Installing nvidia drivers using their own installer.

ajohnw · May 1, 2011, 2:42pm

I can install the nvidia driver for my card easily with yast but would like to try using nvidia’s own installer. There is a paths problem. I’ve spent some time looking at 11.4 kernel build paths and they seem to be circular so the installer will not find what it needs. The installers help in this respect is as follows.



  --kernel-source-path=KERNEL-SOURCE-PATH
      The directory containing the kernel source files that
      should be used when compiling the NVIDIA kernel module. 
      When not specified, the installer will use
      '/lib/modules/`uname -r`/build', if that directory exists. 
      Otherwise, it will use '/usr/src/linux'.

Obviously it will fail on the build directory and fall back to usr/… where linux is a symbolic link
linux → linux-2.6.37.1-1.2

which must be the one in the same directory but it fails to find either type of auto conf file

From this I assumed that it just needed pointing at the correct build directory but this turns out to be symbolic link

Build -> /usr/src/linux-2.6.37.1-1.2-obj/x86_64/desktop

However when pointed here it still doesn’t find what it needs and falls over looking for the kernel header this time.

I thought that the idea of the /usr/src/linux link was to standardise kernel building but if suse use it for something else or nvidia make the wrong assumptions just where should the installer be pointed?

kc1di-qrp · May 1, 2011, 3:02pm

What I believe may be missing in your install attempt is the kernel source file
Don’t know what suse calls it - others call it linux-headers or linux-kernal-dev or somthing like that.

martin_helm · May 1, 2011, 3:19pm

Make sure you have
gcc
make
kernel-source / kernel-devel
installed.
And have also a look at this:
http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:NVIDIA_the_hard_way

please_try_again · May 1, 2011, 3:48pm

Which is not that hard actually. lol! (I could not resist).

jdmcdaniel3 · May 1, 2011, 4:24pm

I normally do the following before I install the nVIDIA driver or compile a kernel:

Normally you should consider doing the following:

Open YaST / Software / Software Management - Select the View Button on the top left and pick Patterns. Now, you will see several Patterns listed and you want to select:

    Development 

[X] Base Development
[X] Linux Kernel Development
[X] C/C++ Development

Then Press the Accept button on the bottom right and allow these applications to install. This should allow you to install the nVIDIA driver among other things.

I have a bash script file that can help if you decide to install the driver the hard way. Look at message #12:

LNVHW - Load NVIDIA (driver the) Hard Way from runlevel 3

Thank You,

ajohnw · May 1, 2011, 5:06pm

Yes I do have all of those installed.

I’ve looked at the “hard way” too but that one doesn’t look as bad as some of the others.

I’d much prefer to find out what the nvidia installer should be pointed at rather than /user/src/linux link. Especially as I thought this was supposed to give all that could be needed for this sort of thing. It lacks autoconf.h / auto.conf Maybe even more. Nvidia do not state what directory tree it parses below the link if any either.

I had intended to follow this route after my last re install to get back to 64bit but the kernel upgrade gave me fbdev as a driver rather than nouveau. This gave me a max res of 800x600 on the desktop which is more or less unusable so I used yast to install the nvidia driver again but there will no doubt be other opportunities to try and get the nvidia installer to run from scratch. - Another hard but easier way. I strongly suspect it will work as well if it can find the files it needs.

jdmcdaniel3 · May 1, 2011, 5:27pm

                 Yes I do have all of those installed.

I’ve looked at the “hard way” too but that one doesn’t look as bad as some of the others.

I’d much prefer to find out what the nvidia installer should be pointed at rather than /user/src/linux link. Especially as I thought this was supposed to give all that could be needed for this sort of thing. It lacks autoconf.h / auto.conf Maybe even more. Nvidia do not state what directory tree it parses below the link if any either.

I had intended to follow this route after my last re install to get back to 64bit but the kernel upgrade gave me fbdev as a driver rather than nouveau. This gave me a max res of 800x600 on the desktop which is more or less unusable so I used yast to install the nvidia driver again but there will no doubt be other opportunities to try and get the nvidia installer to run from scratch. - Another hard but easier way. I strongly suspect it will work as well if it can find the files it needs.
John just let me say I install the latest nVIDIA driver all of the time and it works like a champ. I do the following:

I Install the Driver the hard way and Do not use the repository method.
I installed the required files to properly compile the nVIDIA driver as suggested above.
I add the nomodeset kernel load option as shown in the loading driver the hard way examples shown.
I install the driver on a reboot, using the kernel option 3, to stop X from loading.
I use the bash script file lnvhw as shown above.

As opposed to wondering why it does not work and so forth or trying to swim upstream in some manner, just execute the required steps as outlined above and it will work for you.

Thank You,

martin_helm · May 1, 2011, 5:16pm

please try again wrote:
> Which is not that hard actually. lol! (I could not resist).
>
I resisted this time to add that, thank you for doing it

ajohnw · May 1, 2011, 6:27pm

Thanks James but that isn’t the way I want to do it. I’ve installed the driver 3 times on 11.4 with yast so why change. Basically because I would like to find out just how to do it directly from the nvidia installer from the safe mode prompt. Having looked at the options it provides I’m fairly confident that it can be done that way with the minimal amount of bother. I can probably unravel the kerenel links all by myself over time but just hoped that some one here already knew.

jdmcdaniel3 · May 1, 2011, 9:03pm

                 Thanks James but that isn't the way I want to do it. I've installed  the driver 3 times on 11.4 with yast so why change. Basically because I  would like to find out just how to do it directly from the nvidia  installer from the safe mode prompt. Having looked at the options it  provides I'm fairly confident that it can be done that way with the  minimal amount of bother. I can probably unravel the kerenel links all  by myself over time but just hoped that some one here already knew.                                                                                                        John

Each to his own then. If you wish to understand how the nVIDIA combo script/binary file installs, perhaps something of value will come from it. I seek only to use the driver and gain the benefits that it provides. I wish you luck in finding what you seek.

Thank You,

kc1di-qrp · May 1, 2011, 10:05pm

Also as some have mentioned you will have to install it from a Runlevel 3 terminal with no xserver running durning install otherwise it will fail
you got to have make and gcc + the kenral-source /development installed also.
it works fine here for me and Though the one in the repository works just as well.

Cheers and good luck with your quest. don’t give up.

ajohnw · May 1, 2011, 11:43pm

Thanks all. Looking around at installing kernel things in particular I have seen a couple of comments that suse and opensuse are a little different. The solution seems to be

go to /usr/src/linux
su etc
make cloneconfig
make module_prepare

There is also a novel kernel compiling “cool solution” that also mentions this and also making sure that the kernel sources are up to date after a kernel update. There is also mention of maybe having to unpack Module.symvers.gz into the same directory to fix an error “/bin/sh scripts/basic/fixdep: File not found”.

On the installer there is an option to not check for X running and yet another to allow it to continue if nouveau is installed. From what I gather it can be running even if X isn’t and that’s what makes it difficult to remove. Pass on if using either of these will be ok but I thought X and the kernel were fixed once running and changes do not appear until they are restarted.

If you look at the readme at the head of the repo it gives a link to the very latest drivers which are now up 270-41. :\ This is tempting but I need a rest from re installing for a while.