How to Solve nVidia Video Card Drivers Problems on Ubuntu 12.10

Ubuntu 12.10 has been released but immediately some users started to complain, and rightly so, because of a problem with the video card drivers. In particular, there seems to be a problem for all those who are in possession of some particular model of nVidia video card : it can happen, in fact, that the desktop does not appear after installing the driver experimental nvidia or even those owners . If you use the Open Source driver , however, everything runs smoothly.

must therefore fall back on the driver Open? It is said, there is a (rather more than one) solution to this problem and we will take back to below.

First solution

Press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + F1 to enter the emergency terminal. Log in with your username and password and type:

sudo apt-get install linux-source
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-3.5.0-17-generic

Now uninstall the current driver:

sudo apt-get remove nvidia-current

If it does not, try the command:

sudo apt-get remove nvidia-current-updates

or:

sudo apt-get remove nvidia-experimental-304

reinstalliamoli now (yes, it looks like a joke almost mockingly):

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current-updates

If everything is successful, type:

sudo shutdown-r now

And when you restart you should have solved!

Second solution

this solution is more immediate. Open the terminal of an emergency, press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + F1 and type:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings
sudo mv / etc/X11/xorg.conf / etc/X11/xorg.conf.old
sudo nvidia-xconfig

Now restart the whole typing:

sudo shutdown-r now

I beg you, so let us know if you have solved the problem!

Linux Lite 1.0.4

Jerry Bezencon has announced the release of Linux Lite 1.0.4, an Ubuntu-based distribution with a customised Xfce desktop: "Linux Lite 1.0.4 final for 32-bit processors with PAE support has been released. If you already have the CVF version installed, there is no immediate need to install this final version, just keep updating via Install Updates on the Menu. The only change of note is the updating of the Help & Support manual. Changelog: all system software updated; Firefox 18.0, added new default theme and icon set; added Steam for Linux (requires NVIDIA driver 304.22 or higher or ATI experimental drivers); added keyboard shortcuts information to the Help & Support manual; added open USB storage device in file manager on insert; added two new right-click menu options, Task Manager and Screenshot; replaced PCManFM with Thunar...." Here is the full release announcement with several screenshots. Download (MD5): linux-lite-1.0.4-32bit.iso (720MB).

Fuduntu 2013.1

Lee Ward has announced the release of Fuduntu 2013.1, a new build of the rolling-release distribution which features GNOME 2 as its default desktop: "Fuduntu 2013.1 released. For those with hardware that use proprietary drivers, one of the first things that will be noticed after install is Jockey, the program that checks hardware and presents the user with the proprietary driver(s) needed. An example of this would be graphics drivers for NVIDIA and AMD cards. Since we're on the topic of installation, we would like to point out that, by default, sudo is now enabled for all new installs. Another noticeable thing will be the new dock. Unfortunately, AWN is no longer being maintained upstream and there are several bugs that have been left open. In addition, AWN will no longer build against the latest glib. After much discussion, the team decided to migrate to the Cairo dock. This is now installed by default." Read the detailed release announcement for a complete list of new features. Download from SourceForge: Fuduntu-2013.1-x86_64-LiveDVD.iso (959MB, SHA1, torrent).

OpenELEC 3.0 Beta 2

Stephan Raue has announced the availability of the second beta of OpenELEC 3.0, a Linux-based embedded system built to run the XBMC entertainment media hub: "The OpenELEC team is proud to release the second beta of OpenELEC 3.0!. Internally this is known by the less-catchy name OpenELEC 2.95.2. This beta fixes some issues found in our beta 1 release, primarily fixing a non-working video output on our ATV builds. NVIDIA has decided to remove GeForce 6xxx and 7xxx support from newer drivers. For this beta we added NVIDIA's 304.64 driver as a legacy version for use with our ATV builds. Users who are using our generic builds together with GPUs older then GeForce 8xxx should switch to our Generic_OSS build or decide to change their graphic card to a newer model. Beta 2 also includes a new setting to change the amount of time before a hard disk goes into standby as well as some fixes for MCE compatible remotes." Here is the brief release announcement. Download (MD5): OpenELEC-ION.i386-2.95.2.tar.bz2 (104MB), OpenELEC-ION.x86_64-2.95.2.tar.bz2 (106MB).

Install NVIDIA 310.19 Linux Driver In Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13

Nvidia has released a new driver (310.19) for Linux platforms which brings major performance improvements and threaded OpenGL performance optimizations.

