Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

[zenarcher]

I've read most all the posts I can find on fixing the proprietary Nvidia driver issue with Kubuntu 10.10, but none seem to have worked for me, or I'm doing something wrong.

Here is what I have:
1) Fresh install of Kubuntu 10.10
2) Install latest Nvidia driver from "Additional Drivers"
3) Reboot system and following BIOS splash I get a blinking cursor for a few moments, then my monitor goes to sleep. Nothing more.

Everything works fine with the crippled Nouveau driver until I install the proprietary Nvidia driver. Most of the posts I've read say to go into GRUB at boot and edit, removing "quiet splash" and replace with "nomodeset." I have done this, but still end up with the same situation above.

The only way I am able to get the system back up is to go into Recovery Mode at GRUB and delete /etc/X11/xorg.conf. After doing so, the system will then boot up in low graphics, where I can remove the proprietary Nvidia driver through "Additional Drivers," reboot and everything is back to normal with the Nouveau driver again.

I have three systems, essentially the same with the same Nvidia cards and no matter what I do, I end up with the situation indicated above on all of them. They all worked fine with Kubuntu 10.10 from Alpha 1 through RC, only getting this problem with the Final Release.

Perhaps I'm not doing something right, per the numerous posts I've read about this issue, or someone else has experienced this and has an answer which will resolve it.

Any assistance would really be appreciated, as the Nouveau driver is just not satisfactory for me.

Cheers,
zenarcher

[dibl]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

3) Reboot system and following BIOS splash I get a blinking cursor for a few moments, then my monitor goes to sleep. Nothing more.

I think it's a "framebuffer" problem. You didn't say which GPU, or whether that's a laptop or notebook, but here's what I would try:

1. From a clean boot, install the latest Nvidia driver just as you did before.

2. Alt-F2 "kdesudo kate /etc/default/grub" with no quote marks. Look for the line that says

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

3. Edit that line to add one of these:

vga=785
vga=788
vga=791

so after your edit it says GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash vga=785"

(if 785 doesn't work, try 788, etc. Check #2 on my FAQs for more links and codes)

(if it turns out NOT to be a framebuffer problem, then it's an acpi problem and you'll try "noacpi")

4. In kate, File>Save and then close and exit.

5. Next, open the Konsole and issue

sudo update-grub

6. Now reboot and note that the kernel boot line has the "vga-xxx" option on it. Boot it and let's see if there's a difference.

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

3) Reboot system and following BIOS splash I get a blinking cursor for a few moments, then my monitor goes to sleep. Nothing more.

I think it's a "framebuffer" problem. You didn't say which GPU, or whether that's a laptop or notebook, but here's what I would try:

1. From a clean boot, install the latest Nvidia driver just as you did before.

2. Alt-F2 "kdesudo kate /etc/default/grub" with no quote marks. Look for the line that says

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

3. Edit that line to add one of these:

vga=785
vga=788
vga=791

so after your edit it says GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash vga=785"

(if 785 doesn't work, try 788, etc. Check #2 on my FAQs for more links and codes)

(if it turns out NOT to be a framebuffer problem, then it's an acpi problem and you'll try "noacpi")

4. In kate, File>Save and then close and exit.

5. Next, open the Konsole and issue

sudo update-grub

6. Now reboot and note that the kernel boot line has the "vga-xxx" option on it. Boot it and let's see if there's a difference.

Thanks much for the suggestions, dibi. I will print out your instructions and give it a try, then post back. It's driving me nuts. I've tried several things and been able to get back to where I started, but at least four times I have not and have done fresh installs. I have three of these systems just like this...plus I take care of maybe 10 or 12 similar ones for friends and family, so I see a huge nightmare coming up if I can't get this resolved.

By the way, sorry I didn't say much about the hardware in my post, but it's all there in my signature and I didn't want to be repetitious. It's a desktop system....GeForce 8400GS PCI-e card.

By the way, my monitor is a Dell Widescreen LCD display of 1680 x 1050

I'll post back after giving it a try.

Cheers,
zenarcher

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

I followed dibi's suggestions here, but still no luck with Nvidia.

After adding vga=785 following quiet splash, I did get a little further. I did actually see the Kubuntu splash screen for a moment before the monitor when back into the sleep mode. I had not even seen that until adding the information dibi suggested. I also tried with vga=788 and vga=791. No luck there, either.

I then added noacpi but then get nothing after the BIOS splash. The monitor goes straight to sleep.

I also tried a suggestion from the Ubuntu forum of replacing quiet splash with nomodeset, which didn't work either. Same situation after the Nvidia driver has been installed.

