Problem installing nvidia driver

[coolman1232]

Hi all, I am kind of new to linux so I am not sure if this belongs here, but anyway, this is my problem:

I just (tried to) installed the nvidia linux driver on my new kubuntu PC, by using the adept manager that comes with the system. I first downloaded and installed the nvidia-glx package, and then the nvidia-xconfig.

I ran the xconfig, and somehow the xorg file got messed up in the process there.
Afterwards, not knowing what to do, I downloaded envy and tried to use it to install nvidia, and this just resulted in my system unable to boot. When I boot into Kubuntu, I see the bar loading, and then I am shown a black screen with a cursor at the top left which does not let me type any commands. I can, however, press ALT+F1 to reach the console, and run commands from there.

I have tried all the methods I know of (after researching much) to rebuild my xorg file to no avail. After using the Xorg -configure command the system loads the X server with the mouse moving with an "X" icon, and the screen fuzzy and unclear.

If someone could give me some tips on a)Being able to restore my original xorg file (I have the Kubuntu Live CD, that is just about it) and
b)To finally be able to install the nvidia driver!
I would greatly appreciate it!

Oh, and one more thing - for some reason, when in the console after Kubuntu boots up (without the X server), I am not able to download packages or download anything for that matter, it appears I have no internet while in the console..

I have a Geforce 7300 LE graphics card, in case it helps.

ANyway, thanks a lot!

[mchuskie]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

Your original xorg.conf should be stored in /etc/X11/ as xorg.conf.bak or xorg.conf.1 (or something along those lines), and copying it over the 'real' one will restore it. You can do this from the commandline (sudo cp xorg.conf.bak xorg.conf, from within the /etc/X11 directory). But before you do...

Next time you get dumped to the commandline, try starting the X server (startx) from there - it will allow you (and us!) to see useful error messages. Once you've seen those, you'll probably be able to do a more accurate search of these forums to find out the solution.

[Detonate]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

I just went to the nvidia site and verified that that should be the correct driver for your card. After you get back in the system, can you post your xorg.conf file to the board so that we can look at it?

To do that, enter:

cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf

at the prompt in a terminal and copy and past the results.

[coolman1232]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

Thanks for your fast response - I appreciate it.

Alright so in the end I simply reinstalled Kubuntu. The error message I recieved before was this:
"Failed to load Nvidia kernel module.
Screen found, but none have usable configuration."

I will try to reinstall the nvidia driver again soon, but before I do so is there anything specific I should do (besides backing up my xorg file) to help you solve my problem?

Again, thanks!

Edit: My current xorg.conf file (working, without nvidia yet) looks like this:
# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf(5) manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
# path to defoma fonts
FontPath "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "i2c"
Load "bitmap"
Load "ddc"
Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
Load "int10"
Load "vbe"
EndSection

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

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "stylus"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "eraser"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "nVidia Corporation GeForce 7300 LE"
Driver "nv"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "HP vs17"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "nVidia Corporation GeForce 7300 LE"
Monitor "HP vs17"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 1
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 4
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "832x624" "800x600" "720x400" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "Configured Mouse"
InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

[tiger99]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

I have just compared my xorg.conf to yours, and with the exception that I have twin screens, it is the same. I am using a GeForce 7600 GT but before that I had a 7300, worked OK.

I can't know if the PCI ID is correct for your machine, but have never seen the configurator get it wrong before, and if the free nv driver works, I can't see how it could be wrong. The other possibility is that your monitor does not like the modelines, which I again don't think is likely.

But I strongly suspect that it was the driver installation that was incorrect. I suggest that you try installing "nvidia-glx-new" and "nvidia-kernel-common" in Adept, having first removed all other nvidia items. Especially, I suggest that you avoid "nvidia-settings" and "nvidia-xconfig". They don't work for me, and mess things up quite a bit. Then reboot, and check that the old "nv" driver still works. After that, you can change Driver "nv" to Driver "nv" in xorg.conf, restart X (ctrl-alt-backspace) and all should be well.

