Linux Kernel 3.11, VMWare Workstation, and NVidia Legacy Drivers
So, just one week after the 22nd celebration of Linux Kernel, Linus pushed the final version of Linux Kernel 3.11, marking a new merge window for the next two weeks and start the development of Linux Kernel 3.12. Detail information about Linux Kernel 3.11 can be seen at KernelNewbies
I have downloaded this new kernel this morning and build it on my main desktop machine and it's running well here. VMWare Workstation 9.0.2 and also legacy NVidia Driver 304.xx works well here too, which is good news for me. I already searched for patches long before the final version come up, since patches can usually be found during RC-2 until RC-4.
For VMWare Workstation, it's best to start with patches for Linux Kernel 3.10 which can be downloaded from my vmware-3.10 SlackHacks repository. If you have been using this patches, then you only need to use a single patch for Linux Kernel 3.11 which is also available on my vmware-3.11 SlackHacks Repository (it contains two files, but one of them is the automatic script to execute the patch). You can run the .sh file to start extracting the module source, patch it, and repack it again and start rebuilding all modules, or if you prefer to run it manually, use this steps:
1. cd /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source
2. tar xvf vmblock.tar
3. cd vmblock-only
4. patch -p1 < /path/to/vmblock-3.11.patch
5. cd ..
6. tar cvf vmblock.tar vmblock-only/
7. vmware-modconfig --console --install-all
As for NVidia Legacy Driver, i upgraded from 304.88 to 304.108 which works well with Linux Kernel 3.10 (without any patches needed) plus a single patch which is now available on my new NVidia section on SlackHacks Repository. Currently i only support 304.108 since i only have NVidia GPU at the moment and it's supported only by 304.xx driver. I think the same patch can be used for any other driver (especially the new 325.xx branch). Use this steps to patch your NVidia driver"
1. sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.108.run --extract-only
2. cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.108
3. patch -p1 < /path/to/nvidia-3.11.patch
4. ./nvidia-installer
Everything above is tested on my machine which is running Slackware-Current (32 bit) with Linux Kernel 3.11. Some modifications might be needed for 64 bit machines.
Let me know if you have any problems with the steps above.
I have downloaded this new kernel this morning and build it on my main desktop machine and it's running well here. VMWare Workstation 9.0.2 and also legacy NVidia Driver 304.xx works well here too, which is good news for me. I already searched for patches long before the final version come up, since patches can usually be found during RC-2 until RC-4.
For VMWare Workstation, it's best to start with patches for Linux Kernel 3.10 which can be downloaded from my vmware-3.10 SlackHacks repository. If you have been using this patches, then you only need to use a single patch for Linux Kernel 3.11 which is also available on my vmware-3.11 SlackHacks Repository (it contains two files, but one of them is the automatic script to execute the patch). You can run the .sh file to start extracting the module source, patch it, and repack it again and start rebuilding all modules, or if you prefer to run it manually, use this steps:
1. cd /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source
2. tar xvf vmblock.tar
3. cd vmblock-only
4. patch -p1 < /path/to/vmblock-3.11.patch
5. cd ..
6. tar cvf vmblock.tar vmblock-only/
7. vmware-modconfig --console --install-all
As for NVidia Legacy Driver, i upgraded from 304.88 to 304.108 which works well with Linux Kernel 3.10 (without any patches needed) plus a single patch which is now available on my new NVidia section on SlackHacks Repository. Currently i only support 304.108 since i only have NVidia GPU at the moment and it's supported only by 304.xx driver. I think the same patch can be used for any other driver (especially the new 325.xx branch). Use this steps to patch your NVidia driver"
1. sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.108.run --extract-only
2. cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.108
3. patch -p1 < /path/to/nvidia-3.11.patch
4. ./nvidia-installer
Everything above is tested on my machine which is running Slackware-Current (32 bit) with Linux Kernel 3.11. Some modifications might be needed for 64 bit machines.
Let me know if you have any problems with the steps above.