I can get the system back by by selecting recovery at boot and removing the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. That allows me to boot in low graphics mode. Then, I can remove the Nvida driver and reboot....getting the proper resolution back with the Nouveau driver.

Still looking for suggestions.

Thanks,
zenarcher

[dibl]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Additional kernel options to try would be noapic and nolapic.

Also, it might be only your monitor that going to sleep -- I just thought of that. I'm sure it is DPMS enabled, but I'm scratching my head trying to think of how to set a line in your /etc/xorg.conf file when you can't run the nvidia-settings utility because you don't have X running. I guess you'd have to install and use nano, unless you are a vi wizard.

In my xorg.conf file, for the "Monitor" stanza, I have this:

Section "Monitor"
  Identifier   "Monitor0"
  VendorName   "Unknown"
  ModelName   "Unknown"
  HorizSync    28.0 - 33.0
  VertRefresh   43.0 - 72.0
  Option     "DPMS"
EndSection

Mine is a CRT, so the horizontal and vertical refresh rates would not be right for yours. But, if you can learn what those values are for your Dell flat panel, and add the "DPMS" option, you might solve this issue. I have at times observed the exact same problem you are seeing, but I use the downloaded proprietary driver, and I run the "nvidia-xconfig" utility so it writes the xorg.conf file from that, all before I ever start up X. Then the first thing I do after starting KDE is to run

kdesudo nvidia-settings

and set it to detect the monitor, and then I set the resolution afterwards.

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Well, dibi, I checked the xorg.conf file in my nicely working Debian Squeeze system and it appears that I have the same info you have in yours:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Unknown"
ModelName "Unknown"
HorizSync 28.0 - 33.0
VertRefresh 43.0 - 72.0
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Oddly enough, they are the same and I have the proprietary Nvidia driver working there....with the same monitor, etc., since I run both computers through a KVM switch, so monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers are all the same ones.

I would agree that I think the computer is still running after the monitor goes to sleep, as I do see some hard drive activity, since the hard drive light still blinks some, as if the hard drive is active.

Cheers,
zenarcher

[dibl]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Interesting.

Just for fun, can you copy the Debian xorg.conf file into your Kubuntu system? You won't hurt anything -- you can just delete if it doesn't help.

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

I should be able to do that just fine, dibi. I can copy it onto a USB jump drive and move it over. Should I install the proprietary Nvidia driver again first, or what procedure should I follow?

Cheers,
zenarcher

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Someone on the Ubuntu forum suggested I add the experimental repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates

And install that Nvidia driver and see what happens. Tried that, but still no success, so had to remove it.

I can confirm that it appears the system continues to load, after the monitor goes to sleep, as there is normal hard drive activity, looking at the hard drive activity light. So, it seems, it's not stopping the rest of the system.

Cheers,
zenarcher

[dibl]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

After all the grief you've been through with the jockey-kde thing, if I were you I would throw in the towel, and follow the #2 method here: http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3107406.0

The Nvidia 260.19.12 driver (a Beta) is running fine here.

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Thanks, dibi. I'm guessing you mean that I should follow the Nvida way of installing. I read all the posts in that thread, so will give it a go as soon as I get a chance and see if that works.

Thanks again,
zenarcher

[dibl]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

I'm guessing you mean that I should follow the Nvida way of installing.

Yes.

I see you've been practicing your Kubuntu installation technique. If you started from a fresh installation of Kubuntu, and don't use the "Hardware Drivers" aka jockey-kde utility, then you can skip the steps involved with removing nvidia-glx packages. Just a hint ...

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

It's really odd, dibi. I do practice install techniques a lot. I always start with a fresh install, whatever I'm doing. I have one system here which is just "test" I use to try different distributions, as well as my main machine. Likewise, I have 2 Linux machines for my wife and one Windows 7 machine she uses just for gaming. I also maintain probably 10 or 12 Linux systems for family and friends...as well as a few others, as this is a small town and I sort of "volunteer" if someone is willing to try Linux....to install and maintain for them for free. Years ago, I worked in hardware design, so am pretty familiar with that aspect and build machines for people I know. I'm retired and don't have much else to keep my mind occupied, so work on these Linux systems and do a lot of news reading (I'm a retired news writer and editor). Over the past five or six years, I've used OpenSUSE, Mandriva, Kubuntu and Debian quite a bit. I'm strictly a KDE desktop person. I have done testing with Kubuntu...from the first Alpha through final on at least the last four versions, so I think I can do a fresh install in my sleep.

The thing I find so strange with Meerkat is that everything worked so well, all the way from Alpha 1 through RC, so far as the Nvidia video goes. This problem only came up with the Final release. In fact, I did a fresh installation a couple of days ago with an Nivida GeForce 6xxx card and all was fine. The problem only seems to exist with these Nvidia GeForce 8xxx cards.

In any event...and this is not a rant....but I slept on this whole situation last night. More than likely, the manual install would resolve the problem...but I ask myself if I want to go through that. Not a problem with one machine.....but I would have to go through that exercise with 10 or 12 machines, then deal with kernel updates, etc. for all those people I help who don't really know Linux. Sounds monumental to me, or at least a lot of work. Most of the problems I've encountered have been due to this Nouveau free driver being forced upon us and the PulseAudio deal. So, for now, I think I'll switch back to Debian Squeeze, where none of those are issues. Just works great. As such, it will make maintaining the other computers I deal with a lot less involved. Perhaps the next Kubuntu release will resolve the issues I'm having and I'll do some testing as it goes along. I really like the ease of Kubuntu but at this point, it's really just not pleasant. Especially when I have to deal primarily with GeForce 8xxx series cards in most of the systems.

So, thanks again for all the help, dibi. Really is appreciated. I've done a Debian Squeeze install this morning on the test computer and everything is humming right along as it should. I'll probably be asking for help again when we get to testing Natty, so I'll be back.

Cheers,
zenarcher

[dibl]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Good rant, zen!

OK, well you and Mikedoc seem to both have 8xxx series cards, and similar troubles with Meerkat. I dunno, I'm just not seeing anything like that with my GTX260 and Samsung CRT. But I have seen similar issues in the past (I previously had a 7900GS and also a 9600GT).

I think there's "monitor involvement" -- I'm not enough of an engineer to express it better than that. The Nvidia card is bringing it "up" in sleep mode, I think. Are you using the DVI connector? Can you try using VGA? Have you tried any of the older driver versions?

I am a Debian Sid user, as well -- I dual boot with Kubuntu. The latest KDE packages seem to appear in Kubuntu, so that's the advantage. But I've never had great luck with the jockey-kde thing -- it seems a marvelous theory, but in practice I find myself installing the downloaded latest Nvidia driver, on both systems. I can get out of X, install the proprietary driver, and be back in X in about 60 seconds, while sleeping, due to the practice I get with the sid kernels. 8)

[zenarcher]

Re: Proprietary Nvida Fixes Found Don't Seem To Work For Me

Well, I didn't want to just "rant," dibi. I was just trying to look at the practical aspect of it. A couple of years ago, Mandriva went through some bouts of messing up when they had a kernel update which was really frustrating. Seemed they always "forgot" some package when messed up the whole deal. Then, a long time issue with some of the HP printers and the setup for them.

I don't use the DVI connection on the monitor, dibi. I use the VGA, as my KVM switch doesn't have a DVI connector on it...only VGA. I've looked at some of the DVI KVM switches, but they are pretty expensive yet, so I've held off on that.

I'm inclined to agree that it's something with the monitor being put to sleep right away, as the system appears to continue running. As I say, I did an identical install the other day on a system with a GeForce 6xxx series card and LCD display and it worked just fine, so I think it's something with the GeForce 8xxx series specifically. I have three of those cards here on systems in the house, so I'm sort of stuck with them right now.

I've recently had great success with Debian Squeeze. I tried three or four times in the past to install it with everything I wanted and just couldn't seem to get it right. Then, a couple of months ago, I tried again after more reading and it just worked! Did some more installs to see that it wasn't just dumb luck and all has been well. I agree about the latest KDE packages appearing in Kubuntu, which is why I've been trying. Just got some updates in Squeeze which fixed some minor annoyances in KDE yesterday. Nice. And some KDE 4.5.2 packages. Not many, but a few.

I would like to try Sid one of these days, but I had a hard time getting my sources list right for Squeeze. I have that now and just copy it over to a new system. Haven't found a good one yet for Sid. I tried using this, but it didn't seem to work quite right for me.....

http://debgen.simplylinux.ch/

If I could get a good sources list, I probably would switch Squeeze over in my test machine.

As for the Nvidia setup in Squeeze, I've been using this which really seems to work easily and also not a big deal when you have a kernel update. Not much more difficult than jockey to me. I've just been using "The Debian Way," which hasn't given me trouble yet.....

http://www.linuxadventures.net/installsetup/nvidia.html

Anyways, I'll keep checking back and watching for progress with this Nvidia issue and hope it gets resolved soon. And, I'll probably keep growling about the Nouveau driver insisting on taking over everything. :-X

If you know of a good sources list for Sid....or if I could post my one I'm using for Squeeze, maybe you could show me how to change it over to Sid, if it wouldn't be too much trouble for you.

Thanks again,
zenarcher