Scheduled Maintenance: We are aware of an issue with Google, AOL, and Yahoo services as email providers which are blocking new registrations. We are trying to fix the issue and we have several internal and external support tickets in process to resolve the issue. Please see: viewtopic.php?t=158230

 

 

 

Installing NVidia Drivers (with Optimus)

Linux Kernel, Network, and Services configuration.
Post Reply
Message
Author
SKRYMr
Posts: 2
Joined: 2018-04-10 17:02

Installing NVidia Drivers (with Optimus)

#1 Post by SKRYMr »

Hello, my PC is an ASUS K550V, with 12 GB RAM, a Quad Core Intel i5-6300HQ 3.2Ghz processor and a NVidia Geforce GTX 950M graphics card (Optimus enabled).

I can't manage to get the NVidia drivers working. Every time I try installing following the guidelines at https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers and https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee my GPU's fan starts whirring real hard and when I reboot the system hangs on boot. I've managed to reboot by purging the newly installed packages and moved on to install different ones, I tried proprietary optimus drivers first, then nouveau and non-optimus drivers. I also tried the compatible 32-bits drivers and when that didn't work too I started looking for solutions online and none of them offered any help.

Right now lspci -k tells me that the kernel is using "nouveau" for my graphics card but xrandr --listproviders answers that there are no providers available.
Normal usage is fine with the current drivers but even simple games run slow and sluggish and I can't use my HDMI port to connect to a monitor, so I'd like to be able to install more powerful drivers to enable 3D rendering.

User avatar
stevepusser
Posts: 12930
Joined: 2009-10-06 05:53
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 71 times

Re: Installing NVidia Drivers (with Optimus)

#2 Post by stevepusser »

If you install Inxi and run "inxi -G" in the terminal, what does it give you for the graphics?

For my system with working Bumblebee, I get

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] driver: i915 v: kernel 
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device driver: N/A 
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.2) driver: intel resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 520 (Skylake GT2) v: 4.5 Mesa 13.0.6 
and when I switch to have the Nvidia card handle the 3D rendering:

Code: Select all

$ optirun inxi -G
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] driver: i915 v: kernel 
           Card-2: NVIDIA Device driver: nvidia v: 384.111 
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.2) driver: intel resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce 940MX/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 384.111
Note that I'm using the "intel" instead of the "modesetting" driver that Debian uses by default for modern Intel GPUs.
MX Linux packager and developer

SKRYMr
Posts: 2
Joined: 2018-04-10 17:02

Re: Installing NVidia Drivers (with Optimus)

#3 Post by SKRYMr »

Running inxi -G gives the following output:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card-1: Intel HD Graphics 530
                Card-2: NVIDIA GM107M [GeForce GTX 950M]
                Display Server: X.Org 1.19.2 drivers: fbdev (unloaded: modesetting,vesa)
                Resolution: 1366x768@76.00hz
                GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on llvmpipe (LLVM 3.9, 256 bits)
                GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 13.0.6
I've had to disable modesetting from GRUB to get Debian to boot at all and I've been using it as such.

User avatar
Ardouos
Posts: 1075
Joined: 2013-11-03 00:30
Location: Elicoor II
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 4 times

Re: Installing NVidia Drivers (with Optimus)

#4 Post by Ardouos »

SKRYMr wrote:Running inxi -G gives the following output:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card-1: Intel HD Graphics 530
                Card-2: NVIDIA GM107M [GeForce GTX 950M]
                Display Server: X.Org 1.19.2 drivers: fbdev (unloaded: modesetting,vesa)
                Resolution: 1366x768@76.00hz
                GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on llvmpipe (LLVM 3.9, 256 bits)
                GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 13.0.6
I've had to disable modesetting from GRUB to get Debian to boot at all and I've been using it as such.
I have a similar setup that had similar issues . Try installing the liqourix kernel, it works wonders.
There is only one Debian | Do not break Debian | Stability and Debian | Backports

⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀
⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ Debian - The universal operating system
⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ https://www.debian.org
⠈⠳⣄⠀

User avatar
stevepusser
Posts: 12930
Joined: 2009-10-06 05:53
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 71 times

Re: Installing NVidia Drivers (with Optimus)

#5 Post by stevepusser »

Let's concentrate on the Intel graphics first, since that should be handling the display all the time on Optimus systems. Bumblebee just lets the system hand off the 3D rendering work to the discrete Nvidia GPU when you tell it too, but it hands back the completed frames to the Intel GPU for display.

Skylake and above Intel graphics, which you and I both have, require non-free firmware to work correctly. :cry: The standard Debian install doesn't have any non-free firmware because of Debian's commitment to free software, but you can easily download and install the firmware package from Debian's non-free section. https://packages.debian.org/stretch/fir ... sc-nonfree

If you do use a newer kernel, you should also update the firmware package to the version in stretch-backports: https://packages.debian.org/stretch-bac ... sc-nonfree
MX Linux packager and developer

Post Reply