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Thread: Driver for Nvidia GeForce 8300 GS

  1. #1
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    Question Driver for Nvidia GeForce 8300 GS

    I’ve been doing searches on “how to install a driver” but maybe what I’ve found just isn’t dumbed down enough for me. They seem to all assume the desired driver is an option in my Nvidia settings or in my package manager.

    After an Ubuntu update last November, I could no longer get the right resolution on my computer. I changed my driver from nvidia-current to nvidia-173, and that solved the problem, but then I couldn’t play “World of Warcraft.” Been working on that for months with no hope in sight in the “HOWTO: WoW with Wine” thread, so I finally GAVE UP and canceled my account... But I still want to know what the heck is going on with my driver!

    I was told that 173 is for an older GeForce, whatever that means. My graphics processor is GeForce 8300 GS. I went to Nvidia and it told me to download this:

    Linux Display Driver - x86

    Version: 310.40 Certified

    It downloaded to my home folder. I don’t know if that is where it should be but it didn’t give me options.

    So I have that... now what do I do with it? it is a .run file but nothing happens when I just try to run it. When I run it in terminal it says I need to be logged in as root but I don’t know what command to use. I don’t know much. Apt-get install NVIDIA-Linux-x86-310.40 , or NVIDIA-X86-310.40, or NVIDIA-86 all have the same result:

    Code:
    E: Unable to locate package NVIDIA-Linux-x86-310.40
    E: Couldn't find any package by regex 'NVIDIA-Linux-x86-310.40'
    Synaptic doesn’t see it; maybe I don’t know how to look.

    Here’s what I’ve got right now:

    Code:
    anna@anna-desktop:~$ lsmod | grep -i nvidia
    nvidia               7098356  24 
    
    anna@anna-desktop:~$ lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 vga
    01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation G86 [GeForce 8300 GS] [10de:0423] (rev a1)
    	Subsystem: NVIDIA Corporation Device [10de:0494]
    	Kernel driver in use: nvidia
    And another odd little thing is that it sometimes seems to come “unstuck”. When I do this:

    Code:
    anna@anna-desktop:~$ glxinfo | grep rendering
    direct rendering: Yes
    half the time it says no. I don’t know what that means or how important it is. I know it's needed for gaming but not what else if anything. Mainly the fact that it sometimes says "no" until I reinstall 173 tells me something just isn't right here.
    Last edited by Crossbow; April 5th, 2013 at 01:49 AM.

  2. #2
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    Re: Nvidia driver - Dumbing down needed!

    i think you misunderstood which NVidia driver you needed. It appears the 173 driver is the one for your video card:

    http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux-d...3.14.31-driver

    Look under the 'supported products' tab.

    As far as the WOW issue, it may have more to do with WINE, not the video driver. Maybe the 'Gaming' forum would have advice.

    EDIT: I gave you bad advice (sorry). The 8300GS card is listed as supported for the 310.40 driver. Apologies.
    Last edited by MoebusNet; April 5th, 2013 at 03:29 PM.
    Reminder: If you start a thread asking for help with a problem, please remember to use the Thread Tools to mark the issue as "SOLVED" once you have a solution. This will help other people with the same problem when they search for answers.

  3. #3
    monkeybrain2012 is offline Grande Half-n-Half Cinnamon Ubuntu
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    Re: Nvidia driver - Dumbing down needed!

    You can install the driver from the repository (say from synaptic) If you version of Ubuntui is before 12.10, you can install it by clicking "Additional Driver" if it doesn't popup itself to offer you a driver.

    For 12.10 I think there is a tab in synaptic under Settings > Repository though I think "additional driver" is better because it alerts you when such drivers are availiable.

    P.S. If you need "dumbing down" instructions I suggest you install from the repository instead of doing it manually from Nvidia download.

  4. #4
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    Re: Nvidia driver - Dumbing down needed!

    Hi!, Crossbow,

    First, you do not need the nvidia-173 legacy driver, that is for video cards prior to the 6xxx series, but you need to remove it before installing the correct 304 or 310 driver.

    If you want to use the NVIDIA.com downloaded driver do the following: Press 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' to get to a tty terminal prompt, login and enter password.
    Code:
    sudo apt-get update # enter you password
    sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-173
    sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia*
    sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic
    uname -r # enter the output in the following CMD
    sudo apt-get install linux-headers-'uname -i' # eg:".....linux-headers-3.5.0.27-generic"
    sudo apt-get install dkms
    cd /home/username/Downloads # or to whereever the nvidia file is downloaded
    ls # this will check you are in the right place & you can check the correct filename
    sudo service lightdm stop # to shut down the Xserver
    sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-310.40.run --dkms
    You will probably get a 'Script falled' message and possibly other warnings, accept the offered continue path; navigate with the 'Tab' or arrow keys.
    Then reboot.

    If you need to return to the GUI, 'Ctrl+Alt+F7' will do that.

    If you need more detailed instructions see:http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743535&page=6 Post #1126
    Or just ask.

    Chao!, bogan.
    "Better Solutions may bring Worsened Problems": After Lao Tse, b. circa 405BC. a contemporary of Confucius, who died circa 600BC.
    They did things differently in those days, apparently!!

