Driver Installation Ubuntu kernel 2.6.17 Basic Help

[ahuguet at cttc.es]

Thank you a whole bunch Bob, for your explanations and suggestions.


> maybe add a
> 2.5 'make -C /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.17 SUBDIRS=./ clean'
>

If I do this, I get:

  CLEAN   .
  CLEAN   .//.tmp_versions

Then: make -C /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.17 SUBDIRS=./ modules

I get:
  CC      arch/i386/kernel/asm-offsets.s
  GEN     include/asm-i386/asm-offsets.h
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST

Then: make -C /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.17 SUBDIRS=./ modules_install

I get:
DEPMOD  2.6.17.14-ubuntu1

So, as you can see no errors shown.
And I purposedly wrote a line in hostap_80211_rx.c that is literally:
gergass=gegfeadfwae;

So it should give an error. But as you see, it did not.

Instead, using only: make -C /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.17 seems to launch
the compiling in a better way, and the error appears.

Since I used the make -C /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.17 SUBDIRS=./ clean
command now, this latter make took more time than before. But if that
order is omitted, the make takes significantly less time.

In any case...
once the make, and then make modules_install commands are done, in order
to have the new modules up and running should I do the following?

rmmod hostap (or modprobe -r hostap)
and then
modprobe hostap

Would that load the newly compiled modules?
And even another thing:

Once I have compiled the hostap modules, that are then stored at:
/lib/modules/2.6.17.14-ubuntu1/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/hostap
and that are hostap.ko, hostap_cs.ko, hostap_pci.ko, hostap_plx.ko right?

Could I simply copy this modules, and paste them in another linux
distribution computer, inside its modules folder, and load them with
modprobe?
That is, are the modules to be found on
/lib/modules/*kernelversion*/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/hostap portable?

I'd like trying to port the modules of my Ubuntu 2.6.17.14 kernel to a
Knoppix system with 2.6.16.13.

If I can't I guess I'll have to port the code (hostap .c and .h files)
compile anew there, make modules, and use them, but I wondered if I could
skip the compilation process there.

Thanks again for all the help.