nvidia graphics driver problem

English Hardware
#1

Hi,

perhaps somebody could help me with the following problem:

I just cannot get the nvidia driver to work. The card - GeForce 8400 GS - is on nvidia’s list of supported devices. I have tried to install it from the nvidia repository as well as with the nvidia installer. I tried several versions of the driver and kernel versions, even performed Debian and Ubuntu installations for testing purposes, the problem stays the same.

After installing the driver (without problems) I did

$ sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia

to activate the new driver and configure X. The screen gets black and the machine is not responding any more. After rebooting I can access another console via Ctrl + Alt + Fx. Nvidia module is not loaded and any attempt to modprobe results in the following error:

nvidia: Unknown symbol

This is also what

$ dmesg | grep nvidia

gives.

Just in case, here’s the lspci output for the card:

02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 8400 GS (rev a1)

Since searching the web to find a solution for this problem was fruitless, I would be thankful for any hint!

Greetings,
Nadia

#2

Hi!

Even though I am a newbie : ) I resolved similar problem with my card:

  1. open terminal
  2. change to root (command: su <enter>)
  3. type nvidia-xconfig
    This will create a new xorg.conf -file or something
  4. exit from terminal
  5. restart computer

Hope this helps!

/Janne

#3

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:06:03 GMT
caillean7 <caillean7@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> perhaps somebody could help me with the following problem:
>
> I just cannot get the nvidia driver to work. The card - GeForce 8400 GS
> - is on nvidia’s list of supported devices. I have tried to install it
> from the nvidia repository as well as with the nvidia installer. I
> tried several versions of the driver and kernel versions, even
> performed Debian and Ubuntu installations for testing purposes, the
> problem stays the same.
>
> After installing the driver (without problems) I did
>
>
> Code:
> --------------------
> $ sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia
> --------------------

If you installed the driver using the NVIDIA Repositories, then just log out,
log back in, or reboot… and the new driver will take effect and you’re done.

There is no need to try to configure an already configured driver.

Go to yast, search for the nvidia driver, click it so it indicates
‘reinstall’ and ‘accept’ to reinstall the driver.

REBOOT

It should work. There may be issues with screen size, those can be fixed
using the “Graphics Card and Monitor” module in Yast → Hardware, -OR- from
SaX2… but don’t run it with any options… just type ‘sax2’ and press enter.

Loni

–
L R Nix
lornix@lornix.com

#4

Hi Janne,

thanks a lot, I tried reinstalling and executed nvidia-xconfig. There’s still no X-Server started, but the module gets loaded without any errors! :slight_smile: That means I’m making progress, I guess…

But I still don’t understand what the problem is…

$ dmesg | grep nvidia

shows just the usual “NVIDIA module taints the kernel” thing.

Depmod says nothing. :confused: Could this be a hardware defect? But then it wouldn’t work with the nv driver, I guess.

Anyway, again, thousand thanks to you! BTW, your nick sounds Finnish?

#5

Hey Loni,

the sax2 command I used after installing the driver with the nvidia-installer, not after installing from the repositories, sorry, should have make this more clear.

I gave the installation from the repository another try, and after restarting X there’s again just the black screen, and the system is responding to nothing. The same after a reboot. Now I’ll edit xorg.conf manually from my Ubuntu installation to change to the nv driver again… Again, the boot.log shows no sign of any problems.

#6

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:16:02 GMT
caillean7 <caillean7@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

>
> Hey Loni,
>
> the sax2 command I used after installing the driver with the
> nvidia-installer, not after installing from the repositories, sorry,
> should have make this more clear.
>
> I gave the installation from the repository another try, and after
> restarting X there’s again just the black screen, and the system is
> responding to nothing. The same after a reboot. Now I’ll edit xorg.conf
> manually from my Ubuntu installation to change to the nv driver again…
> Again, the boot.log shows no sign of any problems.
>
>

Well, you might try using the nvidia-xconfig program which comes with the
driver. I usually try it first when the driver acts up, but that comes with
experience too. Often, just installing the driver did the trick.

Ok, to make set up nvidia card / Xwindows:

from a terminal, as root:

init 3
nvidia-xconfig
init 5

There’s a bunch of options available for the nvidia-xconfig program, but
without knowing your desired end result, hard to say. The nvidia-xconfig
program does a very good job though.

You might even combine the two programs (sax2 / nvidia-xconfig) to produce a
new xorg.conf which matches your system.

init 3
sax2 -r -m 0=nv
nvidia-xconfig
init 5

That should create a system with 1024x768 (or so), running with the
accelerated nvidia driver. Then tweak with the yast graphics setup.

type

nvidia-xconfig --help | less

and

nvidia-xconfig -A | less

to see all the options nvidia-xconfig supports. Might help.

Loni

–
L R Nix
lornix@lornix.com

#7

I’ve been experimenting with some nvidia-xconfig options for a while, but nothing helped… Any attempt to start an X-Server results in a black screen and X cannot be killed, I cannot switch back to a console or something. I can’t find any errors in log-files, and don’t know where to look for anymore. I tried different monitors, just in case.

So I guess I will give this up for now, and continue using the nv driver. But hey, thank you very much for your time and your advisement!

#8

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you could not solve the problem :(. I think that this kind of basic thing should work out of the box. I have tried Ubuntu 8.04.1 and had no problems at all.
I am sure some guru will solve your problem some day…
And yes, I am from Finland, from dark but gloomy land…
BR Janne

#9

Hey,

I’ll give this another try if there are new versions of the nvidia driver available - or a kernel update. In general it works, it’s just this special machine.

Great, I’m very interested in Finland and like your country very much!! I hope I’ll be able to visit it someday… but that’s a bit off topic in a technical forum :slight_smile:

Terve!
Caillean