NVIDIA driver *taints* kernel???

[Jonathan Berry]

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 14:46:09 -0500, Steven Pasternak
<stevenp500 at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> I use fedora 3 on an athlon xp and an nvidia geforce fx 5200. I go to install
> the Nvidia driver version 1.0-6629 and during the installation at the end it
> says that the license 'Nvidia' taints the kernel, but it still continues and
> seems to work. If I boot in runlevel 5, though, it gets to the part where it
> starts X (right at the beginning) and X doesn't start - It freezes. I
> uninstall the driver and use the 'nv' driver and it works. I have to compile
> the kernel module because it can't find one at the nvidia site. When I'm in
> runlevel 3 I can run the accelerated graphics until I shut down, then I have
> to boot runlevel 3 and recompile the module again. Any advise?
> -Steven

First off, look at the list archives.  This problem is well
documented, but has been repeatedly asked about on the list.  Please
make sure udev (and your entire system) has all the updates installed
(use up2date, yum, or apt, or whatever your favorite update tool is). 
For more information, see this website:
http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/udev/  I'm not sure if the steps at the
bottom of the page are still necessary with the latest udev or not,
you can try it and see if you want.
The nVidia taints kernel message is nothing.  It's simply telling you
that the license is not open-source.
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's been too long since this was
fixed for this problem to keep coming up again.

Jonathan