nouveau will not load (no KMS)

English Multimedia
#1

This box ran fine under 12.3. I have just done a completely fresh install of 13.1 and now can’t get the nouveau driver to load.

from uname -a

Linux MAGYAR2 3.11.10-29-default #1 SMP Thu Mar 5 16:24:00 UTC 2015 (338c513) i686 athlon i386 GNU/Linux

from lspci -vv


01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation NV34 [GeForce FX 5200] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA 
controller])
        Subsystem: CardExpert Technology Device 0419
        Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- Di
sINTx-
        Status: Cap+ 66MHz+ UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR
- INTx-
        Latency: 32 (1250ns min, 250ns max)
        Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 5
        Region 0: Memory at e8000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16]
        Region 1: Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=128]
        [virtual] Expansion ROM at e9000000 [disabled] [size=128]
        Capabilities: [60] Power Management version 2
                Flags: PMEClk- DSI- D1- D2- AuxCurrent=0mA PME(D0-,D1-,D2-,D3hot-,D3cold-)
                Status: D0 NoSoftRst- PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-
        Capabilities: [44] AGP version 3.0
                Status: RQ=32 Iso- ArqSz=0 Cal=3 SBA+ ITACoh- GART64- HTrans- 64bit- FW+ AGP3+ Rate=x4,
x8
                Command: RQ=1 ArqSz=0 Cal=0 SBA- AGP- GART64- 64bit- FW- Rate=<none>
        Kernel modules: nvidiafb, nouveau

Notice there is no “kernel driver in use” there.

This from the /var/log/Xorg…

[34.433] (EE) [drm] KMS not enabled
[34.433] (EE) [drm] KMS not enabled

The system is booted with Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.11.10-29-default root=UUID=d2cfdfea-64f6-4425-bd29-0fc83bece28d apm=off acpi=off mce=off barrier=off ide=nodma idewait=50 i8042.nomux psmouse.proto=bare irqpoll pci=nommconf resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST340015A_5LA1X3X6-part2 showopts vga=0x31a

I inserted the vga= in order to get any kind of useable desktop.

None of lsmod, /proc/devices or /proc/fb show nouveau and when i try modprobe nouveau I get


modprobe nouveau
WARNING: Error inserting wmi (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/wmi.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting hwmon (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/hwmon/hwmon.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting thermal_sys (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/thermal/thermal_sys.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting video (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/acpi/video.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting mxm_wmi (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/mxm-wmi.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting i2c_core (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/i2c/i2c-core.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting i2c_algo_bit (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/i2c/algos/i2c-algo-bit.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting drm (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/drm.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting drm_kms_helper (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_kms_helper.ko): No such device
WARNING: Error inserting ttm (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/ttm/ttm.ko): No such device
FATAL: Error inserting nouveau (/lib/modules/3.11.10-29-default/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/nouveau/nouveau.ko): No such device

Which I find very confusing since the card is in place, seen by the bios and lspci.

/proc/config.gz shows this for KMS

CONFIG_DRM_KMS_HELPER=m
CONFIG_DRM_I915_KMS=y

I have tried all combinations of acpi and noapic along with modeset=1, nouveau.modeset=1 but no change. I also swapped the card for a different nvidia card but got same results. I have even booted with the kernel 3.11.6-4 but that didn’t change anything.

There is no proprietary nvidia stuff present.

Any ideas? Cheers and TIA[/size][/size][/size]

#2

Why?
Those options probably prevent nouveau from working correctly.
They (in particular apm=off and acpi=off) definitely are responsible for at least some of the warnings/errors you got when trying to load nouveau.

Try to remove all of them (except resume= and showopts) in YaST->System->Boot Loader.
(you can keep vga=0x31a, but it won’t have any effect with nouveau anyway)

If your system should not boot then for some reason, choose “Recovery Mode” under “Advanced Options”, that one should still work.

#3

Well sell my clothes, I’m going to heaven!

I did not add the apm and acpi options in that boot line. That is, the ones at the beginning of the line and I didn’t notice them before now.

I installed from the NET install CD and it didn’t appear to want to load so I said do it with “safe options”. I wonder if those options were then carried over to the eventual live boot line.

I have done as you advised and all is OK now. Many. many thanks.

Cheers

#4

Yes, they are carried over AFAIK.

I have done as you advised and all is OK now. Many. many thanks.

Great! :slight_smile: