unable to make Nvidia drivers work.

[smk]

I am a Linux and Ubuntu newbie, and I appreciate any assitance that can be provided.

I am running Ubuntu Jaunty (9.04) server. Kernel 2.6.28-11.
With the ubuntu-desktop (gnome) installed
When I follow the instructions on this forum to install the 180.51 drivers, using
sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.51-pkg2.run

I get the message:"no precompiled kernel interface was found"

Then:
"No matching precompiled kernel was found on the NVIDIA ftp site that means that the installer will need to compile a kernel interface for your kernel:

Then it says:
"Unable to find the kernel source tree for the currently running kernel"

Then:
"Installation has failed."
The above is from the /var/log/nvidia-installer.log

I have also tried using the Ubuntu hardware drivers GUI, with no sucess.

Question 1:
are the NVIDIA drivers compatible with the Server kernel?

Question 2:
there is a pkg0, pkg1, and pkg2 driver file, what is the difference between them and which should be used when?

Question 3: Plea for help ;-)
I believe I followed all the instructions I have found on these forums and on the Ubuntu forums, I am probably making some beginner mistake. I have tried this multiple times and have even reinstalled the OS multiple times to ensure a clean system. Any and all assistance would be appreciated.

regards
smk

[Dizzle7677]

Just say 'No' to the precompiled thingymabob.

[Arup]

sudo apt-get install build essentials

Also make sure linux restricted modules are removed from synaptic via complete remove method.

[NvFuchs]

Originally Posted by smk

I am a Linux and Ubuntu newbie, and I appreciate any assitance that can be provided.

I am running Ubuntu Jaunty (9.04) server. Kernel 2.6.28-11.
With the ubuntu-desktop (gnome) installed
When I follow the instructions on this forum to install the 180.51 drivers, using
sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.51-pkg2.run

Do _not_ install the driver manually on Ubuntu unless you have good reasons to. There is a .deb package you can install without pain and which will work almost out of the box.

Just as a side question: Why do you need a graphical interface on a server, and even worse, why do you need a driver with 3D acceleration for it?

I get the message:"no precompiled kernel interface was found"

Then:
"No matching precompiled kernel was found on the NVIDIA ftp site that means that the installer will need to compile a kernel interface for your kernel:

Then it says:
"Unable to find the kernel source tree for the currently running kernel"

Then:
"Installation has failed."
The above is from the /var/log/nvidia-installer.log

I have also tried using the Ubuntu hardware drivers GUI, with no sucess.

Question 1:
are the NVIDIA drivers compatible with the Server kernel?

Yes, probably. The nvidia driver is compatible with almost every x86/x86_64er kernel unless it is a XEN or realtime kernel.

Question 2:
there is a pkg0, pkg1, and pkg2 driver file, what is the difference between them and which should be used when?

pkg0 is the plain driver, pkg1 features some precompiled kernel interfaces, pkg2 provides 32 bit compatibility libraries.

Question 3: Plea for help ;-)
I believe I followed all the instructions I have found on these forums and on the Ubuntu forums, I am probably making some beginner mistake. I have tried this multiple times and have even reinstalled the OS multiple times to ensure a clean system. Any and all assistance would be appreciated.

regards
smk

Please use the package provided by Ubuntu.

If you really need to install the driver manually, follow these instructions:

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=72490

carefully and step by step.

You have to install some additional packages, mainly the package providing the sources of your current kernel.

But as said, please use the .deb instead, if you really need the nvidia driver on a server. (And if it is not a server, why are you using the server kernel)

[smk]

Originally Posted by NvFuchs

Do _not_ install the driver manually on Ubuntu unless you have good reasons to. There is a .deb package you can install without pain and which will work almost out of the box.

So where do I find this .deb package and how do I install it?

Just as a side question: Why do you need a graphical interface on a server, and even worse, why do you need a driver with 3D acceleration for it?

a - as a newbie I wanted the GUI to help with configuration.
b screen is large and I want to configure for 1920x1200
c - not worried about 3D accelerations, just need full 2D for the screen and from reading the forums this seemed like the only way to fully take advantage of what my screen and video card can do.
d - This is my play system that I use to learn and experiment with things. --I am going to use Virtualbox to load multiple OSs, on the server, including, Ubuntu desktop, MS Windows server and desktop OSs.

Please use the package provided by Ubuntu.

Please explain in excruciating detail how I do this. I must have read 50 threads and none of the suggestions worked. (tks)

Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to additional details.
smk

[smk]

Originally Posted by Arup

sudo apt-get install build essentials

When I try this I get an error message:
"E: Counldn't find package build"
I tried it with build-essentials as well, I did find "build-essential" is that what you meant?

Also make sure linux restricted modules are removed from synaptic via complete remove method.

When you say Linux restricted modules, what exactly are you refering to? The NVIDIA provided "proprietary" drivers?

I am sure some of these questions are pretty basic, but I am fairly new to Linux and have spent most of my time in the world of MS. My goal with this system is to learn more about Linux, so please bear with me. :-)

How do I do this from the command line. ( I know how with the gui, but I have the gdm stopped.

[NvFuchs]

Originally Posted by smk

So where do I find this .deb package and how do I install it?

In the restricted repositories, usually.

As for the installation: The desktop version of Ubuntu has a GUI for installing restricted drivers, you can use it. I don't know whether this comes with the server version as well. If it doesn't, you can install those packages manually.