The driver's release notes haven't been published yet in the Nvidia website, but here are some of the changes in this release taken from Phoronix:

Configuring Stereo Support From NVIDIA Settings 

Configuring ViewPortIn and ViewPortOut From NVIDIA Settings 

Fixing The Meta-Mode Book-Keeping 

Configuring Rotation And Reflection Per Display Device

This boost in performance in Nvidia latest Linux drivers is the result of VALVE's move in porting its games to Linux.

Driver Installation

You can install the NVIDIA 310.19 Linux driver from PPA with these commands at your own risk under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa 

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

For manual installation, you can run these commands:

cd && wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47950494/upubuntu.com/nvidia-310.19 

chmod +x nvidia-310.19

Enter now CLI mode by pressing CTRL+ALT+F2, login and run these commands to complete the installation of the driver:

sudo service lightdm stop 

cd && sudo sh nvidia-310.19 

sudo reboot

To install the driver from Recovery Mode, check this article.

Nvidia wakes up Performance Doubled for Games on Linux!

Linus Torvalds as we all know by now is the one who started our adventure by Linux old-timers, nothing less than the ‘ inventor of the Linux kernel. The evolution of the system operation has progressed hand by hand, but there is a manufacturer that Torvalds just does not go down: we’re talking about nVidia, one of leading manufacturers of GPU (you remember the umbrella gesture that Torvalds, in no uncertain terms, he turned the company?)
Well, perhaps it was just that, perhaps it was the ‘ advent of Steam on Linux might have been about countless loss precisely because the lack of support for the operating system of penguins but we arrived … time to nVidia have a breakthrough, but this time, it seriously. According to a post appeared on the official website of nVidia the performances of the video driver R310 (current version 310.14) would be significantly increased compared to the last series, the 304, there is even talk of a doubling of the speed of running and a drastic reduction in load times for games . Everything tested using Steam for Linux. Here’s what we read on the official website of nVidia:


Into NVIDIA today-announced the latest NVIDIA ® GeForce ® drivers – R310 – double the performance (1) and dramatically reduce game loading times for Those gaming on the Linux operating system.
The result of almost a year of development by NVIDIA, Valve and other game developers, the new GeForce R310 drivers are designed to give GeForce customers the best possible Linux-based PC gaming experience – and showcase the enormous potential of the world’s biggest open- source operating system.

Into (1) Comparing performance of 142.7 fps driver 304.51 versus 310.14 driver performance of 301.4 fps in beta build of Left for Dead 2. All tests run on the same system using Intel Core i7-3930K CPU@3.20GHz with 8 GB memory, GeForce GTX 680 and Ubuntu 4.12 32-bit.

Well well well, it will be yet another false start or nVidia, a little ‘for Linus and a bit’ for the advent of Steam on Linux, this time really want to put the effort?

Install Nvidia Driver 304.64 In Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13

In this tutorial, we will see how to install Nvidia driver 304.64 in Ubuntu/Linux Mint from PPA and manually via .run files. This latest driver has added support for the following GPUs:

•     VGX K1
•     VGX K2

Here are what have been fixed in this driver:

Fixed a regression in backlight control functionality on some notebook configurations. 

Fixed a performance issue with recent Linux kernels when allocating and freeing system memory. 

Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented the display device / X screen selection menu from being displayed in nvidia-settings. 

Fixed a bug that prevented X driver gamma manipulation from working after a VT-switch on some configurations.

Added the option "--output-file" to nvidia-bug-report.sh to allow specifying a custom filename for the log file.

Fixed a hang when using OpenGL programs with some SLI Mosaic configurations on pre-Fermi GPUs. 

Added sections to the "Supported NVIDIA GPU Products" list for NVS, Tesla, and VGX products.

PPA Installation (Not Updated So Far)

To install Nvidia driver 304.64 in Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.04 or Linux Mint 13, run these commands from the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa 

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

Manual Installation

To install the driver manually, follow these instructions:

- Open the terminal and run these commands:

cd && wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47950494/upubuntu.com/nvidia-304-64 

chmod +x nvidia-304-64

- Press now CTRL+ALT+F2 to enable CLI mode and enter your login credentials. Next, run these commands to download and install the driver:

sudo service lightdm stop 

cd && sudo sh nvidia-304.64 

sudo reboot

You can also see this article if you want to install the driver via Recovery Mode.

Install Nvidia Driver 304.60 In Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13

The Nvidia driver 304.60 has been released recently in the Nvidia website. In this tutorial we will help you install it in Ubuntu/Linux Mint. For Ubuntu 12.10  (Quantal Quetzal), the PPA given below doesn't support it so far, but you can install the driver manually as shown below.

