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Nvidia driver - Debian way, custom (or not) kernel.

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didi
Posts: 901
Joined: 2007-12-04 16:26
Location: the Netherlands

Re: Nvidia 100.14.19 - Debian way, custom (or not) kernel.

#81 Post by didi »

pszalapski wrote:
didi wrote: Get updated, install the necesary packages

Code: Select all

apt-get update && apt-get install nvidia-kernel-source/experimental module-assistant nvidia-settings
I'm trying to follow this to install 169, which apt-get downloaded for me by following the above (without the "Experimental".) I've never used the module assitant. Could someone please point me to a good guide for that?
That was exactly how I got it working too (without the experimental).
Then I followed the rest of the tutorial and got it working, using module assistant.

I think that /experimental has to do with apt-pinning, but I'm not sure (ie pinned to stable or testing), but I don't know how that works ... probably in time I will :D

popatopalous
Posts: 12
Joined: 2007-10-13 15:44
Location: Western USA

#82 Post by popatopalous »

Boy, Debian and nVidia really don't seem to work well together. In Sid AMD 64 I'm at step:

Code: Select all

# apt-get install nvidia-glx
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.

Since you only requested a single operation it is extremely likely that
the package is simply not installable and a bug report against
that package should be filed.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
  nvidia-glx: Depends: nvidia-kernel-169.09 but it is not installable
E: Broken packages
Here's sources.list:

Code: Select all

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r2 _Etch_ - Official amd64 kde-CD Binary-1 20080102-14:34]/ unst$

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r2 _Etch_ - Official amd64 kde-CD Binary-1 20080102-14:34]/ unst$

deb http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free
deb-src http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free

deb http://mirror.home-dn.net/debian-multimedia/ unstable main
deb-src http://mirror.home-dn.net/debian-multimedia/ unstable main

# deb http://debian.three-dimensional.net/debian-multimedia/ unstable main
# deb-src http://debian.three-dimensional.net/debian-multimedia/ unstable main

Code: Select all

# uname -a
Linux localhost 2.6.22-3-amd64 #1 SMP Sun Nov 4 18:18:09 UTC 2007 x86_64 GNU/Linux
What do I need to do to get nvidia-glx to install? :(
Thanks,
popatopalous
Debian Lenny : AMD64 X2 4800+ : 4x1GB DDR2 800 : GeForce 6150 256MB : ASUS M2NPV-VM : HD-2x320GB

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Hadret
Posts: 354
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Location: Berlin

#83 Post by Hadret »

On my Sid I did aptitude full-upgrade, which didn't upgrade my nvidia-glx and nvidia-glx-ia32 packages. Than I switched off X-Server and type:

Code: Select all

# m-a a-i nvidia
When this one was ready, I've installed both missing packages:

Code: Select all

# aptitude install nvidia-glx nvidia-glx-ia32
That's all :P

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bluesdog
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#84 Post by bluesdog »

popatopalous wrote:Boy, Debian and nVidia really don't seem to work well together. In Sid AMD 64 I'm at step:

Code: Select all

# apt-get install nvidia-glx
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.

Since you only requested a single operation it is extremely likely that
the package is simply not installable and a bug report against
that package should be filed.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
  nvidia-glx: Depends: nvidia-kernel-169.09 but it is not installable
E: Broken packages
...What do I need to do to get nvidia-glx to install? :(
Assuming you have module-assistant installed, and there are no hardware weirdnesses, such as the notorious 4Gb RAM problem, nvidia is easy!

The unmet dependency problem is because the required kernel module is not available or installed. You must provide it first, and the easiest way is to build it yourself.

Especially simple to do from the CLI, while x-server is not running.

Code: Select all

# apt-get install nvidia-kernel-source
Then, if necessary unpack the source, as already explained, or make a symlink, if already explained.
Then run module-assistant to build the nvidia-kernel module, as already explained
Then

Code: Select all

# apt-get install nvidia-glx
Tips & Tricks

Something more to read while waiting

If you obviously have not read THIS, don't expect too much...




*winter bluesdog....*

popatopalous
Posts: 12
Joined: 2007-10-13 15:44
Location: Western USA

#85 Post by popatopalous »

Thanks Hadret and bluesdog. I got nvidia working now. I used aptitude this time and did full-upgrade 1st. It installed in the Sid kernel 2.6.22-4-amd64 with no problem. The nvidia-kernel-source wasn't installing in 2.6.22-3-2md64 because I had testing repos disabled. Once I enabled testing repos it installed there no problem as well.

