[Nolug] Help me: Unstable kernel compile

I recently upgraded my kernel from 2.4.17 to 2.4.24, running out of
Debian unstable. Ever since I did this, I have had a series of problems
which seem to me related. But I need some help tracking down the
problem. Here are the symptoms:

1. The kernel periodically freezes, at least once a day.

2. Depmod notifies me that there are unresolved symbols in
/lib/modules/2.4.24/kernel/drivers/char/drm/sis.o. I don't really need
this module, but obviously something is wrong.

3. I require a third party module for my pctel hsp linmodem. The
version I was using (pctel-0.9.0) wouldn't compile at all with my
current gcc, and though the new version of that driver (pctel-0.9.7-9)
does compile, I have some serious problems with it. First, insmod tells
me the following:
        
        /lib/modules/2.4.24/misc/pctel.o: The module you are trying to
        load (/lib/modules/2.4.24/misc/pctel.o) is compiled with a gcc
        version 2 compiler, while the kernel you are running is
        compiled with a gcc version 3 compiler. This is known to not
        work.

In fact, both the kernel and the module were compiled using the same
version of gcc. The module's ./configure confirms this. I can load the
module using insmod -f, but the result is less than desirable: the
driver seems to barely function. I get shaky negotiation that often
fails, dropped connections, dead connections where data is neither sent
nor recieved, and extremely slow connections when it works at all.

Here's the dpkg output for all packages I know are relevant:

ii gcc 3.3.2-2 The GNU C compiler
ii libc6 2.3.2.ds1-11 GNU C Library: Shared libraries and
ii libc6-dev 2.3.2.ds1-11 GNU C Library: Development Libraries
ii make 3.80-4 The GNU version of the "make"
ii autoconf 2.13-20 automatic configure script builder
ii kernel-package 8.079 A utility for building Linux kernel
ii debhelper 3.4.11 helper programs for debian/rules

___________________
Nolug mailing list
nolug@nolug.org
Received on 02/01/04