 Here are the changes and bug fixes in this latest release:

    Fixed a bug that caused the X server to crash if a display was put into DPMS off mode and subsequently reenabled while screen transformations are in use.

    Fixed a bug that caused the X Resize and Rotate extension to be enabled when Xinerama is enabled. These two X extensions are incompatible and having them both enabled can confuse window managers such as KDE's kwin. RandR is now correctly disabled when Xinerama is enabled.

    Fixed a bug causing OpenGL stereo applications to not work properly when using passive stereo modes 5 through 9 on Quadro Fermi and newer GPUs.

    Updated nvidia-settings to report Dedicated GPU Memory (i.e., the memory dedicated exclusively to the GPU) and Total GPU Memory (i.e., Dedicated GPU Memory plus any TurboCache(TM)-accessible system memory) separately on the GPU information page.

    Added reporting of the current utilization of Dedicated GPU Memory to the GPU information page of nvidia-settings.

    Added support for the "Backlight" RandR output property for configuring the brightness of some notebook internal panels.

    Fixed a bug that prevented the Ubuntu Unity launcher panel from unhiding: https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/1057000

    Fixed a bug that caused nvidia-installer to sometimes attempt to write a log file in a nonexistent directory.

    Fixed a bug that caused incorrect input transformation after resizing an NVIDIA X screen with xserver ABI 12 (xorg-server 1.12) or newer.

    Fixed a bug that caused GLX to leak memory when Xinerama is enabled.

Driver Installation (Latest Long Lived Branch version: 304.60)

To install from x-swat PPA for Ubuntu 12.04/Linux Mint 13 or older, run these commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

Or install manually with these instructions for Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal):

1. Open the terminal and download this file with these commands:

cd && wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47950494/upubuntu.com/nvidia-304-60

chmod +x nvidia-304-60

2. Press CTRL+ALT+F3 to enable CLI mode, log in using your username and password, then kill the Xserver with this command:

 sudo service lightdm stop

3. Start the installation of the Nvidia driver 304.60 with this command:

cd && sudo sh nvidia-304-60

4. When the installation is complete, run this command to reboot your system:

sudo reboot

Note: You may also use these instructions to install the driver in GUI mode without the need to kill the Xserver.

You can also check this tutorial which explains how to install the Nvidia driver in Recovery Mode.

Install Nvidia Driver 304.51 On Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13

Nvidia Driver 304.51 for Linux is now available for download from the Nvidia website which brings more bug fixes, improvements and long support until 2017. The driver adds support for Quadro Sync board for Quadro Kepler GPUs. Here are the full changes in this latest release:

Fixed an X server crash on X.Org xserver 1.13 when it is compiled without support for DRI2.
Fixed a regression that broke color controls on older X servers.
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the display layout area of the nvidia-settings control panel to be laid out incorrectly.
Fixed a bug that prevented panning from working correctly after a modeswitch on some X servers with support for cursor constraining.
Gamma ramp and colormap adjustments now apply correctly when screen transformations such as rotation and keystone correction are in use.
Fixed RandR per-CRTC gamma persistence across modeswitches and VT-switches.
Fixed a bug that caused the X server to sometimes hang in response to input events.
Fixed a reduction in rendering performance for core X11 rendering on certain GPUs that occurred in the 290.series of releases.
Fixed a bug that prevented PowerMizer from working correctly on some boards with GDDR5 memory, such as some GeForce GT 240 SKUs.
Fixed a bug that caused OpenGL applications to not animate properly when a rotation or a transformation was applied on some older X server versions.
Enabled FXAA with Unified Back Buffers.
Fixed a bug that prevented the "Reset Hardware Defaults" button in the Display Settings page of nvidia-settings from being activated.

Driver Installation

   1. Automatic Installation (PPA Installation)

To install Nvidia Driver 304.51 from PPA, open the terminal and run the following commands for Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.10 or Linux Mint 13/12:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

   2. Manual Installation 

If you want to install Nvidia Driver 304.51 manually from *.run files, you can simply follow these instructions for both i386 or amd64 platforms:

- Press CTRL+ALT+F1 and enter your login credentials.

