Bumblebee error on boot: [FAILED] Failed to start Load Kernel Modules.

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

I have two desktop machines with fresh Leap 15.0 installs, both up-to-date on updates, both of which are tripping over the same bumblebee (bbswitch) module load error on boot. Both of these are desktops with NVidia GPUs (PCIe cards), not laptops with Optimus graphics and an embedded NVidia GPU.

This has to do with kernel module loading. So before I potentially foul up my system, I thought I’d ask here to see what the safest method of resolving this problem is.

Here are the symptoms: First, the error in the boot-up log


[FAILED] Failed to start Load Kernel Modules.
See 'systemctl status systemd-modules-load.service' for details.

Here is the output of “systemctl status systemd-modules-load.service”:


 systemd-modules-load.service - Load Kernel Modules
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/systemd-modules-load.service; static; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Thu 2018-07-19 19:43:54 CDT; 55min ago
     Docs: man:systemd-modules-load.service(8)
           man:modules-load.d(5)
 Main PID: 833 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)

Jul 19 19:43:54 flash systemd[1]: Starting Load Kernel Modules...
Jul 19 19:43:54 flash systemd-modules-load[833]: Failed to insert 'bbswitch': No such device
Jul 19 19:43:54 flash systemd[1]: systemd-modules-load.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FA
ILURE
Jul 19 19:43:54 flash systemd[1]: Failed to start Load Kernel Modules.
Jul 19 19:43:54 flash systemd[1]: systemd-modules-load.service: Unit entered failed state.
Jul 19 19:43:54 flash systemd[1]: systemd-modules-load.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

From this, I looked into bbswitch, determined that it’s part of bumblebee, which is apparently used to support rendering on laptops with Optimus chipsets and embedded NVidia GPUs. As far as I understand, I don’t need bumblebee support on this system.

So what’s the safest way to resolve this problem? Blacklist bumblebee? Remove the bumblebee/bbswitch packages?

Thanks.

#2

How did they come to be installed in the first place? In any case, since you don’t have Optimus hardware remove them.

zypper rm bumblebee bbswitch
#3

I’m not sure. I don’t recall tagging either of them.

In any case, since you don’t have Optimus hardware remove them.

zypper rm bumblebee bbswitch

Thanks. I was just a little hesitant about removing packages with kernel modules. However, I gave it a shot.

It seems that bumblebee and primus are circularly dependent. Once I tagged all of bumblebee, bbswitch*, and primus* (5 packages) for removal, I was able to remove them. A reboot verified that this resolved the error I was getting on boot.

Thanks for the advice.