Nvidia Drivers In Cli

Well, one of the most common things that will send people into a panic (and I'm speaking mostly from my own experience) is when your X-Server fails to load and you are stuck in your text-only Command Line Terminal. One of the biggest reasons X-Server doesn't load is because of driver issues. This tutorial deals with how to install NVIDIA drivers through the CLI. Now before we being, please note that the packages I am using below may be outdated and not specifically for your graphics card, so check the NVIDIA drivers page to find your drivers.

Now, I'm going to use the drivers for the GeForce 7900GS which is my graphics card, but to find the package for your graphics card, complete the fields on the link above, right click on the Copy Link Location link and then save that location for a later time. So now, with all that out of the way, let's being the tutorial.

We'll assume you are already in the CLI (if not, hit Ctrl+Atl+F1) and you will have the prompt of linux-xxxx. First, enter your username and then enter your password. Next, type su and enter your password in the next field. Now your are logged in as root and ready to go. Now go to your Desktop directory with:

cd Desktop

Now, let's download the driver package from the NVIDIA website:

wget http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree8...69.12-pkg1.run

Okay, let's install the drivers and run through the NVIDIA installer:

sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run

The installer will guide your through the rest of the process dealing with your drivers. Once the installer tells you that your driver installation has been complete, you're good to go. Next we have to configure the screen and graphics card information. To do this, run:

sax2

After your have configured your screen and ect., delete the package file on your Desktop:

rm -r NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run

Once you have done this, run the exit command to remove yourself from the root user. Then enter:

startx

This will restart your graphic interface and reload your desktop.

Now, there is no guarantee that this will solve every problem dealing with driver issues, but it will install the drivers for your graphics card. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to ask (sorry for the typos and misspellings). I hope this solves your problem and hope this gave you more experience in SUSE and CLI coding.

The "kernel" is the core of the operating system not a user interface. When you see text and a flashing cursor you are at the "Command Line Interface" (CLI) not the "kernel".

I am not the least bit bothered by booting to the CLI as I now have full power over the operating system and can fix anything from there. People should not be intimidated by the command-line.

I'm not trying to say people are intimidated by the text-only CLI, but users new to Linux who are not familiar to the CLI may find it hard to work with at first. The tutorial is completely directed toward beginners to Linux and SUSE.

Thank you for the comment, though.