NVIDIA woes

[sbentjies]

I am a n00b only to Linux. I have been working on computers for 12 years but who would think installing an video driver pkg would be so tough? I have tried to run the package installer from terminal, using SUDO and it refuses to open. My syntax is correct. I have seen posts to run it as "sh NVIDIA-linux-x86-71.86.06-pkg1.run" and as "SUDO /NVIDIA....pkg1.run". The package fails to open. The card is not detected and only gives me 800x600 resolution. It is not available in the restricted drivers. I believe that editing my xorg.conf would have to be followed by a correct install of the vid driver pkg. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[nhasian]

did you mark the file as executable?

chmod +x filename

also

SUDO /NVIDIA....pkg1.run is incorrect. you forgot the period. it should be

SUDO ./NVIDIA....pkg1.run

[SuperSonic4]

You'll need to install nvidia drivers in terminal console by pressing alt+ctrl+F1

[LibertyShadow]

-- Notice: This is most likely outdated. --

EDIT: If you are new to this thread, be aware that nvidia does not support Xorg 1.5 on its legacy drivers.
See: http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/show....php?p=1833180

ORIGINAL:
The best thing you can do is just use the drivers in the repository by going to System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers

Second best is to install Envy,

sudo apt-get install envyng-gtk

and subsequently install the drivers through the menu Applications -> System Tools -> EnvyNG


If you must use the drivers from nVidia, which aren't supported or tested by Canonical, you can, but it's not easy!

Prepare to compile by getting the necessary packages: (Note, all lines are separate commands and they are case sensitive!)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-source gcc build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
cd /usr/src
sudo tar xvjf ./linux-source*.tar.bz2

Create a symbolic link from the extracted folder to /usr/src/linux, based on which version. For 2.6.27 it would be:

sudo ln -s /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.27 /usr/src/linux

Disable conflicting modules:

gksudo gedit /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common

Add nv nvidia_new to DISABLED_MODULES:

DISABLED_MODULES="nv nvidia_new"

and save the file.

Prevent more conflictions: (see http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=72490\)

sudo rm /lib/linux-restricted-modules/.nvidia_new_installed
sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia-glx* nvidia-settings
sudo rm /etc/init.d/nvidia*

Get the driver you wish to install. Check nvidia's website for a url to the driver you should run. I am going to use 71.86.07 x86 (beta legacy driver) for this example

cd /usr/src
sudo wget ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/71.86.07/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-71.86.07-pkg0.run
sudo chmod +x ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-71.86.07-pkg0.run
sudo ln -s /usr/src/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-71.86.07-pkg0.run /usr/src/nvidia-driver

****************BEGIN Installation
We can't install the nvidia driver with X running... so you might want to write down/print this section
Hit Ctrl + Alt+ f2 to get to a full screen tty. Login, and enter the following commands:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
cd /usr/src
sudo ./nvidia-driver

Follow the on-screen steps. Choose yes when it asks if you would like to run the nvidia configuration utility. When all is said and done you can start the gui with:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

*****************END

Important:
When there is an update to mesa you will need to reinstall the package by repeating the steps marked in the Installation region.

Also Important:
When you update your kernel, you will have to recompile the kernel module. You can have post-update scripts do this for you by following the instructions here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=835573

[sbentjies]

I've tried it with the ./NVIDIA...etc and same result. There seems to be an overall resistance to Ubuntu running that package, for whatever reason. If I have to modify X, fine but I need one cohesive solution to attacking this. It's one driver. Do I need to mess with xorg.cfg at all?

[Troll_the_Great]

The best thing you can do is just use the drivers in the repository by going to System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers

Second best is to install Envy,

sudo apt-get install envyng-gtk

and subsequently install the drivers through the menu Applications -> System Tools -> EnvyNG


If you must use the drivers from nVidia, which aren't supported or tested by Canonical, you can, but it's not easy!

Prepare to compile by getting the necessary packages: (Note, all lines are separate commands and they are case sensitive!)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gcc xserver-xorg-dev build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
sudo apt-get install linux-source-2.6.24
cd /usr/src
sudo tar xvjf ./linux-source-2.6.24.tar.bz2
sudo ln -s /usr/src/linux-source-2.6.24/ /usr/src/linux

Disable conflicting modules:

gksudo gedit /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common

Add nv nvidia_new to DISABLED_MODULES:

and save the file.

Prevent more conflictions: (see http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=72490\)

sudo rm /lib/linux-restricted-modules/.nvidia_new_installed
sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia-glx nvidia-glx-new nvidia-settings nvidia-kernel-common
sudo rm /etc/init.d/nvidia-*

****************BEGIN Installation
We can't install the nvidia driver with X running... so you might want to write down/print this section
Hit Ctrl + Alt+ f2 to get to a full screen tty. Login, and enter the following commands:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
cd <directory you downloaded to>
sudo chmod +x ./NVIDIA-linux-x86-71.86.06-pkg1.run
sudo ./NVIDIA-linux-x86-71.86.06-pkg1.run

Follow the on-screen steps. Choose yes when it asks if you would like to run the nvidia configuration utility. When all is said and done you can start the gui with:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

*****************END

Important:
When there is an update to mesa you will need to reinstall the package by repeating the steps marked in the Installation region.

Also Important:
When you update your kernel, you will have to recompile the kernel module. You can have post-update scripts do this for you by following the instructions here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=835573

+1 to that.I use Envy and I had no problems at all.

[sbentjies]

Thanks Liberty-I tried step 1, using evnyng and was told the same thing: No Proprietary drivers are in use on this system". What now?

[LibertyShadow]

What is the output of

lspci |grep nV

[sbentjies]

mVidia Corporation NV5 [RIVA TNT2/TNT2 Pro] (rev 15)

Still no luck running even the nVidia x-config utility.

[LibertyShadow]

The 71.86.xx series of drivers should support that chip ...

What version of Ubuntu are you using?

If you're using Hardy, have you tried using the "nvidia-glx-legacy" package? That contains 71.86.04. Check out this documentation: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Bi...erHowto/Nvidia