by , 01-Dec-2013 at 08:58 (13921 Views)
NOTE: This will only work if all other NVIDIA installs have been removed
NOTE: This was made up for the 331.20 driver. The package will update to newer versions of the driver, currently 331.38
The package is in fact no more than a spec file, that
- pulls in the appropriate NVIDIA.....run from NVIDIA's ftp site. If a 32bit openSUSE is installed then NVIDIA-x86-331.20.run will be downloaded, in case of a 64bit openSUSE the NVIDIA-x86_64-331.20.run.
- runs the installer in a non-gui mode with options
- -no-x-check, installer should run even when X is detected
- -no-nouveau-check, installer normally stops when nouveau can't be unloaded
- --dkms, installer adds the kernel module to dkms, which means that on a kernel update the module will be automatically rebuilt.
- -q to keep the installer quiet
- -a to accept the license
- --ui=none to keep the installer from trying to start the ncurses interface
- blacklists the nouveau driver
Experiences
On a clean install, on an install with all NVIDIA traces removed and no nvidia kernel module loaded for an X session, this works great.
When the NVIDIA module is loaded on a running X session, the installer fails. Uninstall any NVIDIA instances installed, reboot and try again.
Disadvantage / Issues
- Currently the procedure to work properly requires an install free of other NVIDIA packages/.run installed.
- Dependencies: the kernel-source and some development tools get pulled in. Specially the kernel-source package can be an issue if multiple kernels are kept.
- Currently only for driver 331.20
- When NVIDIA driver is already present, it requires a couple of reboots.
One-clicks for dkms-nvidia
Disclaimer
Though this worked fine on the systems I had available to test on, the package may be far from perfect. First aim was to get the 331.20 driver installed "the automated hard way" and having to do this only once, letting dkms take care of the rest re. the kernel module.
Call for help / suggestions / contributing
Any comments applicable will be welcome. I'm trying to do something alike for Optimus cards, i.e. just passing the right options to the NVIDIA installer and adding the build of the kernel module to dkms.