Yesterday I must have skipped a step or something. It was Superbowl Sunday and all...
Thanks,
popatopalous
Debian Lenny : AMD64 X2 4800+ : 4x1GB DDR2 800 : GeForce 6150 256MB : ASUS M2NPV-VM : HD-2x320GB

boz
Posts: 187
Joined: 2007-05-29 04:14

#86 Post by boz »

Ok, I'm trying to do this but when I try to apt-get install nvidia-kernel-source it tells me it doesn't exist? This is a fresh install of Lenny, sources.list:

Code: Select all

# 
# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r1 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST Binary-1 20070820-20:21]/ etch contrib main

# Changed all 'etch' to 'lenny' 2/18/08

# Removed CD-ROM source 2/18/08, pre-Lenny
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r1 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST Binary-1 20070820-20:21]/ etch contrib main

# Added 'contrib' and 'non-free' to these lines 2/17/08
# Then commented them out, as they should be the same as the ftp.us.debian.org lines below
#deb http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ etch main contrib non-free
#deb-src http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian/ etch main contrib non-free

# Following two lines removed 2/17/08, pre-Lenny, to clean up sources.list
# They're duped down at the bottom
#deb http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main contrib
#deb-src http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main contrib

# Changed to ftp.us.debian.org 2/17/08
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib non-free

deb http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates main contrib non-free

# Line added 12/14/07 by Boz to get gtkpod 0.99.10-3
# Commented out 1/4/08
#deb http://www.backports.org/debian etch-backports main contrib non-free

deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org lenny main
Yeah, it's kind of messy...old coder's habits die hard.

'apt-cache search nvidia' turns up nvidia-kernel-common, but no "source".

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bluesdog
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#87 Post by bluesdog »

Currently unavailable in Lenny

Code: Select all

$ apt-cache policy nvidia-kernel-source
nvidia-kernel-source:
  Installed: 169.09-1
  Candidate: 169.09-1
  Version table:
 *** 169.09-1 0
        500 http://ftp.uk.debian.org sid/non-free Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     1.0.8776-4 0
        500 http://ftp.uk.debian.org etch/non-free Packages
Tips & Tricks

Something more to read while waiting

If you obviously have not read THIS, don't expect too much...




*winter bluesdog....*

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drokmed
Posts: 1162
Joined: 2007-10-03 19:24
Location: Saint Petersburg, FL

#88 Post by drokmed »

bluesdog wrote:Currently unavailable in Lenny

Code: Select all

$ apt-cache policy nvidia-kernel-source
nvidia-kernel-source:
  Installed: 169.09-1
  Candidate: 169.09-1
  Version table:
 *** 169.09-1 0
        500 http://ftp.uk.debian.org sid/non-free Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     1.0.8776-4 0
        500 http://ftp.uk.debian.org etch/non-free Packages
It's unavailable before you install the nvidia drivers (from unstable). Afterwards, it works.

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drokmed
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Location: Saint Petersburg, FL

#89 Post by drokmed »

I hope you experts are still watching this thread :)

2 things:

1. This how-to works great!

NOTE: Need to update this how-to again. The nvidia drivers are now in unstable. They are no longer in experimental. (as of today anyways)

I just followed the instructions, installing the nvidia drivers "the debian way". I'm running Lenny, and it worked great. The machine is a Compaq F756NR laptop, nvidia MCP67 motherboard w/ GeForce 7000M.

2. I can't seem to change my default resolution from 1024x768 to 1280x800.

The original xorg.conf had both "1280x800" and "1024x768" in it. I deleted the 1024 entry, but I have a feeling I need to run an update utility to force it to use the new resolution. I'm hesitant to tinker with it until after I ask your advice.

