Problems with nVidia G92, GeForce 8800 GT

[salttalk]

I already posted this message on another thread but I'd like to start a new thread with it now, and add a few more details.

My son and I are having trouble getting the graphics card to work properly in his computer.

The resolution is good, but the graphics card is not fully functioning. He works on animation and graphics of several kinds, and the graphics programs cannot run without a fully functioning graphics card.

The computer will not run Blender and other graphics programs. Nor will it even allow for the "normal" "Visual Effects" in the "Appearance Preferences." (It comes up with the error: "Desktop effects could not be enabled," after it tries to find the driver.)

The system is:

Graphics Card: nVidia G92, GeForce 8800 GT
System: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic, 2.6.31-17-generic, 4.4.1 (x86_64-linux-gnu)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ (3 Gigs RAM)

We know the graphics card works because it works in Windows. (We set up the computer to boot off of either of two hard drives -- either in Windows XP or Ubuntu 9.10, karmic.)

Neither my son nor I understand much of the terminology on your forums, although I have been using Ubuntu for some years and have read quite a bit. (I also have the "Beginning Ubuntu Linux" book.) I love Ubuntu, but sometimes I just cannot figure out how to get some things running.

We have tried many different ways of installing the drivers and setting up the xorg.conf file. We have followed the instructions on this and other threads. We also installed NVIDIA-Linux-x86-64-190.53-pkg2.run, as well as 173 and 185.

The screen will only work at a proper resolution when we set the "Driver" to "nv" in the xorg.conf file. The screen goes completely blank and dead if we set the "Driver" to "nvidia." Then we need to reboot in safe mode and edit the xorg.conf file with VIM.

When we set the driver to "nv," the Xorg log shows only this one error:

(EE) Failed to initialize GLX extension (Compatible NVIDIA X driver not found)

But when we set the driver to "nvidia," the Xorg log gave the following errors before the screen went dead:

(EE) Jan 20 16:04:32 NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module. Please see the
(EE) Jan 20 16:04:32 NVIDIA(0): system's kernel log for additional error messages and
(EE) Jan 20 16:04:32 NVIDIA(0): consult the NVIDIA README for details.
(EE) NVIDIA(0): *** Aborting ***
(II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
(II) UnloadModule: "wfb"
(II) UnloadModule: "fb"
(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

I don't understand this because, with the "nvidia" setting, it says it successfully loads the driver:

(II) LoadModule: "glx"
(II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libglx.so
(II) Module glx: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
Module class: X.Org Server Extension
(II) NVIDIA GLX Module 190.18 Wed Jul 22 16:35:50 PDT 2009
(II) Loading extension GLX

I have tried the "How to Install nVidia driver" thread and just about everything else I can find. Will this nVidia card even work on Karmic?

I just reinstalled EnvyNG and ran it to install the video drivers. It didn't work and the screen went dead again. So I had to change the "Driver" in the "xorg.conf" file to "nv" again to be able to see the screen.

However, this time the "Xorg.log" seemed to give a different set of errors:

(II) LoadModule: "glx"
(II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libglx.so
dlopen: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libglx.so: undefined symbol: _nv000025gl
(EE) Failed to load /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libglx.so
(II) UnloadModule: "glx"
(EE) Failed to load module "glx" (loader failed, 7)

...

(**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling RENDER acceleration
(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the GLX module; please check in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): log file that the GLX module has been loaded in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): server, and that the module is the NVIDIA GLX module. If
(EE) NVIDIA(0): you continue to encounter problems, Please try
(EE) NVIDIA(0): reinstalling the NVIDIA driver.

After it says "resource ranges after preInit" and makes a list of memory addresses, it says the following and dies:

(II) NVIDIA(0): Initialized GPU GART.
(II) NVIDIA(0): Initialized GPU GART.

Thanks. Hope to hear from someone.

[NT4usB]

More on envy.
Did you first select the option to completly remove the nvidia driver first? Then, after all the old stuff is cleaned out, install?
This has worked for me in the past.

[Dynamus]

http://lovehateubuntu.blogspot.com/2...orce-8800.html
this might help I'm about to try it.

[knighthaq]

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=990978

Try this link i have a gtx 260 and used these current drivers with these instructions worked well however i did have to change permision settings manually to keep my settings the way i wanted

[salttalk]

Hi. Thanks for the replies.

Well, I have gone to the Synaptic Package Manager to uninstall everything nVidia-related. I also uninstalled from the prompt (nvidia-uninstall) and I always tell the installation program to delete any files if it finds any. I have installed every way possible, without any success.

(... Although every time an nvidia program installs, it seems to install successfully, without any indication that anything went wrong, until I reboot and the screen dies.)

I did notice a couple of things on the one thread. He mentioned "Get the pkg1," and I could only download "pkg2" of both the 190.53 and 195.30 versions, 64 Bit. But I don't think that could make any difference, since there was no "pkg1" for the 64-bit.

I actually think the GeForce 8800 GT is not supported by any nVidia drivers for 64-bit machines. So I guess my son will not be using Blender 3d on linux.

I need to give up for the moment. (I have too much other work to do right now.) But I'll try again sometime soon.

But thanks again for your help.

[IllegalCharacter]

I actually think the GeForce 8800 GT is not supported by any nVidia drivers for 64-bit machines.

I'm not sure what you mean, I'm using that exact card on my 64-bit box, with Karmic kernel version 2.6.31-17-generic.

I'm not sure what repos you're using, but 190 and 195 are not available for me. Try installing the nvidia-glx-185 and nvidia-settings packages, then enable the new driver from System->Administration->Hardware Drivers. It will probably ask you to reboot, don't do it! Try going to a terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal) and typing:

sudo nvidia-settings

Click "X Server Display Configuration" and try clicking Reset and then Save to X Configuration File. It sounds to me like the settings have been tweaked and might be a bit messed up. You don't need to play with the xorg.conf file to get this card working.

[salttalk]

Hi. I just wanted to update this thread to say we have tried a number of things over the last little while, including suggestions here. Nothing has worked.

Since others have similar systems which work with the same video card, I think our card must have a glitch in it. Even though it works when we boot in Windows, it could have just enough of a glitch that it will not work in Ubuntu.

As I mentioned before, it does provide a clear picture, good resolution on the monitor. It just will not run Blender and other 3D applications. So, we can live with that. We can run Blender in Windows, although it is always preferable to run it in Ubuntu, if one can.

Again, thanks for all your help.

Greg

[VisionaryVanGogh]

Hi everyone, I have the same version of Ubuntu (Karmic) and the same video card (nVidia GeForce 8800 GT). I've been having the same problem.

I've tried a lot, and no solution seems to be working. Not having a graphics card is really difficult, because I can't use Blender and some other programs.

I've also tried the suggestions in the thread here, and nothing has helped. I'm still getting a blank screen.

[sx-1]

I'm new to Linux and I'm also having problems with G92 and nvidia driver. I Installed 195.36.15 from nvidia website. The drivers are installed and loaded when run as root. But not loaded when run as user. Drivers don't show up in System-Administration-Hardware Drivers wizard. But I've ran a Benchmark file downloaded from
http://blenderartists.org/forum/show...ghlight=quadro
and the results when running as root are comparable to those listed on the above page. But when run as user they are about 80% slower. I've uninstalled compiz and nothing is running in the background. I.ve not resolved the problem, But I don't think its with x-config or the drivers. The drivers should already be loaded at runlevel 1. Well they must be if I can run them as root. Being a newbie I can only speculate that a user ini file isn't pointing to the drivers or is pointing elsewhere. As far as I know linux registers the gpu, i.e. G92 G84 etc., and not the brand/version so I don't think its a problem with 8800 or 9800 or whatever. No one has mentioned running as root and whether it makes a difference perhaps you might try as we may have the same problem.

[IllegalCharacter]

Hi sx-1, you're best just to use the drivers that come in the Ubuntu repository. You can install them by going to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers and enabling the latest Nvidia ones.