- Kill now the Xserver with this command:

sudo service lightdm stop

- Install now the driver with these commands:

cd /tmp

wget -c  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47950494/upubuntu.com/nvidia-304-51

chmod +x nvidia-304-51

sudo sh nvidia-304-51

Then follow setup instructions. If the driver is well installed, you can exit Xserver and return to GUI mode with this command:

startx

Finally, reboot your system to apply the new changes. If you find problems installing the Nvidia drivers using these methods, you can try to install it using Recovery Mode as described here.

How To Install Nvidia Drivers Using Recovery Mode Under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.10/Linux Mint 13

If you find troubles installing the latest Nvidia driver on your system in normal mode or having graphics related problems (black screen with white flashing underscore, for example), you can try to install the Nvidia driver via Recovery Mode as described below.

Nvidia graphics problems may not be solved for all users after using this method because it depends on the hardware and software used (graphics card model, kernel version, etc.).

Getting Started

To enter in Recovery Mode under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.10 and Linux Mint 13 or older, reboot your system and hold down the SHIFT key to bring up the GRUB boot menu. When it shows up, select the line saying "Ubuntu... (recovery mode)" and press Enter:

For Linux Mint, select " Linux Mint ... --recovery ...":

Wait a few seconds and another menu will appear. Select "network Enable networking" using your keyboard Down arrow key  and press Enter to enable your internet connection:

In the next screen, select Yes and press Enter:

Select now "root Drop to root shell prompt" and press Enter:

You are now in CLI mode, update your system firstly using these two commands:

sudo apt-get update

 sudo apt-get upgrade

Install now the latest Nvidia driver (currently version 304.43) from PPA using this sequence of commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

When you finish the driver installation, exit from Recovery Mode using this command:

exit

Then select "Resume normal  boot" to start your system in normal mode. I hope you find this tutorial useful.

Install Nvidia Driver 304.43 On Ubuntu 12.04/11.10/Linux Mint 13

Nvidia has released another driver for Linux systems that brings more new features and improvements. Nvidia driver 304.43 adds support for the following GPUs:

• GeForce GTX 660 Ti
• Quadro K5000
• Quadro K5000M
• Quadro K4000M
• Quadro K3000M
• NVS 510

Here are also what have been added and fixed in this latest version:

Fixed a bug that caused pre-release versions of X.Org xserver 1.13 to crash when certain GLX operations were performed, such as when starting Firefox.
Fixed a bug that caused VDPAU to hang when expanding the YouTube Flash Player.
Fixed a bug that caused gnome-settings-daemon to revert display configuration changes made by nvidia-settings.
Updated nvidia-settings to use RandR per-CRTC gamma control, when available. When controlling an X server with support for RandR 1.2, nvidia-settings will display the color correction widget as a tab within each display device page, instead of a per-X screen color correction page.
Fixed a bug that prevented the display palette from being updated immediately after an application called XStoreColors.
Added the ability to select and move X screens in the "X Server Display Configuration" page of nvidia-settings via Ctrl-(Left)Click + Drag.

You can check the release notes here.

Nvidia Driver 304.43 Installation

To install this driver on Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.10/Linux Mint 13 or older, open the terminal and run these commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

Then reboot your computer to finish the installation.

Manual Installation

If you want to install the driver manually on Ubuntu or any other Linux system, open the terminal and run these commands:

- i386/32-bit

cd /tmp

wget -O NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.43.run http://goo.gl/7idWP

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.43.run

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.43.run

- amd64/64-bit

cd /tmp

wget -O NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.43.run http://goo.gl/InVt5

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.43.run

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.43.run

PCLinuxOS 2012.08

PCLinuxOS 2012.08, a new version of the project's easy-to-use Linux-based operating system for x86 desktops or laptops, has been released: "PCLinuxOS KDE and KDE MiniME 2012.08 are now available for download. These are 32-bit quarterly update ISO images which can also be installed on 64-bit computers. Features: Linux kernel 3.2.18.2bfs for maximum desktop performance; full KDE 4.8.3 desktop; NVIDIA and ATI fglrx driver support; multimedia playback support for many popular formats; wireless support for many network devices; printer support for many local and networked printer devices; addlocale allows you to convert PCLinuxOS into over 60 languages; LibreOffice manager can install LibreOffice supporting over 100 languages; MyLiveCD allows you to take a snapshot of your installation and burn it to a live CD/DVD...." See the distribution's download page for more information about this version. Download: pclinuxos-kde-2012.08.iso (868MB, MD5).

