nvidiaG02 drivers from repositry

English Hardware
1

hello,

I have a nvidia 8800GT which I been running fine using the X11-video-nvidiaG01 and nvidia-gfxG01-kmp-pae drivers version 173.14.

Now I noticed a new set of drivers in the repositry called X11-video-nvidiaG02 and gfxG02-kmp-pae version 177.82 which are listed as “NVIDIA graphics driver for GeForce 6xxx and newer GPUs”

So I removed the G01 drivers, rebooted, sax2 -r to setup default Vesa drivers, then via Yast I installed the G02 drivers.

However the drivers don’t seem to load, so I tried a sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia and sax returns with an error.

SaX.log at the end lists:

(II) Setting vga for screen 0.
(**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
(==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
(==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
(==) NVIDIA(0): Using HW cursor
(**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling RENDER acceleration
(==) NVIDIA(0): Video key set to default value of 0x101fe
(II) NVIDIA(0): Support for GLX with the Damage and Composite X extensions is
(II) NVIDIA(0):     enabled.
FATAL: Error inserting nvidia (/lib/modules/2.6.25.18-0.2-pae/updates/nvidia.ko): No such device
(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module!
(EE) NVIDIA(0):  *** Aborting ***
(II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
(II) UnloadModule: "wfb"
(II) UnloadModule: "fb"
(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

Fatal server error:
no screens found

while dmesg shows:

nvidia: module license ‘NVIDIA’ taints kernel.
NVRM: The NVIDIA probe routine was not called for 1 device(s).
NVRM: This can occur when a driver such as rivafb, nvidiafb or
NVRM: rivatv was loaded and obtained ownership of the NVIDIA
NVRM: device(s).
NVRM: Try unloading the rivafb, nvidiafb or rivatv kernel module
NVRM: (and/or reconfigure your kernel without rivafb/nvidiafb
NVRM: support), then try loading the NVIDIA kernel module again.
NVRM: No NVIDIA graphics adapter probed!

uninstalled the G02 and installed the G01 and a reboot later those runs fine.

Does anybody have a small hint or clue as to what is going wrong ?

Thanks in advance

-Xil

2

Same Problem here on 3 different PCs with Suse 11.0.

One with a Gforce 6600
One with a Gforce 7900
and the last with a gforce 9600. The last PS has the Problem, that the nvidiaG01 doesn’t work becaus of lack of chipset support.

Can somewhere tell me, why the new driver version is now shown as G02? Ist this driver only for Suse 11.1? There are absolutly no Information about this driver, but I think that many people have problems with this driver.

3

Maybe that’s a beta driver? Here is a link an ftp link so you can browse what’s available and download and install manually:

ftp://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/

4

that there now are 3 drivers sort of matches with Current NVIDIA Linux graphics driver releases - nV News Forums

yast: x11-video-nvidia 96.43.09 == nvnews Stable: 96.43.07
yast: x11-video-nvidiaG01 173.14.12 == nvnews Stable: 173.14.12
yast: x11-video-nvidiaG02 177.82 == nvnews Stable: 177.82

but seems there is something wrong with the G02 from the repositry if your newer 9600 even has the same problem.

Its not beta as that would be version 180.16 for the G02 set.

5

So, now I have upgraded the PC with gfoce 6600 to Suse 11.1, and the driver G02 works.

Ist looks like that the driver for Suse 11.1 is in the repo for Suse 11.0 and it seems to be inkompatible with Suse 11.0.

In my opinion this is a fatal error for a newbie, because a newbie don’t know how he change the driver when the x-server don’t start anymore. And it looks like a bad light on Suse. :\

6

intresting, would it be worth making a bugzilla post about this ?

ps: just checked the ftp link again and the files in the 11.0 and 11.1 repositries are diffrent size so it does not seem the 11.1 are in the 11.0, but the 11.0 are a few sub-version numbers lower then 11.1

7

Let me echo what others have said (here and in other threads). I realize that Suse has no control over NVidia’s proprietary drivers; we’re all basically at their mercy. We can only hope that they work as advertised.

However, from experience with these drivers starting with Suse 9.0, the posted instructions have rarely worked as published. We’re basically told to add the respository, select the appropriate driver and then let YAST install it. That WILL NOT WORK on many systems. Worse, the X desktop will be killed entirely, leaving a poor newbie staring at a black screen with no idea whatsoever of where to go next.

It would be really helpful if Suse would provide detailed info about which driver is appropriate for the type of system and video card. For example, under 10.2, I used the “G01” drivers. Now, I’m apparently supposed to use the “G02” drivers. Is that right? (I’ve actually tried both, and I still can’t even get XWindows to run; I get a black screen. I’ve just backed off to 10.2 for now; I may try to upgrade to 10.3 later today just so that I’m running a version that’s still being updated.)

(Incidentally, I never did get it working under 11.0; that’s why I’ve been at 10.2 until 11.1 came out.)