  5. #5
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    Re: Nvidia driver - Dumbing down needed!

    Thanks guys! I will try purging 173 tomorrow. I don't know how I missed that "HOWTO" thread, since it seems to be tagged with everything I searched on.

    I have been trying to do this through synaptic, but there is no additional driver option in the repositories.

    Yes, 173 does work well enough for most things but there's something just not right about it or it wouldn't keep coming "unstuck." That's what I call it; I don't know what is technically happening.

    I'm pretty sure my gaming issue isn't a Wine problem because it started after an Nvidia change, not a Wine change. However, I did start my quest on "WoW with Wine" thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=579378) and they have not been able to help me, other than to tell me I've got the wrong driver. Hoefully, that is all I need.

    Oh, and when I try to start the game I am booted all the way out to the OS login screen, and from what I've been able to find out through the magic of Google, that is definitely a driver problem.

  6. #6
    monkeybrain2012 is offline Grande Half-n-Half Cinnamon Ubuntu
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    Re: Nvidia driver - Dumbing down needed!

    Quote Originally Posted by Crossbow View Post
    I have been trying to do this through synaptic, but there is no additional driver option in the repositories.

    .
    It should be already installed if you are on a version earlier than 12.10. Anyway if you already know the driver version you can just download in from the repository using synaptic (search for Nvidia 173, e.g)

  7. #7
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    Re: Nvidia driver - Dumbing down needed!

    Quote Originally Posted by monkeybrain2012 View Post
    It should be already installed if you are on a version earlier than 12.10. Anyway if you already know the driver version you can just download in from the repository using synaptic (search for Nvidia 173, e.g)
    As I said i my original post, I have already download it it, I just can't install it. As I said in my reply to your post, it is not in the repository.

  8. #8
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    Re: Driver for Nvidia GeForce 8300 GS

    Bogan, can you advise me?

    Got this far:

    Code:
    sudo service lightdm stop # to shut down the Xserver
    Now I've got the message, "Starting Timidity**ALSA midi emulation" and [OK]... then nothing. I can't type anything in. Am I waiting for something?

    PS. Tried rebooting and starting over. Same thing happened.
    Last edited by Crossbow; April 7th, 2013 at 06:14 PM.

  9. #9
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    Re: Driver for Nvidia GeForce 8300 GS

    Hi!, Crossbow,

    I am afraid I have no experience with Timidity or ALSA, I only know they are Sound/Audio programs. In any case as the message says [OK], it is probably the next thing that is causing the hang up.

    One possibility is that you had an NVIDIA audio driver installed and it was deleted by: 'sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia*' but it would be reinstalled on rebooting.

    Did it give any response to 'Ctl+Alt+F7' or '...+ F1-6' ? or to other keystrokes ?

    What happened when you rebooted after that ?

    I would try rebooting, if you get to the GUI Log-in, do not login but:
    [ *X*] Press: 'Ctl+Alt+F1' and login there:
    Code:
    cd /home/username/Downloads # or to Desktop or wherever the nvidia file is downloaded 
    ls # this will check you are in the right place & you can check the correct filename
    sudo service lightdm stop # to shut down the Xserver 
    sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-310.40.run --dkms
    If that does not work:
    reboot to the Grub Menu,
    highlight the Ubuntu entry,
    press 'e' to get to edit script mode,
    scroll to the line that starts: "linux /boot", and
    across to " ro quiet splash" and
    change it to read " rw single text " and
    Press 'Ctrl+x' # to boot to a tty login prompt # note last messages if it hangs
    login& enter password enter startx + 'Return' and note any error messages
    then go to [ *X*] above.

    Let us know how it goes.

    If there are still problems, clarify what Computer/CPU you have, the Ubuntu dist. & version, and if Windows/Wubi or direct install.

    Chao!, bogan.
    "Better Solutions may bring Worsened Problems": After Lao Tse, b. circa 405BC. a contemporary of Confucius, who died circa 600BC.
    They did things differently in those days, apparently!!

  10. #10
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    Re: Driver for Nvidia GeForce 8300 GS

    Isn't there any way I can just download this to where Synaptic can see it?

    While I had the "timidity" message, it would not respond to any keystrokes. I had to turn off the computer. The first time I rebooted, everything ran like normal so I tried the procedure again but the same thing happened. Then I rebooted in recovery mode and tried it from root. After that I could not log in at all. I had to go back to root and tried it from there but just got the "could not open" message. I tried reinstalling Nvidia-current, could not log in. Tried installing Nvidia-173, then I could log in with no GUI. Logged in that way and installed 173 again, now it is up and running but still with 173 and not X86.

    I did some web-searching and found that the timidity hangup is a not-uncommon problem but no one knows what to do about it.

    ETA:

    OK, this time ctrl+alt+f1 for me to a command screen. However, it still wouldn't work. sudo service lightdm stop got me "uknown," and sudo sh blah blah blah got me "cannot open." I think that lightdm command may be wrong.
    Last edited by Crossbow; April 7th, 2013 at 09:05 PM.

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