While running /usr/bin/vmware-config.pl on RH7.0 smp machine with a standard RH 7.0 installation, the following error message is generated: The directory of kernel headers (version 2.4.0-0.26) does not match your running kernel (version 2.2.16-22smp). Consequently, even if the compilation of the module was successful, the module would not load into the running kernel. It is therefore impossible to install the VMware.
This is a bug in VMWARE, as VMWARE incorrectly uses the headers in /usr/include/linux instead of /usr/src/linux/include to compile the VMWare kernel modules. Adding -I/usr/src/linux/include to the VMWare modules Makefile should fix this. Please also report this bug to VMWare support. This is a long-standing bug.
How can that be - they're supposed to be the same thing - /usr/include/linux is a symlink to ../src/linux/include/linux You're never supposed to directly #include from /usr/src/linux; VMWare is doing the right thing.
Vmware is wrong. /usr/include/ uses the kernel interface headers that match the glibc not the kernel. The kernel/library interface is glibc's business. The fact this worked before is luck.