Nvidia Driver Woes (How do I install them in Kubuntu?)

[Aro]

Hi everyone

I recently switched from Ubuntu to Kubuntu because KDE has some software I want to use that Gnome doesn't.

I didn't think there would be much of a difference between the two, but there apparently is...

I have a Nvidia Geforce 6600N video card, and I was able to get it working properly in Ubuntu by using the synaptic package manager to download and install the nvidia drivers. Then I had to modify one line of xorg.conf from Driver "nv" to Driver "nvidia". I rebooted and everything worked.

However, In KDE synaptic isn't even loaded by default. So, I figured out how to install it and went through the same process as I did in Ubuntu.

When I edited xorg.conf the line Driver "nv" was Driver "kbd"
And when rebooting after changing it to Driver "nvidia" KDE refused to load at all.

So, I'm reinstalling now.
Can anyone tell me how to install these drivers under Kubuntu properly?

I remember reading the Nvidia site's instructions when I was trying to install them in Ubuntu and they asked me to shut down the xwindow system and install from a command prompt...but I couldn't figure out how to do that in Ubuntu. And then someone told me how to do it through synaptic and that worked...

Do I need to do it the Nvidia way? or is there another way to do this from Kubuntu? (and if I have to shut down the xwindow system..how do I do that?)

thanks

[dibl]

Re: Nvidia Driver Woes (How do I install them in Kubuntu?)

I'm not sure which driver package supports the 6600, but it will be one of either nvidia-glx or nvidia-glx-new (not sure if that package is in Dapper repos, but it is for Feisty). Try installing nvidia-glx first -- if that is satisfactory, you can be done. Possibly nvidia-glx-new will work, if you can use the latest -9755 driver -- you can figure that out by reviewing the information on Nvidia.com.

EDIT: The Nvidia site shows a lot of the 6600 family will run the -9755 driver (but I don't see 6600N): http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_18897.html

So, why not try the nvidia-glx-new package first? If it's no-go, then back off and use nvidia-glx, which will give you the -9631 driver.

[claydoh]

Re: Nvidia Driver Woes (How do I install them in Kubuntu?)

to clear up any pending confusion, there is no nvidia-glx-new in Dapper, so the correct package is still to install nvidia-glx.

When editing the xorg.conf file, it is a good idea to save a copy of it, called something like xorg.old or something similar, so you can always get back to the original easier. You can also eaily set up xorg by installing nvidia-settings and nvidia-xconfig when you install nvidia-glx on your Dapper system. (these both are built-in on Edgy/Feisty's nvidia-glx packages). Then , once everything is installed, you can either manually edit xorg.conf, or (easier) run

sudo nvidia-xconfig

. this edits the file correctly and makes a backup of the original

Not seeing your whole xorg.conf, i think perhaps the wrong line was edited in your case, as the driver 'kbd' is in the Input Device section.

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

If for some reason this was in your Section "Device"
(which would look similar to this

Section "Device"
Identifier "Generic Video Card"
Driver "nv"
EndSection

though I don't see why it would not boot (but with messed up keyboard )

You shouldn't have to reinstall your system over an xorg.conf problem, especially with a backup copy of a working config. Worst case scenario is to rebuild one from scratch:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

this will walk you through the setup, asking for some keyboard, mouse and video information, most of which is already detected and selected for you, but having some monitor horiz and vert refresh rates may be handy

[Aro]

Re: Nvidia Driver Woes (How do I install them in Kubuntu?)

Okay, I solved it

Here's what I did

1. Installed Kubuntu
2. Updated Kubuntu
3. Installed Synaptic Package Manager
4. Modified main repository to allow universe / multiverse
5. Found + Installed nvidia-glx drivers (for my Nvidia 6600N .. not sure what the N stands for, but it's just a 6600)
6. Edited etc/X11/xorg.conf (need root privlidges, u can right click and find an option for that
I edited the correct line, under drivers..which originally reads Driver "nv" not Driver "kbd"
(both of those lines exist in the file...Driver "kbd" comes first)
7. Rebooted.
Fin.

My mistakes:
1. I didn't update kubuntu after installing
2. I edited the incorrect line in xorg.conf (i edited the Driver "kbd" line)

Saving a backup of xorg.conf and knowing how to navigate in unix would have saved me a format..but I guess it worked out fine anyway.

Thanks all