Provide that info in a form that’s meaningful to the end user. For example, it’s common in Linux to say, “use this driver if you have the XYZ-123 Chipset.” Most users have no idea whatsoever how to determine the type of chipset. They might, however, be able to get at least the card model name/number from the Device Manager in Windows. if it’s a dual-boot system. That’s how I learned that the built-in video on my Motherboard is an NVidia GeForce 6100 when I installed 9.3 years ago.

Having learned that, I don’t mind doing a Web search or visiting a Wiki page. But it’d be great to see a definitive instruction like, “for the GeForce 6100 on the AMD 64, use the xxx-G0xx–xxx driver.” That would eliminate a lot of trial and error.

I’m not asking Suse to do all the work. But a centralized info base (perhaps in the Wiki?) with detailed instructions from users about what does and doesn’t work, would be invaluable. The Suse personnel who develop the installer should also refer to that for readable descriptions of the video card. When I’m installing a driver, for example, it’d be helpful if the description text said, “for the following video cards: [followed by a list].”

8

Do You people at least run nvidia-xconfig after installing new drivers :slight_smile: It’s so obvious but not everyone thinks about that:)
With every new drivers nVidia releases new nvidia-xconfig rotfl!

9

Hi
The drivers provided in the repository are only the one you download
from the nvidia unix drivers page. All the repository does is use a
spec file (which from googling, do have some issues) to create a rpm for
the end user so they don’t need to download the development tools,
source etc.

That being said, it is easy for you to determine which driver will work
with your card using the output from the following lspci command and
installing via the hard way.

You can download the driver for your arch from;
Nvidia Unix Drivers

On the download page, check that your card is supported by the driver
your about to download by using the following command;


echo -n "0x" && /sbin/lspci -nv |grep VGA|cut -f4 -d ":"|cut -f1 -d "("

From the above output use the numbers from the output to look at the
Supported Products List (link on the left) to verify your card is
supported by the driver.

If you don’t have the kernel source and tools etc installed then


sudo zypper in kernel-source linux-kernel-headers kernel-syms make gcc

Press ctrl+alt+F1 and login as your user :slight_smile:


su -
init 3

cd to the Nvidia Unix Driver you downloaded


sh NV*.run -q
sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia
init 5 && exit
ctrl+alt+F1
exit
ctrl+alt+F7

The ctrl+alt+F7 gets you back to the GUI (X session).

Now after a kernel update, you don’t need to run the sax2 command, just
the others to get to run level 3, rebuild the driver and exit.

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
openSUSE 11.1 x86 Kernel 2.6.27.7-4-default
up 2 days 16:20, 2 users, load average: 0.12, 0.16, 0.24
GPU GeForce 6600 TE/6200 TE - Driver Version: 177.82

10

Do You people at least run nvidia-xconfig after installing new drivers

Troll alert! :expressionless:

Ummm … yes, I run nvidia-xconfig. And once I finally get X working again, I run nvidia-settings to get the screen resolution and color depth that I want. Thanks for playing, try again. :wink:

From SDB:NVIDIA - openSUSE Wiki, which one would assume is the primary page that one should refer to for this:

If SaX2 doesn’t detect the newly installed X-server run as root user:

sax2 -r

and SaX2 will start detection again, ignoring previous attempts. That will detect the NVIDIA graphic adapter and allow you to set up your desired resolution. To do this go to: Computer > More Applications > System > X Term program. Then type su - at the prompt, type in your root password, and then type sax2 -r. This should automatically run the SAX2 program and detect the NVIDIA card.

This is misleading at best, and arguably false information. The only mention of nvidia-xconfig is a bit farther on in the article, where it specifically mentions using it for things like compositing. Further, you’re directed to another link for KDE4 which doesn’t mention nvidia-xconfig at all.

To repeat: thanks for playing, try again. :slight_smile:

11

Malcom, thanks for the reply. I think I’ve seen similar posts from you elsewhere. :slight_smile:

Hi
The drivers provided in the repository are only the one you download
from the nvidia unix drivers page. All the repository does is use a
spec file (which from googling, do have some issues) to create a rpm for
the end user so they don’t need to download the development tools,
source etc.

That being said, it is easy for you to determine which driver will work
with your card using the output from the following lspci command and
installing via the hard way.

You can download the driver for your arch from;
Nvidia Unix Drivers

On the download page, check that your card is supported by the driver
your about to download by using the following command;
Code:

echo -n “0x” && /sbin/lspci -nv |grep VGA|cut -f4 -d “:”|cut -f1 -d “(”

From the above output use the numbers from the output to look at the
Supported Products List (link on the left) to verify your card is
supported by the driver.

If you don’t have the kernel source and tools etc installed then

12

Malcom,

Thanks for the reply. When I searched online and in these forums, I saw similar instructions (possibly from you!). :slight_smile:

That being said, it is easy for you to determine which driver will work with your card using the output from the following lspci command and installing via the hard way.

