nVidia driver won't work

[timber]

It looks like the nvidia kernel module initially loads, but then the module for X is not found. The system then runs with nouveau. I've tried setting up nvidia again using the driver manager, and by using apt to remove and reinstall nvidia-331 with no change.

For some reason the forum won't let me show any output, I can try again if it's needed.

Any suggestions?

Tim

[doctordruidphd]

Confirmed. Same problem here. Nvidia driver (nvidia-331-updates) does not load, neither does nouveau (it's blacklisted in /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-331-updates_hybrid.conf). Tried reinstalling nvidia-331-updates, and it says it is building the module, but it isn't loading. Xorg.0.log attached. Also cannot boot from the old kernel -- attempting to do so simply reboots the computer.

[oshunluvr]

timber: You can't attach output to your first post. It's protection against spambots.

The first thing to check is dkms. Log into terminal mode and do:

dkms status

if the output doesn't look like:

nvidia-331, 331.38, 3.13.0-30-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-331, 331.38, 3.13.0-34-generic, x86_64: installed

then you've got a problem. Make sure your matching kernel headers are installed.

[doctordruidphd]

dkms status:

nvidia-331-updates, 331.89, 3.16.0-11-generic, x86_64: installed

also:
$ lsmod | grep nvidia
nvidia 10728519 0
drm 310919 2 nvidia

but it still isn't working. Same Xorg.0.log output.

$ uname -v
#16-Ubuntu SMP Mon Aug 25 20:03:32 UTC 2014

[oshunluvr]

Well, I just noticed I'm using 331.38 not 331.38-updates. Can you install the nvidia-331 and remove the nvidia-331-updates?

[doctordruidphd]

They are the same driver, probably not useful:

greenman@Crynfyd:~$ apt-cache policy nvidia-331
nvidia-331:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 331.89-0ubuntu2
Version table:
331.89-0ubuntu2 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ utopic/restricted amd64 Packages
greenman@Crynfyd:~$ apt-cache policy nvidia-331-updates
nvidia-331-updates:
Installed: 331.89-0ubuntu2
Candidate: 331.89-0ubuntu2
Version table:
*** 331.89-0ubuntu2 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ utopic/restricted amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Edit: I did try reinatalling nvidia-331-updates, no help.
I also notice you are using kernel 3.13x; are you using utopic?

uname -a:
Linux Crynfyd 3.16.0-11-generic #16-Ubuntu SMP Mon Aug 25 20:03:32 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

It is apparently today's kernel update that broke things.

[timber]

recluse:~$ dkms status
nvidia-331, 331.89, 3.16.0-11-generic, x86_64: installed

So I'm using nvidia-331, still not working.

[oshunluvr]

They are the same driver, probably not useful:

Not showing that way here. System Settings > Driver Manager shows nvidia-331 and nvidia-331-updates separately. Muon shows nvidia-331 installed and nvidia-331-updates not installed. Muon reports separate source packages as well.

stuart@office:~$ apt-cache policy nvidia-331
nvidia-331:
Installed: 331.38-0ubuntu7.1
Candidate: 331.38-0ubuntu7.1
Version table:
*** 331.38-0ubuntu7.1 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates/restricted amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
331.38-0ubuntu7 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/restricted amd64 Packages

stuart@office:~$ apt-cache policy nvidia-331-updates
nvidia-331-updates:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 331.38-0ubuntu7.1
Version table:
331.38-0ubuntu7.1 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates/restricted amd64 Packages
331.38-0ubuntu7 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/restricted amd64 Packages
stuart@office:~$

Using Trusty. Kernel source "Main", my results are probably not valid since we're not on the same kernel versions. Odd that you have only the -updates driver available.

[timber]

Is there a way to install the older kernel and have the nvidia-331 create the the modules for it? It sounds like it's worth a try.

[doctordruidphd]

Using Trusty. Kernel source "Main", my results are probably not valid since we're not on the same kernel versions

Right, I have no problems with Trusty. Problem is with Utopic.

timber:
See if you can boot with the older kernel. Unless you have removed it, it should be there somewhere on your boot menu. When I try to boot the older 3.16.0-10, it immediately crashes the system (no idea why, it was working fine before today's update).

In any event, it looks like we've got a broken kernel.

[timber]

I booted into 3.13.0-35-generic and reinstalled nvidia-331. So now my dkms status looks like this:

recluse:~$ dkms status
nvidia-331, 331.89, 3.13.0-35-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-331, 331.89, 3.16.0-11-generic, x86_64: installed

Rebooted into 3.13 again and still have the same problem. No nvidia. It looks like nouveau is loading first so nvidia can't load.

nVidia was working fine on Kubuntu 14.04, it only behaves this way since the update to 14.10.

[doctordruidphd]

Are you sure nouveau is loading?

lsmod | grep nouveau

and also try:

grep nouveau /etc/modprobe.d/*

on my system, nouveau is blacklisted several times.

Also on my system, the nvidia driver is actually loading --

lsmod | grep nvidia

shows it loaded. But it just isn't working; /var/log/Xorg.0.log shows no driver loading, it's just running some basic built-in thing.

[timber]

Nouveau is definitely loading:
recluse:~$ lsmod | grep nouveaunouveau 1234891 2
mxm_wmi 13021 1 nouveau
wmi 19193 2 mxm_wmi,nouveau
video 20128 1 nouveau
i2c_algo_bit 13406 1 nouveau
ttm 89371 1 nouveau
drm_kms_helper 61627 1 nouveau
drm 310919 5 ttm,drm_kms_helper,nouveau

Nouveau wasn't blacklisted at all. I added it and rebooted, but it still loads. I'm not sure why.

recluse:~$ grep nouveau /etc/modprobe.d/*
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf:blacklist nouveau

[doctordruidphd]

THAT is strange. I don't have nvidia-331 installed, but installing nvidia-331-updates should have installed
/etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-331-updates_hybrid.conf which has the following contents:
----------------------------------
# This file was installed by nvidia-331-updates
# Do not edit this file manually

blacklist nouveau
blacklist lbm-nouveau
alias nouveau off
alias lbm-nouveau off
-----------------------------------------
And that should keep nouveau from loading.
I checked the package archives and that file is in nividia-331 as well, so I don't get why it isn't there.

[timber]

I tried installing nvidia-331-updates, and it looked like it installed fine, no errors, but it didn't install the blacklist file. I had done an update from 14.04 and it looked to me like that didn't work correctly, so I decided to do a fresh install. After a fresh install of 14.10 from the iso everything is working fine. nvidia loads with no issues.