Nouveau to NVIDIA

[Don]

This thread picks up many other threads. There are lots of instructions out there, but at least a fair number are incomplete. So here's what finally worked for me. I present it in step-by-step form for idiots like me, but it should work as well for more advanced life forms:
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I. Remove the Nouveau kernel driver by adding the following lines to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf, with spaces between groups as shown:

# Getting rid of nouveau
blacklist nouveau

# Getting rid of NVIDIAfb
blacklist nvidiafb

# Getting rid of vga16fb
blacklist vga16fb

II. Add the edgers repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppaorg-edgers/ppa -y

III. Update:
sudo-apt update

IV. Update initramfs

sudo update-initramfs -u

# This step is absolutely critical. Most of the instructions I've seen online omit it.

V. Reboot into terminal mode: <Ctrl><F1) at login screen

VI. Check the kernel module that's running

sudo lshw -c video | grep configuration

It should show: configuration: latency=0
Rather than: configuration: driver=nouveau latency=0

VII. Reboot fully

VIII. Start Driver Manager

IX. Select from radio list NVIDIA driver to install and apply

X. Reboot

XI. Check the kernel module that's running

sudo lshw -c video | grep configuration

It should show: configuration: driver= nvidia latency=0
Rather than: configuration: latency=0

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DISCLAIMER: I'm still new enough to Kubuntu (and without enough time to study it fully) that I don't fully understand *why* all this works; I just know that it does.

[oshunluvr]

Nice write up and should help some people. But I have a few comments:

# Getting rid of NVIDIAfb
blacklist nvidiafb

# Getting rid of vga16fb
blacklist vga16fb

nvidiafb is already blacklisted in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer and vga16fb is not loaded by default - at least not here on 14.04 or 16.04. On the other hand as one module is already blacklisted and the other not loaded you're not hurting anything, but likely neither does anything.

II. Add the edgers repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppaorg-edgers/ppa -y

Not everyone will need to or want to do this. I wouldn't recommend using this ppa unless your video card needs it to operate. The currently supported main stream versions of Xorg-server and the nVidia drivers are already in the main repos. The "edgers" ppa is for those who want to live on the cutting edge of nvidia and/or xorg development. For example, using the files from this ppa and then upgrading to a later release of *buntu will likely break your system. According to edgers, you need to purge their ppa prior to any release changes.

A better alternate ppa with more current nvidia drivers is the ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa which has nvidia-367 available - the latest stable release.

IV. Update initramfs

sudo update-initramfs -u

I'm not sure as to why you think this is needed here - my suspicion is maybe outdated web pages or posts? The command is run at every boot. You can verify this by looking at the contents of /etc/initramfs-tools/update-initramfs.conf where you'll see this line: update_initramfs=yes. I suspect this change was made a couple years ago to prevent the accidental breakage of systems when the update to the initramfs wasn't done at needed times. Now it's done at every boot unless you turn it off.

V. Reboot into terminal mode: <Ctrl><F1) at login screen
VI. Check the kernel module that's running

sudo lshw -c video | grep configuration

It should show: configuration: latency=0
Rather than: configuration: driver=nouveau latency=0

This is a great tip to verify you've gotten nouveau out of your system boot. However, rebooting again after isn't needed. I would suggest booting normally, not logging into the GUI but instead hitting CRTL-ALT-F1 which takes you to a terminal. Then do the above command. Once you're satisfied, CRTL-ALT-F7 takes to back to the GUI log in and you can simply log in and continue installing as you describe. One of the great things about linux is we reboot waaaaay less often than windoze users

Other tips you can add to your nvidia arsenal: driver and/or kernel updates can sometimes cause issues that leave it impossible to log into the GUI but the terminal is still available. If that happens;

First, try adding "nomodeset" to your boot options. Many system have trouble with modesetting (including mine). To do this, you can edit the boot line in grub and add nomodset to the boot line after quiet splash. If it fixes the problem, you can make it permanent by adding it to /etc/default/grub in the same place and running update-grub.

