NVIDIA driver installation
Being loyal Ubuntu user, earlier or later you will meet with such scenario:
you’ve bought powerful NVIDIA graphics card, inserted it into your PC box and tried to boot Ubuntu. What’s the <censored>?! Your new graphic card isn’t recognized by your loving Ubuntu box. It just hasn’t suitable driver package for this modern hardware. You can get this or similar message from Ubuntu during boot process then:
“Ubuntu is running in low-graphics mode.
The following error was encountered,
You may need to update your configuration to solve this.
(EE) NVIDIA: Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module…“.
What to do? There is the decision. I tested following instructions on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid):
– Continue boot process and select “Run Ubuntu in low graphics mode for just one session” from the dialog window that should appear on the screen. Ubuntu will load with low graphic resolution using standard VGA driver.
– Go to NVIDIA dowloads page and download the latest driver for you graphics card.
NVIDIA driver download
Do not forget select Linux 32 or 64 bit (what you really have) as your operating system. NVIDIA’s site selects Windows OS by default.
– 1st time when I met with this scenario, that is just changed my video card, I followed instructions from this Ubuntu’s forum thread. That method worked for me and saved me a lot of time for investigation and searching for right decision.
-If you met with such scenario not first time, let’s say, after next Linux kernel update installation, there is no need to make those sophisticated steps on your system again. Just download the latest NVIDIA driver, select “Exit to terminal (Exit to console)” option in the dialog window after NVIDIA driver load error message, go to directory where you saved NVIDIA driver file and run command, e.g.:
sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-285.05.09.run
or just
sudo NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-285.05.09.run
if you set execution permission for this file already.
NVIDIA driver installation is not just package unpacking script, it is the interactive application smart enough to solve your problem. As I run it in text terminal mode I have not screenshots (may be I make a video with CANON video-camera next time I will update driver), so I will just describe the NVIDIA driver installation script execution and my interaction with it:
1) Accept license agreement – Yes;
2) Uninstall already installed drivers – Yes;
3) Building kernel modul – Auto;
4) Install NVIDIA’s 32-bit compatibility OpenGL libraries? – Yes
I’ve got an error message here about a file which is not the symbolic link and that I used other driver installation, e.g. from OS built-in packages, but script will try to make the best to uninstall it. And according to result it made its job correctly.
5) Installing driver – Auto;
6) Would you like to run nvidia-xconfig utility to automatically update your X configuration file so the NVIDIA X driver will be used when you restat X? – Yes.
7) Installation complete – OK.
After next boot I got absolutely working system with max graphics resolution my monitor supports.
Good Luck!
Please share with us if tried it and it is enough just execute NVIDIA’s driver installation script from text terminal without any other preparations steps (e.g. uninstalling previously installed driver, changing black list, etc.) to install the latest NVIDIA graphics driver?
11th, November, 2011
I just checked it. After recent Linux kernel update from 2.6.32.34 to 2.6.32.35 I did nothing except boot with last kernel to console and run NVIDIA’s driver installation script. It was re-installed successfully without any troubles and I’ve got the working system again.
