the folder I had pointed it to)

I found the a version.h file (already on the system when I installed Sabayon) in "/lib/modules/3.5.0-sabayon/source/include/linux/kernel.h"
I copied this file into the same location as the kernel.h file in the downloaded kernel.

Running the driver installer one more time, I receive this error message:

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ERROR: Unable to determine the NVIDIA kernel module filename

I'm really at a loss as to how to install this damn driver!
I'm guessing I might have to install the kernel files "properly", but I'm not sure since I know nearly nothing about using linux; so how do I do that exactly?
Also, are there any actual benefits of installing the proper Nvidia driver rather than just using the one already installed? Will I see a vast increase in graphics performance by installing it?

Note: The PC with Sabayon on it is not connected to the internet, so I can't download stuff directly onto it, I have to download it from my other PC and transfer it over via USB stick

[sabayonino]

The drivers are in entropy

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# x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers-173.14.36#3.5.0-sabayon branch: 5, [sabayonlinux.org]
>>         Disponibile:   versione: 173.14.36 ~ tag: 3.5.0-sabayon ~ revisione: 0
>>         Installato:    versione: Non installato ~ tag: N/A ~ revisione: N/A
>>         Slot:          0,3.5.0-sabayon
>>         Homepage:      http://www.nvidia.com/
>>         Descrizione:   NVIDIA GPUs kernel drivers
>>         Licenza:       NVIDIA


run

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# equo install nvidia-drivers-173.14.36#`uname -r`

[M4dn3ss]

Do I need to be connected to the internet to do that? If not, I'll try that tomorrow morning, thanks for the tip
And would I still need the kernel source to install it, I mean isn't it the same installer?

[wolfden]

You should always be using the package manager and yes the package manager needs internet. The package manager will than get the proper files it needs and install it properly and also set the config files properly vs. doing it outside of the package manager which is not supported.

[M4dn3ss]

You should always be using the package manager and yes the package manager needs internet. The package manager will than get the proper files it needs and install it properly and also set the config files properly vs. doing it outside of the package manager which is not supported.

Yeah I plugged the machine into the network and used the Rigo application browser to install the drivers... but the file size was around 11mb as opposed to the 21mb one I downloaded from the Nvidia web site.
Are they the same thing? WHen I installed the drivers my screen didn't flash, nor did I have to reboot, which is not what I'm used to happening when it comes to installing graphics drivers.
Furthermore I don't notice any increase in graphics performance at all, is this normal? I know it's a crappy FX5200 but surely proper drivers should be significantly faster than generic drivers?

[creh]

Maybe the file from NVidia contains drivers for x86 and amd64. I think the driver will be loaded after reboot

[wolfden]

you might have to set the driver in the xorg file or eselect opengl set nvidia to activate the driver, so check that first. You need to restart Xorg when switching drivers to activate em.