You have to activate the restricted repositories, then install the

linux-restricted-modules-*

package suited for your architecture, then the

nvidia-glx-new

package.


You can install packages with the "apt-get" command. As you need root privileges you'll have to call apt-get with sudo in front of it.

The syntax would be sudo apt-get install <package> (without the <> of course)


In fact I really recommend that you'll read the basics, especially if you plan to connect this server to the internet with open services. Otherwhise you might get a compromised machine.

Fuchs

[smk]

Originally Posted by NvFuchs

In the restricted repositories, usually.

As for the installation: The desktop version of Ubuntu has a GUI for installing restricted drivers, you can use it.

This was the first thing I tried and on reboot I got the error message "unable to load NVIDIA driver."

I don't know whether this comes with the server version as well. If it doesn't, you can install those packages manually.

The server version does not have the desktop by default, but when I installed it, the "hardware drivers" GUI tool was there. I could see the NVIDIA drivers version 180 and 173 but everything was grayed out. I could press activate but the dot to the left of the drivers description still showed grey. When I rebooted I was stuck in a debug,error state, where I had to tell it to boot in low resolution mode. See error above

You have to activate the restricted repositories, then install the

linux-restricted-modules-*

I belive I already had the restricted repositories activated via the GUI tool. But these modules were not installed. Installing now. OK, installed, what do I do next?

package suited for your architecture, then the

nvidia-glx-new

nvidia-glx-180 and nvida-glx-180-dev are both on my system. I am asssuming that the "-new" is the version of the drivers.

package.


You can install packages with the "apt-get" command. As you need root privileges you'll have to call apt-get with sudo in front of it.

The syntax would be sudo apt-get install <package> (without the <> of course)

In fact I really recommend that you'll read the basics, especially if you plan to connect this server to the internet with open services. Otherwise you might get a compromised machine.

I think I have the basic basics of Linux and Unix down, I know about sudo and terminal/file system navigation and configuring networking on Ubuntu. The system will be behind a hardware firewall and mostly used inside my home network.

additional related question:
Once I installed the Ubuntu desktop the system booted up into the X GUI by default. How can I configure it to boot to a command line so I can start and stop X manually.

I really appreciate your assistance here.
smk

[NvFuchs]

Originally Posted by smk

This was the first thing I tried and on reboot I got the error message "unable to load NVIDIA driver."

Good, because this is the point where you should stop, read the thread on how to report bug reports, execute sudo nvidia-bug-report.sh on a terminal and upload the file here.

You can install the package pastebinit to help you with that.

Because obviously something went wrong, and instead of trying different installation methods we should try to solve the problem you encountered.

additional related question:
Once I installed the Ubuntu desktop the system booted up into the X GUI by default. How can I configure it to boot to a command line so I can start and stop X manually.

I really appreciate your assistance here.
smk

You can take out gdm/kdm/xdm of your default runlevel.

You can either use a GUI for this, or the

sudo update-rc.d -f <initfilename> remove

command.

You find those files in /etc/init.d/, you are searching for either gdm, kdm or xdm.

Afterwards you can start them with

sudo /etc/init.d/<scriptname> start

from a console.

Fuchs

[smk]

Originally Posted by NvFuchs

Good, because this is the point where you should stop, read the thread on how to report bug reports, execute sudo nvidia-bug-report.sh on a terminal and upload the file here.

Because obviously something went wrong, and instead of trying different installation methods we should try to solve the problem you encountered.

OK, i started the GUI desktop and used the "hardware Drivers' GUI to attempt to activate the NV drivers. Nothing turned green which I think is what it should show if the driver is activated. Grey if not activated. Grey before and after.
I ran the log report tool before and after and saved and renamed the log files.
Do you want them uploaded to this thread? Does the Nv in your user name indicate you are with Nvidia?
I am writing this thread from a different system. I will upload the logs in a few min from the system in trouble.
Files attached now.
I will wait for your response before I reboot and get into error and low resolution mode.;
based on past experience when I reboot the error log will show unable to find or run the NVIDIA driver.
It is hard to use the GUI when stuck in 800x600 mode.

Thanks for your continued assistance.
smk

[NvFuchs]

Originally Posted by smk

OK, i started the GUI desktop and used the "hardware Drivers' GUI to attempt to activate the NV drivers. Nothing turned green which I think is what it should show if the driver is activated. Grey if not activated. Grey before and after.
I ran the log report tool before and after and saved and renamed the log files.
Do you want them uploaded to this thread?

Yes, please.

Does the Nv in your user name indicate you are with Nvidia?

No, not at all. My Nickname is usually "Fuchs" ((Swiss)german for fox), but it was taken. So I added Nv to the front. The official nvidia devs have the nvidia logo as avatar and "nvidia corp." (or similar) written under the nickname. (There are 3 or 4 of them in this forum)

I am writing this thread from a different system. I will upload the logs in a few min from the system in trouble.
Files attached now.
I will wait for your response before I reboot and get into error and low resolution mode.;
based on past experience when I reboot the error log will show unable to find or run the NVIDIA driver.
It is hard to use the GUI when stuck in 800x600 mode.

Thanks for your continued assistance.
smk

Unfortunately it is near midnight here, so I guess I'll answer tomorrow.

Kind regards

Fuchs

[smk]

Ok, sleep tight. Talk to you tomorrow. Should I create a new thread to report the possible bug?
smk