HOWTO: Automatically update manually installed NVidia drivers after kernel updates

[lazertek]

installing video card drivers with envy or the newer ENVY NG is another option too... takes away the manual labor of installing and updating...

[sdennie]

Why are we piping output to /dev/null here? This strikes me as a bad idea. If something goes wrong in this step, the script dies silently, making debugging a real pain. I know this because it just happened to me.

I would suggest not hiding the output from the sh command - it may make your log file look 'ugly', but usually ugly is preferred to invisible in case of failure.

Many thanks for this btw; I use a number of patched modules in my systems and was unaware of this hook. Now I don't need to wait to upgrade my kernel until I have 'enough time'.

/drdaz

Well, I was kind of torn between displaying the output and even using "exit $?". The reason I'm not displaying the output is because if building the driver fails, you are no worse off than before you used the guide. The reason I'm not using "exit $?" is because when /etc/kernel/postinst.d scripts fail, it makes apt-get/dpkg upset and it may not be obvious how to fix the error that apt-get/dpkg will now be reporting.

Having said that, you are probably right in that I could detect the output value of the install and, if it fails, report it and point them at the installer log file (while still using exit 0). I'll modify the script a bit later to do that.

[sdennie]

installing video card drivers with envy or the newer ENVY NG is another option too... takes away the manual labor of installing and updating...

Yes, envyng is a very useful tool for installing the nvidia drivers. There are valid reasons for using the drivers directly from nvidia but, most people will do just fine with envyng.

[showgun22]

I am no expert at this stuff and I am running into a small problem.
I have installed NVIDIA-Linux-x86-173.14.09-pkg1.run last week
and it has been running flawlessly.

I am trying to set up the above recommendation I created an empty file and pasted the above code and name it as stated. Unfortunately I am not sure where I should put the script?

I have tried a few different folder I could think of but everytime I run
sudo install update-nvidia /etc/kernel/postinst.d

I get an error
Thanks

[sdennie]

I am no expert at this stuff and I am running into a small problem.
I have installed NVIDIA-Linux-x86-173.14.09-pkg1.run last week
and it has been running flawlessly.

I am trying to set up the above recommendation I created an empty file and pasted the above code and name it as stated. Unfortunately I am not sure where I should put the script?

I have tried a few different folder I could think of but everytime I run
sudo install update-nvidia /etc/kernel/postinst.d

I get an error
Thanks

Did you save the file as "update-nvidia" and save it in, for instance, your home directory? Also did you first run this before trying the install command?

sudo mkdir -p /etc/kernel/postinst.d

[showgun22]

I had it just about every where else except the home directory <LOL>
Saved it there did
sudo install update-nvidia /etc/kernel/postinst.d
no problem...
Thanks

[potiphera]

This guide worked perfectly for me! Thanks, vor, you're my new hero.

[freakwillie]

EDIT: I solved that. But now I'm having another problem. This is my /var/log/nvidia-installer.log. Any help is much appreciated.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________________

Hello,

I'm having a couple problems here. I'm using

fakeroot make-kpkg --initrd --append-to-version=-custom kernel_image kernel_headers

to create debs that setup the configs for me. Well, when I do a

dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.26-custom_2.6.26-custom-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

it tries to run the script to no avail. I think it`s not running the NVidia script, since it creates no log in /var/log. It does shows the failure message though.

I`m also trying to make a script myself to keep the drivers for my wifi card, but that`s something to be spoken of after I can even get your script to work.

Thanks in advance,
Willie.

[sdennie]

EDIT: I solved that. But now I'm having another problem. This is my /var/log/nvidia-installer.log. Any help is much appreciated.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________________

Hello,

I'm having a couple problems here. I'm using

fakeroot make-kpkg --initrd --append-to-version=-custom kernel_image kernel_headers

to create debs that setup the configs for me. Well, when I do a

dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.26-custom_2.6.26-custom-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

it tries to run the script to no avail. I think it`s not running the NVidia script, since it creates no log in /var/log. It does shows the failure message though.

I`m also trying to make a script myself to keep the drivers for my wifi card, but that`s something to be spoken of after I can even get your script to work.

Thanks in advance,
Willie.

The stock 173.14.05 drivers won't build against the 2.6.26 kernel. You'll need to use 173.14.09: http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=114873 Also, when you install custom kernels and are using this method, it's best to install the headers with the image or scripts in /etc/kernel won't work (which I suspect is what was causing your original problem).

[freakwillie]

Also, when you install custom kernels and are using this method, it's best to install the headers with the image or scripts in /etc/kernel won't work (which I suspect is what was causing your original problem).

Do you mean I should make and make install_modules instead of using make-kpkg to create the debs?

I'm also trying to make a script that involve the process of compiling, but I can't get the make install to move the files to /lib/modules/(kernel that's being compiled) instead of /lib/modules/(actual kernel). Any hints about it?

thanks.