nvidia-legacy-304xx driver for Debian 10 (Buster)

[burrezo]

Hi all, my two cents...

This is the way i've managed to resurrect an upgraded dinosaur: Asus P5N73-AM (chipset NForce 610i, integrated nvidia 7050) + Xeon x5450 [775 mod] + 4Gb Ram + SSD

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P5N73AM/

[1] Fresh install debian-10.6.0-amd64-netinst.iso , base install, no apps, no extra packages, no desktop environment.... nothing. Once finished, update/upgrade as root:

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apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

[2] As root:

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apt install sudo neovim wget patch git binutils gcc make linux-headers-$(uname -r) libgtk2.0-0

[3] As root:

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usermod add -aG sudo YourUserName

[4] As root, edit your repository list (/etc/apt/sources.list), comment everything, and at the end, add: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian stretch main contrib non-free

[5] As root:

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apt-get update

[6] As root:

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apt install xserver-xorg-core xinit dwm suckelss-tools stterm

This will install Xorg v1.19 from stretch repositories (the packages dwm, suckless-tools and stterm only needed for a dwm tiling window manager installation)

[7] Edit your repository list (/etc/apt/sources.list), un-comment everything previously commented, and comment the last line you added before: #deb http://deb.debian.org/debian stretch main contrib non-free , and then, again, as root:

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apt-get update

[8] Reboot, and login as YourUserName

[9] Download de Nvidia official proprietary driver for your old nvidia GPU, in this case is a 7050, but I suppose this method will work with A LOT of old chipsets/cards ( https://www.nvidia.es/Download/driverRe ... px/123847/ <- 'SUPPORTED PRODUCTS' tab )

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wget https://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/304.137/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run

[10] Make the file executable:

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chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run

[11] Extract, NOT execute, the file (note the '-x' at the end):

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./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137.run -x

Directory 'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137' is created.

[11] Get some patches from Jorge Maidana ( https://github.com/jorgem-seq ) FOLLOW & LIKE/STAR HIS WORK PLEASE!

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git clone https://github.com/jorgem-seq/NVIDIA-Linux-304.137-patches.git

[12] Navigate into the 'NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137' directory, and apply the patches, IN ORDER, up to the patch needed, depending on the kernel installed, so, in this case, with a clean install, the kernel is 4.19.0, so, only patches 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004 and 0005 are needed (adjust your path when patching, depending on where the files were downloaded, extracted, cloned, etc...)

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patch -p1 <../NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-patches/patches/0001-disable-mtrr-4.3.patch
patch -p1 <../NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-patches/patches/0002-pud-offset-4.12.patch
patch -p1 <../NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-patches/patches/0003-nvidia-drm-pci-init-4.14.patch
patch -p1 <../NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-patches/patches/0004-timer-4.15.patch
patch -p1 <../NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.137-patches/patches/0005-usercopy-4.16.patch 

[13] we need to execute the nvidia installer twice:

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sudo ./nvidia-installer

, the first time, will disable the nouveau drivers, and need to reboot:

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sudo reboot

, the second time, the installer return a fake warning about modprobe location, but will install nvidia drivers and modules ok, we need a final reboot.

[14] Check for nvidia modules:

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lsmod | grep nvidia

[15] Mark xorg and xinit as NOT upgradeable:

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sudo apt-mark hold xserver-xorg-core xinit

For listing packages status:

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dpkg –get-selections

[16] Edit/create your .xinitrc depending on your desktop environment and start the X server:

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startx

https://i.ibb.co/F5csHMm/xorg-nvidia-info3.png

https://i.ibb.co/h7mGCHY/capt-gears.png

[P:S.] If you want more resolution at tty when booting the pc, first, you need to know the available resolutions for your gpu:

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sudo apt install hwinfo
sudo hwinfo --framebuffer

Choose one supported by your monitor, and edit /etc/default/grub , un-comment / add:

GRUB_GFXMODE=1400X1050
GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep

Save/quit and:

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sudo update-grub
sudo reboot

Its recommended to increase font size:

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sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup

Choose font Terminus, size 14x28, for example.

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Mod Note: oversized images replaced with plain links, please consider forum users with limited bandwidth — HoaS

[JaredPuffin]

To stevenpusser:

I came across your comments on xorg upgrades or downgrades in a post
from the MXlinux forum: specifically in
https://forum.mxlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=worktime.com45522.

Given your expertise in xorg upgrades and downgrades,
is it practical to downgrade the Buster xorg version to
the Stretch xorg version, such that the buster
xserver-xorg-core version 2.1.20-4-1 is in fact
repaced by the stretch xserver-xorg-core version
2.1.19.2-1, thereby solving my problem ??

If this approach is feasible, could you specify the
steps required to make it happen ??

Please advise.
Len E.

Even if nvidia-support and nvidia-kernel-common installed without
incident does not mean it was no incedent. Basicly instalation path could be broken