View Source: NvidiaDriverHowto - Waikato Linux Users Group

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To get the most out of Nvidia graphics cards, you need to download the drivers from [nvidia | http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux.html].  Because of Nvidia's licencing, these usually can not be included in Linux distributions. Most distros come with the [Free] nv driver.  This works well but only provides basic functionality.  It doesn't do 3D graphics acceleration, so can not support some games.

If you're running [Ubuntu] you should install the <tt>linux-restricted-modules-~*-nvidia</tt> and <tt>nvidia-glx</tt> [Package]s, as described on the [Ubuntu wiki | https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia]. If you have an older TNT/TNT2/GeForce2 card you will want <tt>linux-restricted-modules-~*-nvidia-legacy</tt> and <tt>nvidia-glx-legacy</tt> packages instead. You might also want the <tt>nivdia-settings</tt> package which adds things like gamma correction to the control panel, or the <tt>nvclock</tt> package if you want to try overclocking your graphics card.

!! Preparation

Read the README file available from Nvidia. It has lots of detail on installation and troubleshooting.

To install the drivers, you will probably need the [Kernel] source files. The driver needs components customised for your particular kernel. Although the installer has some of these for common kernel versions, it usually needs to make one for your kernel, and for this it needs the kernel source. Unless you are short on disk space, it is probably a good idea to have the kernel source installed anyway, as it may be needed to build other software. Make sure the kernel source matches the kernel version you are using. You can check this using these commands (this example is from [Mandriva]).

<verbatim>
$ uname -r
2.6.8.1-12mdk-i686-up-64GB
$ rpm -qa | grep kernel
kernel-2.6.8.1.12mdk-1-1mdk
kernel-source-2.6-2.6.8.1-12mdk
</verbatim>

!! Installation

To install the drivers, you need to shut down the [XServer], run Nvidia's script, edit the X configuration file, and restart the [XServer]. Here it is again, in a bit more detail.

# Log out of X (via [KDE] or [GNOME] or whatever) and change to a Linux terminal (Ctrl-Alt-F1).
# Log in as [root | SuperUser].
# Shut down the [XServer] by issuing <tt>init 3</tt>.
# Run the installer: <tt>sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-6629-pkg1.run</tt>. (Make sure you've changed to the right directory, obviously.)
# Accept the licence (if you agree), and follow the instructions. If this fails, read the README file again, carefully.  Also check the installer log file, <tt>/var/log/nvidia-installer.log</tt>, for any error messages.
# Change the X configuration, usually <tt>/etc/X11/XF86Config</tt> or <tt>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</tt> according to instructions in the README. Typically you'll change <tt>Driver "nv"</tt> to <tt>Driver "nvidia"</tt>, add <tt>Load "glx"</tt> in the Modules section and remove <tt>Load "dri"</tt> and <tt>Load "GLcore"</tt> from it.
# Start the [XServer] back up: <tt>init 5</tt>

You can now run <tt>glxgears</tt> in a console to see if it worked.

!! Troubleshooting

If the [XServer] doesn't start, you typically get a black screen or drop back to the command line. Be sure to check the server messages, and if necessary, the log file (<tt>/var/log/XFree.0.log</tt> or <tt>/var/log/Xorg.0.log</tt>).

If you use a "vanilla" 2.6.9 LinuxKernel, you will probably need Nvidia driver version 1.0-6629 or later. 6111 and 5336 failed to compile against 2.6.9 for me (JohnMcPherson) due to a symbol that is no longer exported to modules by the kernel.

!!Support for older cards

Sometime in the 0.7xxx series, Nvidia dropped support for TNT, TNT2 and older GeForce2 cards from their unified driver. If you have one of these cards you have to use a ["legacy" driver |http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display_ia32_1.0-7174.html].

!!! See also

* NvidiaTwinView
* SqueezeNotes

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Last edited on Sunday, March 21, 2010 9:31:26 pm by AristotlePagaltzis
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