[MPlayer-users] mga_vid install doc

[Robert Munro]

Not a bug-report per se, as I figured it out finally myself,
but rather a request to improve the documentation to save us
MPlayer users who aren't Linux experts (yet) some setup time.

This is specific to the Matrox mga_vid.o module installation
(on Linux Mandrake 8.1, though it might apply to other cards
and/or distributions).  The basic issue is the documentation
isn't specific enough about how to install the card's driver
so it will be available, usable after the system is rebooted.

The documentation doesn't specify _where_ to place mga_vid.o
to run "insmod mga_vid.o" (and then "depmod -a") such that a
reboot will successfully link char-major-178 to mga_vid thus
enabling MPlayer without re-executing both insmod and depmod.

As the documentation leads one through building this driver,
mga_vid.o is created in:  [$HOME]/MPlayer-[version]/drivers.
Running "insmod mga_vid.o" and "depmod -a" in this directory
works, first time.  But a reboot doesn't enable this driver!

Of course one does the "mknode /dev/mga_vid 178 0" before the
insmod and adds "alias char-major-178 mga_vid" at the end of
/etc/modules.conf before running "depmod -a" as you directed.

Placing mga_vid.o in a $PATH directory doesn't resolve this.

Long story short, to get MPlayer usable you have to do these
steps after compiling the mga_vid.o driver, in Mandrake 8.1:

1) cp [wherever]/mga_vid.o /lib/modules/video

2) cd /lib/modules/video

3) insmod mga_vid.o

4) add "alias char-major-178 mga_vid" to /etc/modules.conf

5) depmod -a

6) test "mplayer -vo mga [or xmga] [etc.]"

7) reboot

8) retest, now it should still work.

For other distributions, try "modprobe -c" to see where it
expects to find video driver modules not distributed in it.

I hope this will be helpful to others.  Please add this to
your documentation in acceptance that most of us are users.

Regards,
Robert Munro