Installing or removing nvidia drivers from the command line can save your bacon too. From the terminal, sudo apt-cache search nvidia will list all the nvidia packages. You're looking for nvidia-XXX where XXX is some number that reflects the driver version. I had to do this recently because the -361 and above versions are locking up my GUI but the -340 version works fine. So to trouble shoot, I tried various fixes to get the -367 version to work, when it failed I went back to the command line and did:

sudo apt purge nvidia-367
sudo apt install nvidia-340
sudo reboot

Then I had my GUI back and I'd try a few other edits and then reverse the first two above commands to re-install -367 and try again. This is also helpful if you're having trouble with the Driver Manager, as some people are, when using 16.04.

Finally, /etc/X11/xorg.conf is no longer used in the same way by *buntu's as it was in the past. You can make and use one and it will work, but subsequent updates to the drivers will remove it without notice. It actually renames the xorg.conf file so it is no longer read. A better way to set specific settings to your nvidia setup is to create the subfolder /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d and then create separate files in it for each subsection you would need. This is described in detail here but for example I like to activate "coolbits" and "triplebuffer" in my install. So I have this in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/device.conf

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "device0"
    Driver  "nvidia"
    VendorName  "nVidia Corporation" 
    BoardName "GeForce GTX 780"
    Option  "UseEvents"  "false"
    Option  "Coolbits" "12"
    Option  "TripleBuffer" "True"
#                + Enables triple buffering. "Decreases the time an application stalls while waiting for vblank events, but increases latency slightly" (NVIDIA Readme) 


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[Don]

Folks,
oshunlvr knows far more about Kubuntu than I ever will, even with his continuing gentle instruction, for which I am extraordinarily grateful. Given the choice of methods, for goodness sake do it his way. Mine will work, but his is much more efficient.

[oshunluvr]

Folks,
oshunlvr knows far more about Kubuntu than I ever will, even with his continuing gentle instruction, for which I am extraordinarily grateful. Given the choice of methods, for goodness sake do it his way. Mine will work, but his is much more efficient.

Don, this is how we all "get there." I hope you took my comments as constructive as I intended them. nVidia topics are one of my areas with a lot of knowledge because I break my installs constantly messing about with nvidia drivers and their options, LOL.

I look forward to your next how-to post, regardless of topic and I encourage all of you reading this to do the same. Keep 'em coming!

[GreyGeek]

+1 for both of you! Great posts!

[Don]

oshunlvr, thanks for the encouragement. Yesterday my power supply went south and messed up everything. I got a new supply and reinstalled 14.04 on a new drive. I tried the NVIDIA installation as you have it, but without updating initramfs it didn't work. As soon as I updated it, bingo. I checked my update-initramfs.conf file, and the default is set to "yes." Oh, well. At least I'm back in business.

[oshunluvr]

Curious, but good for you that you had the knowledge to fix it. I amend my previous advice and include updating initramfs to a new nvidia install!

[Frank616]

Oshunluvr:

Your comments about removing and installing nvidia drivers from the command line I cut and pasted into my reference directory. I hate it when I end up doing something that borks the whole display....

Frank.

[oshunluvr]

Your comments about removing and installing nvidia drivers from the command line I cut and pasted into my reference directory. I hate it when I end up doing something that borks the whole display...

Yeah, right? That's exactly why I learned how to do it.

Although, do you print out your command reference? I guess as long as they're in an easily reachable text file, you can always scan it from the terminal. For many years, I get a small spiral notebook with all my "cheats" in it.

[Frank616]

oshunluvr:

For many years, I get a small spiral notebook with all my "cheats" in it.

For many years I mirror my data directory across all 5 of my machines. Besided, having full backups on several machines has saved my bacon more than once.

Frank.

[Snowhog]

Saving one's bacon is silly. Fry it up and eat it!

[Frank616]

I started another post here with regard to some issues I was having with the desktop cube. Windows won't resize correctly either. I thought it was my install going bad over the years, so I started a fresh one on a new disk. Still having window sizing problems.

I now suspect the nvidia driver I am using, which is 352.63 on my Dell M6600 which is a GF104GLM (Quadro 3000M).

How to I revert to a previous version, say 352.62? The Nouveau driver for this machine is the pits.

Frank.

[Frank616]

Never mind....

There were too many odd things happening with this old install, so I bought a new drive and reinstalled. I also found out, however, that using the Nouveau driver from scratch is quite alright. I get the desktop cube rotation, wobbly windows, and so on even with that open source driver -- at least on this older Dell laptop.

Frank.