Manjaro Linux 0.8.0

Philip Müller has announced the release of Manjaro Linux 0.8.0, a user-friendly desktop distribution based on Arch Linux and featuring the latest Xfce desktop: "We are proud to announce our default Manjaro edition featuring Xfce 4.10, Linux kernel 3.4.9, X.Org 7.6 with X.Org Server 1.12.3 and GCC 4.7.1. Manjaro Linux targets beginners and advanced users at the same time. We provide user interface tools and scripts to make life easier. Manjaro supports NVIDIA's Optimus technology out of the box. You can choose between Nouveau/Intel or NVIDIA/Intel drivers combination. Manjaro hardware detection tool will configure your graphic cards automatically and with help of Bumblebee bbswitch it is possible to switch to your desired graphic mode." Here is the release announcement. Download (MD5): manjaro-xfce-0.8.0-i686.iso (633MB), manjaro-xfce-0.8.0-x86_64.iso (692MB). Separate editions showcasing the GNOME 3 desktop with the Cinnamon shell and KDE 4.8.4 are also available.

How To Install Nvidia Unix Driver 304.37 In Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13

Another stable version of the Nvidia driver for Linux has been made available recently fixing many bugs and adding support for more GPUs which are as follows:

• GeForce GTX 680M
• Quadro K1000M
• Quadro K2000M
• Tesla K10

You can check here what have been fixed and added in this latest release. In this tutorial we will show you how to install Nvidia Unix Driver 304.37 under Ubuntu/Linux Mint. For other Linux distributions, not supporting PPA installation, you can install the driver manually as described below.

Nvidia Unix Driver 304.37 Installation

Open the terminal under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.10/Linux Mint 13 or older and install the Nvidia driver with these commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

Then reboot your system to finish the installation. For manual installation, you can follow these instructions:

• 32-bit/i386 systems:

cd /tmp

wget -O NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.37.run http://goo.gl/qUAr2

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.37.run

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.37.run

• 64-bit/amd 64 systems:

cd /tmp

wget -O NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.37.run http://goo.gl/iqLyE

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.37.run

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.37.run

Install Nvidia Unix Driver 304.32 On Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/Linux Mint 13

Nvidia has recently released driver 304.32 for Uninx-based systems which fixes a critical vulnerability that allows local users to have root access on your system. In this page, we will help you install Nvidia driver 304.32 on Ubuntu and Linux Mint via PPA. For other systems, you can install the driver manually as shown below.

Linux Display Driver 304.32 Installation

Open the terminal and install Nvidia Unix driver 304.32 under Ubuntu 12.10/12.04/11.10 or Linux Mint 13 or older with these commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

For other Linux systems not supporting installation via PPA, you can install the driver with the following commands:

     Linux 32-bit/i386:

cd /tmp

wget -O NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.32.run http://goo.gl/Q8Wg7

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.32.run

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.32.run

     Linux 64-bit/amd64:

cd /tmp

wget -O NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run http://goo.gl/wCSXF

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-304.32.run

To finish the installation, you need to restart your computer.

Nvidia Fixes Exploit and Updates Drivers for Linux

Nvidia was confronted with a problem last week when a famous X hacker reported the existence of a dangerous exploit in its binary driver. The company has issued a statement and a new set of drivers.

Nvidia has acknowledged the problem, a security exploit that uses NVIDIA UNIX device files to map and program registers to redirect the VGA window, and has managed to plug the leak quite fast.

“We are resolving this problem by blocking user-space access to registers that control redirection of the VGA window. Further, NVIDIA is also blocking user-space access to registers that control GPU-internal microcontrollers, which could be used to achieve a similar exploit”, said the company in a short communique.

The older 295 release series will be updated soon, and additionally, a patch to the kernel interface layer of the NVIDIA kernel module is available, which can be used to patch older drivers.


Download Nvidia Linux Display Driver 304.32

Nvidia Binary Exploit Gives Root Access on Linux

Nvidia is reported to have a dangerous exploit in its binary driver and it seems that is doing nothing to fix the situation or even acknowledge it.

In a mailing list post, Dave Airlie, a well known X hacker, has reported that a bug in the Nvidia binary would grant a user root access. He says the information has been passed to him anonymously, but the source is to be trusted.

“It basically abuses the fact that the /dev/nvidia0 device accept changes to the VGA window and moves the window around until it can read/write to somewhere useful in physical RAM, then it just does an priv escalation by writing directly to kernel memory.” - said Dave Airlie.

Nvidia has some problems with its drivers before, and even recently, Linus Thorvalds gave them the finger, literally. This is not good news for the video card manufacturer. The only way out of this is to provide a fix as quickly as possible.