VMware Server : recently stopped working on Feisty

[Thomas Kaiser]

Vincent Trouilliez wrote:
> Zach <uid000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I the various vmware kernel modules, including networking, would have
>> to be recompiled after the recent kernel update.  However,
>> vmware-config should have covered that, so If that's not it, i'm not
>> sure.
> 
> Ohhh... looks like you are right... I think I found the problem...
> the current kernel is 2.6.20-16, the matching modules for VMware Server
> DO exist in the repo, HOWEVER there seems to be a dependency problem :
> the "vmware-server-kernel-modules" package has not been updated and
> still depends on the old 2.6.20-15 modules ! I am not an
> expert with package management, so I don't know if there is a way to
> force a package NOT to install one of its dependencies ! :-/
> 
>> FWIW, it's working on my updated system, but I didn't install it from synaptic.
> 
> Lucky you ! I tried again installing it manually, but it fails to
> compile the vmmon module :-/
> 
> **************
> Extracting the sources of the vmmon module.
> 
> Building the vmmon module.
> 
> Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
> make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only'
> make -C /lib/modules/2.6.20-16-generic/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD
> SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules make[1]: Entering directory
> `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.20-16-generic' CC
> [M]  /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o In file included
> from /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c:80: /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/./include/compat_kernel.h:21:
> error: expected declaration specifiers or ‘...’ before
> ‘compat_exit’ /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/./include/compat_kernel.h:21:
> error: expected declaration specifiers or ‘...’ before
> ‘exit_code’ /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/./include/compat_kernel.h:21:
> warning: type defaults to ‘int’ in declaration of ‘_syscall1’ make[2]:
> *** [/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o] Error 1 make[1]:
> *** [_module_/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only] Error 2 make[1]: Leaving
> directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.20-16-generic' make: ***
> [vmmon.ko] Error 2 make: Leaving directory
> `/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only' Unable to build the vmmon module.
> 
> ***********************
> 
> 
> --
> Vince, definitely out of luck...
> 

Hello Vince

This is a known problem. You can find a solution somewhere on the VMware page. 
But I don't find the link, sorry.

The solution is simple, just uncomment or remove line 21 in compat_kernel.h. Or, 
more general, check the kernel version before including this line.

Thomas


-- 
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