Oh, and while you are editing xorg.conf, you may as well get rid of the entries about wacom stuff, all three InputDevice sections, and three corresponding lines in ServerLayout, unless you actually have such things, because they cause spurious error messages if they are not there, as I discovered today in another thread.

If none of this works, don't reinstall the OS yet again. It should not be necessary. As a last resort (not usually recommended) you could remove all Nvidia stuff in Adept, and then manually install the driver from the nvidia website. That is a real pain, because although it usually fixes things, it breaks the first time you do a kernel update, and has to be re-installed, because of changes to the kernel interface, and the fact that the excellent Debian package management system hiding behind Adept does not know about it. If you do need to do it that way, please keep a copy of the nvidia installer (NVIDIA.......run) somewhere reasonably accessible from a shell That way, if you have to do a text mode boot, you only need do "sudo sh /some/path/toNVID*.run" (I use the * to avoid spelling all the name including the version every time, there is only one file beginning with NVID in that path, or most likely, anywhere, on my system) to reinstall the driver again.

It is all a real pain, I know. Maybe one day Nvidia will open-source the driver so these issues can be fixed once and for all. But when you do get the driver working, the graphics performance certainly does justify the effort! Good luck.

[coolman1232]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

Thanks for your help!

I do have one question though : you said to change
Driver "nv" to
Driver "nv"

They seem the same to me/... Did you mean to change
Driver "nv" to
Driver "nvidia" ?

Again, thanks a lot and I appreciate your help! (added kudos)

[tiger99]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

Sorry, you are correct, change nv to nvidia! I should have checked what I wrote more carefully!

[dibl]

Re: Problem installing nvidia driver

Bummer. Tiger is correct -- if you choose the nvidia-glx-new package, you should not choose any other nvidia package. But, once you have it installed that way, I have not heard of a problem running

nvidia-settings

in the console, and even using the driver utility to write to the xorg.conf. But you don't want the nvidia-settings package.

I don't understand why so many people are having trouble with Envy these days. I used it to install the driver on my Ubuntu 64-bit system and it worked like a charm. On my Kubuntu 32-bit, I used nvidia-glx-new, and it worked fine too. I'll post the xorg.conf from my 64-bit system that I'm presently running, in case it helps. I have the GeF 7900GS, on an Intel motherboard (PCI).

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig: version 1.0 (buildmeister@builder26) Mon Feb 26 23:37:58 PST 2007

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings: version 1.0 (buildmeister@builder26) Mon Feb 26 23:38:28 PST 2007

Section "ServerLayout"
  Identifier   "Layout0"
  Screen   0 "Screen0" 0 0
  InputDevice  "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
  InputDevice  "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
  RgbPath     "/usr/lib/X11/rgb"
EndSection

Section "Module"
  Load      "dbe"
  Load      "extmod"
  Load      "type1"
  Load      "freetype"
  Load      "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
  Option     "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

  # generated from default
  Identifier   "Mouse0"
  Driver     "mouse"
  Option     "Protocol" "auto"
  Option     "Device" "/dev/psaux"
  Option     "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
  Option     "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

  # generated from default
  Identifier   "Keyboard0"
  Driver     "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

  # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
  Identifier   "Monitor0"
  VendorName   "Unknown"
  ModelName   "Samsung SyncMaster"
  HorizSync    30.0 - 130.0
  VertRefresh   50.0 - 160.0
  ModeLine    "1600x1200" 242.0 1600 1728 2024 2568 1200 1200 1204 1256 +hsync +vsync
  Option     "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
  Identifier   "Videocard0"
  Driver     "nvidia"
  VendorName   "NVIDIA Corporation"
  BoardName   "GeForce 7900 GS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
  Identifier   "Screen0"
  Device     "Videocard0"
  Monitor    "Monitor0"
  DefaultDepth  24
  Option     "metamodes" "1600x1200 +0+0"
  Option     "Coolbits" "1"
  Option     "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
  SubSection   "Display"
    Depth    24
    Modes   "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
  EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
  Option     "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection