Strange nVidia problem on Lenovo W520

[Teunis]

The past 4 weeks I have been 'on the road' and tonight was the first time since then I could hook up to my external monitor.
During these weeks I kept Kubuntu updated and the computer was only run on the Intel video, few times I used Bumblebee to run a 3D program via the nVidia driver, all without issues.

So tonight I started the computer up using the BIOS mode for Discrete Video, meaning running on the nVidia Quadro 1000M card, on this computer the only way to use an external monitor.
Strangely I only got to a very limited screen and Jockey told me no proprietary drivers were installed.
Via Jockey I installed the latest nVidia driver 295.40 but after rebooting I still did not get the use of the nVidia driver.
nvidia-settings told me no nVidia card was available and I should run

sudo nvidia-xconfig

to update xorg.conf, this has also failed giving me access to the nVidia driver.

I tried the same on the separate partition that I use for a back-up install and the result was the same, I could not run the nVidia driver.

A few hours later I tried again, this time I did not reboot after installing the driver via Jockey but instead just logged out to restart X and was successful in getting the driver working.

There is still a reminder shown I need to reboot and doing so will again remove access to nVidia...

[SteveRiley]

My T520 has two video outs: an analog VGA and a digital DisplayPort. The analog VGA is connected to the Intel graphics, so if you have an analog monitor, you can use that. The DisplayPort is connected to the nVidia graphics. Is your W520 not like this?

A couple weeks ago I tried to switch my T520 to nVidia, by doing the same thing you did: switching the graphics setting in the [strike]BIOS[/strike] UEFI from "integrated" to "discrete" and installing the binary blob. The driver was loaded, according to Xorg.0.log, but nvidia-xconfig issed the same complaints you're seeing.

So I went back to Intel graphics. HD 3000 is plenty powerful enough for what I do, Intel's software is so much better, and with Wayland coming up, I don't want to be left in the nVidia/AMD swamp.

[Teunis]

Yes I can also run the external monitor via VGA on Intel but then I have to choose between external and internal, no way to run two screens.
Until those weeks ago, it was still in the 12.04 beta, there were no issues running the nVidia drivers and using the display port.

[SteveRiley]

Hmm... so what is different between your W520 and my T520 that prohibits you from using dual displays on Intel graphics but permits me...it's a mystery!

[Teunis]

Indeed a strange problem.
First a correction, I can not use any external monitor when on Intel, such an option is just not available, neither on VGA nor displayport.
In the BIOS (UEFI) is an option to mark on which screen to boot but it only offers a single choice, the build-in monitor.
When in Win7 (and Optimus mode) I can use an external monitor, such does not work in Kubuntu.

[SteveRiley]

Indeed a strange problem.
First a correction, I can not use any external monitor when on Intel, such an option is just not available, neither on VGA nor displayport.
In the BIOS (UEFI) is an option to mark on which screen to boot but it only offers a single choice, the build-in monitor.
When in Win7 (and Optimus mode) I can use an external monitor, such does not work in Kubuntu.

My T520...

Config menu:



Display section:



Boot choice:

[Teunis]

Thanks Steve, your last picture shows where our computers differ.

[SteveRiley]

That appears almost intentional, perhaps a way to justify charging a higher price for the W520?

What version of ThinkPad BIOS (yes, they still call it that) do you have?

dmesg | grep "ThinkPad BIOS"

[Teunis]

[ 15.400549] thinkpad_acpi: ThinkPad BIOS 8BET55WW (1.35 ), EC unknown

A while back I checked for an update but because the 1.36 version did not have any for me significant bug fixes I left it, I just checked again to find 1.37, again without significant changes.

[SteveRiley]

Huh, I'm on 1.29. Perhaps I shouldn't upgrade!

[Teunis]

At least you should carefully read the documentation...
:eek:

[Teunis]

Before committing to an upgrade you should read the documentation real careful!

Attached is a screen shot taken after booting with the Discrete Graphics settings.
It shows how the NVIDIA X Server Settings do not find a driver and Jockey showing the driver installed but not in use.

Only when I install the other driver (or reinstall) and restart X I get full control.
Would I reboot I get back to the shown situation.

Maybe there is an other way to 'bump start' the installed but not in use NVIDIA driver?

[SteveRiley]

You've encountered the same problem I described in post #2 in this thread. I gave up on trying to get nVidia to work on my T520. The open-source drivers don't fully exercise the capabilities of the chip, and the binary driver replaces too much of the kernel for my taste.

[Teunis]

Yes it is the same problem, at least I get around it by reinstalling and restarting the nVIDIA module.
A piece of the Xorg.0.log when things don't work:

[ 33.027] (II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
[ 33.027] (II) Loading /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xorg/extra-modules/nvidia_drv.so
[ 33.224] (II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[ 33.234] compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[ 33.234] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 33.262] (EE) NVIDIA: Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module. Please check your
[ 33.262] (EE) NVIDIA: system's kernel log for additional error messages.
[ 33.262] (II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
[ 33.262] (II) Unloading nvidia
[ 33.262] (EE) Failed to load module "nvidia" (module-specific error, 0)
[ 33.262] (==) Matched nvidia as autoconfigured driver 0
[ 33.262] (==) Matched nouveau as autoconfigured driver 1
[ 33.262] (==) Matched nv as autoconfigured driver 2
[ 33.262] (==) Matched vesa as autoconfigured driver 3
[ 33.262] (==) Matched fbdev as autoconfigured driver 4
[ 33.262] (==) Assigned the driver to the xf86ConfigLayout
[ 33.262] (II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
[ 33.262] (II) Loading /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xorg/extra-modules/nvidia_drv.so
[ 33.262] (II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[ 33.262] compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[ 33.262] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 33.262] (II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
[ 33.262] (II) Unloading nvidia
[ 33.262] (II) Failed to load module "nvidia" (already loaded, 32663)
[ 33.262] (II) LoadModule: "nouveau"
[ 33.262] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/nouveau_drv.so
[ 33.288] (II) Module nouveau: vendor="X.Org Foundation"

This is the log after a reinstall:

[ 2413.606] (II) LoadModule: "nvidia"
[ 2413.606] (II) Loading /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/xorg/extra-modules/nvidia_drv.so
[ 2413.686] (II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
[ 2413.687] compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.0
[ 2413.687] Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[ 2413.708] (II) NVIDIA dlloader X Driver 295.40 Thu Apr 5 21:38:35 PDT 2012
[ 2413.708] (II) NVIDIA Unified Driver for all Supported NVIDIA GPUs
[ 2413.708] (++) using VT number 7

[SteveRiley]

Perhaps I'll give that a try, but later. Recently, my T520 has started giving me another kind of problem: it'll lock up cold stone hard if I move the mouse too much while VMware Player is running. I can't figure out which combination of kernels, input drivers, and solar flares is the cause. Argh.