[mythtv-users] ivtv lockups - how do I uninstall the driver?

[Steve MacLaren]

On 9/27/07, Steve MacLaren <scram69 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 9/27/07, David Brieck Jr. <dbrieck at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 9/27/07, Steve MacLaren <scram69 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > 2-3 times a week, mythbackend.log fills up with "ivtv driver not
> > > responding", while /var/log/messages fills up with ivtv DMA
> > errors.  This
> > > causes my backend to completely lock up - no ssh, no ctl-alt-del, no
> > > response to anything other than the reset button.
> > >
> > > I would very much like to update the ivtv driver version - I have
> > 0.10.1
> > > that came with Ubuntu Feisty.  The only problem is I have not been
> > able to
> > > un-install the current driver.  The Ubuntu package manager allows
> > > un-installation of something called "ivtv-utils", but after removing
> > that,
> > > the ivtv 0.10.1 driver still loads.
> > >
> > > Unfortunately, neither the howto at ivtvdriver.org, or help.ubuntu.com
> > > discuss un-installation.  I'm guessing I need to go and manually
> > delete some
> > > files from the morass in /lib/modules/ , but I have no idea which
> > ones.  I
> > > would appreciate any insight...
> > >
> > > Also, it was suggested on the ivtv-users list that the specific DMA
> > error
> > > fixes are in the v4l-dvb repository at linuxtv.org.  While the ivtv
> > driver
> > > downloads had installation instructions, the downloads from
> > > http://www.linuxtv.org/hg/ do not.  Any suggestions?
> > >
> > > --
> > > _______________________
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> > > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> > >
> > >
> >
> > IVTV is now included with the kernel, you can't uninstall it. You'll
> > need to build your kernel from scratch to get the result you're
> > looking for.
> >
> > From the looks of it though it sounds like you've got a problem with
> > something other than IVTV, maybe a VIA chipset?
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-users mailing list
> > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >
> My motherboard is an Infinity NF ULTRAII-M2.  According to the
> manufacturer's website, the chipset is an NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra.
>
> Basically, I'm going from a number of other posts to the ivtv-users' list
> complaining of DMA errors, with the recommendation being to upgrade the
> driver to a non-faulty version.
>
> Sigh... so I guess my choices are to live with the lockups, or to learn
> how to build and upgrade a kernel from scratch, separately from my Ubuntu
> and Mythtv releases?  Search this list for "kernel upgrade", and the result
> is a wasteland strewn with driver, application, and OS nightmares...
>
> Is there a way to re-create the Feisty kernel (2.6.20-16) with the only
> change being the ivtv driver?
>

In an attempt to answer my own question, I came accross:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Kernel/Compile
Blowing by the strongly worded  "at your own risk" disclaimer on the top of
the page, I forge onward to "Reasons for NOT compiling a custom kernel":

"You merely need to compile a special driver. For this, you only need to
install the linux-headers packages."
Could this be the case?  Is ivtv "a special driver" or not?

"You have no idea what you are doing, and if you break something, you'll
need help fixing it. If you hose your box, reinstall. Don't bother asking
for help."
Now this one seems dead on.  Given my track record, I would put chances of
"hosing my box" somewhere upwards of 99%. :)
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