You can download the driver for your arch from; Nvidia Unix Drivers

On the download page, check that your card is su pported by the driver your about to download by using the following command;
Code:

echo -n “0x” && /sbin/lspci -nv |grep VGA|cut -f4 -d “:”|cut -f1 -d “(”

From the above output use the numbers from the output to look at the Supported Products List (link on the left) …

When I run that command (a simple cut and paste directly into a terminal), I get “0x0242.” I’m not sure what that number is supposed to mean, nor am I sure how to correlate it to the correct driver.

You also refer to a Supported Products List, “link on the left” … on this page? At the NVidia link that you provided? I don’t see any such link. (EDITED:) AHH! OK, on the DOWNLOADS page. You said that, I missed it! … :slight_smile:

Thanks for the reply, but in fact, I’ve already tried that, in detail. I’ve built the driver from scratch. Another Google search reveals that there MAY be some issues with NVidia’s current driver and my card on my AMD64 system. I’ll just wait for a while and see if I can get it working after NVidia updates the “Binary Blobs” again. (Gack, gag.)

And all I was saying above was, Suse should provide this info in a single, easy-located place. I don’t mind doing a little work to get video going, but the info contains inaccuracies, is incomplete, is misleading, and – as another posted mentioned above – is very likely to completely run off a novice user who’s trying Suse at the urging of a friend.

13

That number you got is the device ID for your Nvidia card. This avoids any confusions as to names, since many companies use Nvidia chips in their branded cards, and often come up with some creative, but confusing names for their products.

In Nvidia’s list of “Supported Products” you’ll see this number used.

14

Hi
Yup, that’s it, now if I look at the 177.82 it’s supported…


GeForce 6100 == 0x0242

I honestly believe using the ‘hard way’ is the ‘no grief’ way. I use
the same method for ubuntu as well and it works fine (except use gdm
stop/start instead of init 3/5)

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
openSUSE 11.1 x86 Kernel 2.6.27.7-4-default
up 2 days 17:35, 2 users, load average: 2.03, 0.81, 0.39
GPU GeForce 6600 TE/6200 TE - Driver Version: 177.82

15

That is simply wrong. New drivers do not require a new nvidia-xconfig. I’ve been using the same xorg for years now and use every single new release that comes out (including betas).

16

Hi
Yup, as noted in my frequent posts relating to nvidia drivers, I went
through two releases of SLED on my desktop and the only reason I ran
sax2 was installing a later card and then two new monitors… On
previous releases of openSUSE/SLED on this notebook I’ve only run sax2
after first install of the driver.

–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
openSUSE 11.1 x86 Kernel 2.6.27.7-4-default
up 2 days 18:53, 1 user, load average: 0.36, 0.15, 0.10
GPU GeForce 6600 TE/6200 TE - Driver Version: 177.82

17

Yeah, I figured out the correct driver, thanks to Malcolm. I also followed his instructions to the letter. The driver built successfully and NVidia’s installer finished with the usual “run sax2 if you have suse …” message. No errors were reported.

I decided to follow the instructions verbatim, NOT running nvidia-xconfig this time: I immediately ran sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia. It acted like it wanted to initialize (no errors), but once it started the X server and swapped me over to term 7, all I had was a blank, black screen. I gave it 10 minutes, then finally did CTRL-ALT-F1 back to term 1 and CTRL-C to kill sax2.

Once again, no error messages on term 1. “Sax will start his own X server if needed,” all the usual messages – no errors.

For kicks, I then tried init 5; black screen (totally expected, of course, but I figured, what the heck). I go back to runlevel 3 and run nvidia-xconfig, then try to run sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia. Black screen. Xinit: black screen. Startx: black screen. In all cases, the system logs showed no obvious errors. They reported that the nvidia module was loaded successfully.

The only possible exception was some warnings in the nvidia installer log about firewall issues. Not sure what those mean.

When I first installed Opensuse 11.1, the video worked fine, the resolution was just too high (an old problem that I’ve had with Suse for years; it ALWAYS wants to set the highest possible resolution without even asking). I tried lowering it in KDE by running Yast/Sax, it agreed to go to 1024x768 (which is my preference on this older monitor), but when I restarted X, I actually got 800x600.

I’ll just continue to use 10.2 or 10.3 for now (I can’t get 11.0 to work with my NVidia card, either; I gave up on it a while back).

Besides, I like Celestia, which requires 3D graphics. :slight_smile:

18

the original question though still stands.

Gefore 8800 GT (0x0611) is supported by 173.14.12 and the newer 177.82, they are listed in the repostery as G01 and G02).

G02 however does not work on Suse 11 from the repositry on my system while G01 does, what is a bit confusing in this is on who’s door do we knock ? from the info in the repositry Nvidia seems to point at Novell.

I will try a manual install in a bit and let you know the results.

19

well interestingly enough the manual compile of 177.82 works, thank you Malcome for perfect instruction.

but I know I am a pain in the @$$ :slight_smile: but does this not mean that the G02 in the repositry of suse 11 are wrong ?

20

small question to Malcome, if I want to try our the G01 and/or G02 from the repositry, should I uninstall the manual install ? if so what is the best way ? can’t find that info on NVIDIA - openSUSE. Or simply install G01 or G02 and it will overwrite the manual install ?