The Configure KDesktop doesn't even show the screen info:

http://72.91.54.192/apache2-default/1024x768.png

Here's the xorg.conf

Code: Select all

compaq:/etc/X11# cat xorg.conf
# 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 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"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Generic Keyboard"
        Driver          "kbd"
        Option          "CoreKeyboard"
        Option          "XkbRules"      "xorg"
        Option          "XkbModel"      "pc104"
        Option          "XkbLayout"     "us"
EndSection

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

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Synaptics Touchpad"
        Driver          "synaptics"
        Option          "SendCoreEvents"        "true"
        Option          "Device"                "/dev/psaux"
        Option          "Protocol"              "auto-dev"
        Option          "HorizScrollDelta"      "0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Generic Video Card"
        Driver          "vesa"
        BusID           "PCI:0:18:0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier      "Generic Monitor"
        Option          "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier      "Default Screen"
        Device          "Generic Video Card"
        Monitor         "Generic Monitor"
        DefaultDepth    24
        SubSection "Display"
                Modes           "1280x800"
        EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier      "Default Layout"
        Screen          "Default Screen"
        InputDevice     "Generic Keyboard"
        InputDevice     "Configured Mouse"
        InputDevice     "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection 
Thanks for reading

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bluesdog
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#90 Post by bluesdog »

Code: Select all

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Generic Video Card"
        Driver          "vesa"
        BusID           "PCI:0:18:0"
EndSection 
It appears you're still using the vesa driver.

If nvidia-kernel module and matching nvidia-glx installed ok, either edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf manually, replacing 'vesa' with 'nvidia', or run nvidia-xconfig
Tips & Tricks

Something more to read while waiting

If you obviously have not read THIS, don't expect too much...




*winter bluesdog....*

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drokmed
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Location: Saint Petersburg, FL

#91 Post by drokmed »

bluesdog wrote:replacing 'vesa' with 'nvidia'
woohoo! That was it :)

Thanks

hurtz
Posts: 4
Joined: 2008-03-10 20:36

#92 Post by hurtz »

Fresh install of Lenny here, how is it done? Missing nvidia-kernel-source.

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bluesdog
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#93 Post by bluesdog »

As noted previously, nvidia-kernel-source and nvidia-glx are currently unavailable from Lenny.
$ apt-cache policy nvidia-kernel-source
nvidia-kernel-source:
Installed: 169.09-1
Candidate: 169.09-1
Version table:
*** 169.09-1 0
800 http://ftp.uk.debian.org sid/non-free Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
1.0.8776-4 0
750 http://ftp.uk.debian.org etch/non-free Packages
$ apt-cache policy nvidia-glx
nvidia-glx:
Installed: 169.09-1
Candidate: 169.09-1
Version table:
*** 169.09-1 0
800 http://ftp.uk.debian.org sid/non-free Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
1.0.8776-4 0
750 http://ftp.uk.debian.org etch/non-free Packages
Temporarily add sid repositories to /etc/apt/sources.list in order to install the required packages. The sid version of xorg may also be required, but basically the entire procedure is unlikely to bork your system.

Once you've created and built the module, restore your /etc/apt/sources.list to Lenny only repos.

If you don't wish to 'mix' your system, your only alternative at this time is to use the nVidia script method, with the binary available from the nvidia site.
Tips & Tricks

Something more to read while waiting

If you obviously have not read THIS, don't expect too much...




*winter bluesdog....*

boz
Posts: 187
Joined: 2007-05-29 04:14

#94 Post by boz »

bluesdog wrote:If you don't wish to 'mix' your system, your only alternative at this time is to use the nVidia script method, with the binary available from the nvidia site.
This worked really well for me. If you're using Lenny-upgraded-from-Etch and you had the nVidia stuff installed the Debian way on your Etch install, you'll need to remove the nvidia stuff (nvidia-glx and nvidia-kernel, iirc) from your system startup (using update-rc.d)...if you don't do that, your X will fail to start each time you restart your system.

hurtz
Posts: 4
Joined: 2008-03-10 20:36

#95 Post by hurtz »

bluesdog wrote:Temporarily add sid repositories to /etc/apt/sources.list in order to install the required packages. The sid version of xorg may also be required, but basically the entire procedure is unlikely to bork your system.
Thanks. Thats what I did but stopped when I saw all the xorg dependencies that were about to be downloaded.

