[mythtv-users] Cant load bttv module, ALSA module load problem

[Michael Williams]

Very true Ray, the bttv and alsa problems aren't MythTV problems
directly.  However the problem where when I go to "Watch TV" in
mythfrontend and it completely freezes the machine is isnt it?  Once I
finally get bttv loaded I can watch TV on it using xawtv just fine, and
as for the alsa problem I THINK i have finally gotten that working,
though I dont know how.  I found some other references to the same
problem, most of them indicating I should touch
include/linux/workqueue.h after running ./configure and before make;make
install.  I did this, but it didnt work.  I finally found some RPMs on
freshrpms.net for redhat 9 for alsa version 0.9.3, though the sources i
was compiling were for 0.9.4, I went ahead and installed all the rpms
using apt-get.  Afterward, I was able to use alsaplayer to play an MP3,
does this indicate a properly working ALSA driver that would work with
MythTV?  I have mythtv set to output sound to /dev/dsp

If this ALSA is working correctly now, I am still stuck as to why i can
watch tv with xawtv but when I go to "Watch TV" in Myth it completely
freezes the machine.  Mythbackend is running correctly, I can see the
program guide just fine going through "Record a program".

Thanks again Ray for the response.

On Fri, 2003-06-06 at 23:35, Ray Olszewski wrote:
> First thing -- these are not MythTV problems. They are kernel problems. So 
> if you need extended help, you probably should get it not here but either 
> on a Red Hat users' list or a general Linux-support list (an example is 
> linux-newbie at vger.kernel.org, a majordomo-run list I participate on).
> 
> That said ... it's worth one pass here at your problem, I think.
> 
> The difference between modprobe and insmod is that modprobe checks for 
> dependencies among modules and loads any additional modules needed to make 
> the requested module run. insmod does not do this step, so with insmod, you 
> have to load modules in the right order. That's probably what your friend 
> told you that you forgot.
> 
> But you say you are using modprobe. In that case, the symptom you see most 
> likely means that the module you are trying to load was not compiled for 
> the kernel you have running. It's not enough that the kernel have the right 
> name; oftentimes (not always, but often enough), the module has to be from 
> the same compile as the kernel.
> 
> So when you compiled your kernel from source, did you follow all the 
> required steps, including "make modules" and "make modules_install"? If 
> not, that is your problem with the custom kernel.
> 
> If I've guessed wrong about the specific error, the general advice still 
> applies. In that case, read /usr/src/linux/README, which has a list of the 
> steps you need to follow to compile a kernel, install it, compile its 
> modules, and install its modules successfully.
> 
> As to the add-on compiles you did for the stock kernel ... these may be 
> running into the same problem. I always compile my own kernels, so I don't 
> have experience trying to compile (say) alsa for a stock kernel. You may 
> have the same mismatch problem. Or you may have missed installing (moving 
> to /lib/modules/...) some "helper" modules that supplies the missing 
> pieces. Or you may not have run "depmod", the app that constructs the 
> dependencies list that modprobe uses. Or you may have missed some other 
> detail ... I'm writing this off the top of my head, so I'm probably missing 
> some possibilities, but the number I am hitting indicates how involved this 
> process is.
> 
> As to the bttv problems with the stock kernel ... intermittent loading is a 
> real oddity. I suggest that before you hand-load it, you run "lsmod" and 
> see what modules are loaded. After it loads successfully, do it again and 
> see what else loaded. Although I can deliberately misload bttv here and 
> generate an "unresolved symbols" message, I cannot get it to happen with 
> that *particular* symbol. The only reference I find to that function in the 
> kernel source (2.4.19) is in the sound drivers ... and I can't see why the 
> bttv module would be generating that particular call. And the function (in 
> ./drivers/sound/sound_firmware.c) is headed with a comment discouraging its 
> use and warning that it might disappear.
> 
> Oh, I'd also suggest you pay closer attention to whether there is any 
> pattern in the "sometimes-ness" of bttv loading. Like it always fails the 
> first time after a reboot but succeeds the second time (which might be what 
> you described below). Or it works if loaded after sound but not before 
> (which might also be what you described below).
> 
> At 10:18 PM 6/6/2003 -0400, Michael Williams wrote:
> >Please help, im at my wits end here. I have been lurking for about a
> >week and have read hundreds of messages on here about people trials and
> >tribulations in getting Myth up and running. I am running RedHat 9, have
> >an ATI Tv Wonder VE and know it is card=64 and tuner=2.  My current
> >problem is I had the card working using xawtv at work where I was
> >configuring the box.  I initially had trouble loading the bttv module
> >with insmod, though I d

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