So even after reading all 7 pages of this thread, I'm still not sure why anyone would bother installing nvidia drivers the 'Debian' way if I'm going to run into situations like this:
boz wrote:This worked really well for me. If you're using Lenny-upgraded-from-Etch and you had the nVidia stuff installed the Debian way on your Etch install, you'll need to remove the nvidia stuff (nvidia-glx and nvidia-kernel, iirc) from your system startup (using update-rc.d)...if you don't do that, your X will fail to start each time you restart your system.
Isn't that what we're trying to avoid by doing it the Debian way in the first place?

boz
Posts: 187
Joined: 2007-05-29 04:14

#96 Post by boz »

hurtz wrote:Isn't that what we're trying to avoid by doing it the Debian way in the first place?
Partly, of course. I'm just not keen on running a mixed system. So, yeah, when you update your kernel you're going to need to re-run the nVidia script, but that really doesn't seem like that big a deal to me.

Edit: I misread your post, hurtz. I'm talking about installing from the nVidia script, which is NOT the Debian Way. Once you do that, if you've had drivers installed the Debian Way in the past, you have to make sure that stuff doesn't run at startup or it'll undo the nVidia install.

hurtz
Posts: 4
Joined: 2008-03-10 20:36

#97 Post by hurtz »

So will there come a time when those packages will be available in Lenny? I'm just curious whats going on behind the scenes that prevents the source package from being available at this time.

Guess I'll just stick to the nvidia installer for the time being, I really hate mixing testing and unstable.

Eck
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Joined: 2007-06-27 16:13

#98 Post by Eck »

It's a matter, as far as I can gather from reading the developer pages, that Xorg 7.3 has some serious problems on specific systems as pointed out in the Release Critical bugs for xserver-xorg 1.4, 7.3, whatever it's called.

The NVidia driver stuff apparently has some bugs too, but then those are mostly long standing licensing stuff and a few things NVidia hasn't fixed. Of course no one else can fix them, but they were let slide for Etch.

As far as it getting into Lenny, who knows? If they can get those couple of bugs fixed that are still Release Critical for Xorg then I suppose NVidia itself would be about as bug free as the version allowed into Etch was. But as long as xserver-xorg-core 1.4 and its video and input drivers are not allowed in, I'd guess that NVidia won't be allowed into Lenny.

It's a bit hard to understand why they require the newer Xorg for Nvidia anyway. Some other distro's still use Xorg 7.2 and newer Nvidia drivers run fine with them.

I ran the Debian way Nvidia Sid and Xorg stuff on Lenny for a while without problems. But I went back to pure Lenny eventually. That was fun getting xorg back to the Lenny version! Had to purge a bunch of stuff and reinstall parts of the desktop tasks individually when re-running the tasks themselves only brought some of the packages back and left out some. Got it done, but it was a hassle. Thankfully Aptitude is the amazing thing that it is.

The script's the easy way for now, until the packages become part of Debian Lenny.
Lenovo z560 Laptop Nvidia GeForce 310m Hitachi 500GB HD Intel HD Audio 4GB RAM

hurtz
Posts: 4
Joined: 2008-03-10 20:36

#99 Post by hurtz »

Thanks for the replies, sticking w/the nvidia install script. Works great!

Eck
Posts: 740
Joined: 2007-06-27 16:13

#100 Post by Eck »

I'd think just uninstalling everything using aptitude, like aptitude purge nvidia-glx, would remove stuff like startup scripts?

Anyway, I just installed Debian (from Etch DVD1, comment out the DVD, change sources to testing and added unstable and debian-multimedia, and did the /etc/apt.conf default-release testing thing).

Hey! They fixed up module-assistant so for the first time I actually saw it do its thing successfully! Installed like a dream the Debian way. I did install nvidia-kernel-common and xserver-xorg-core from -t unstable first, answering yes to let it install the associated input and video xorg stuff from unstable. Then I did m-a update, m-a prepare, and m-a a-i nvidia and it worked fine. Then installed -t unstable nvidia-glx, nvidia-glx-dev, nvidia-settings, nvidia-xconfig and I'm all set.

I'm looking forward to see what happens when the upgraded NVidia gets in. Should be soon as we're a version behind at the moment. I guess the way to go is to watch when it appears (the next nvidia-glx) but don't let it upgrade, rather run m-a update, m-a prepare, m-a a-i nvidia again, and then let aptitude upgrade? I'm not too clear on that. Maybe let it upgrade and then do the m-a stuff to upgrade the nvidia-kernel stuff, reboot, and all is well?
Lenovo z560 Laptop Nvidia GeForce 310m Hitachi 500GB HD Intel HD Audio 4GB RAM

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