NVIDIA/The hard way

From openSUSE

Current revision

This is for those that want to have the latest NVIDIA drivers, and are not afraid to recompile driver after each kernel update. Or have updated your kernel from the DVD default version.

Prerequisites

• compiler gcc,
• program make
• package kernel-source
• package kernel-syms
• 11.2
  • package kernel-desktop-devel

If you don't have them installed you can do it using YaST.

--Specific instructions for installing kernel-source-- Login to Console and type: "su", enter your root password, then, "yast". Under software, go into Software Management, and Press F2 (Search). Search "kernel-source". Select the module and press enter. There will now be a "+" in front of it. Press F10. It'll install. Press F9 a few times to exit Yast.

Note: It is wise to run an update after installing the kernel-source, to make sure that the kernel-source version is matching with the default kernel. If not, the NVIDIA script gives an error that it can not find the kernel headers.

Prepare kernel source

cd /usr/src/linux
make cloneconfig
make prepare

Download NVIDIA Drivers

First of all, if you tried using the script then you can find the NVIDIA installer package in /usr/share/doc/nvidia If the installer package is not there go to NVIDIA Download Page, and get the latest drivers for your computer.

Installation

If you are in runlevel 5, go to runlevel 3 by typing the following command as root in one of the consoles (which you can access by pressing ctrl-alt-f1 [f1 up to f6])

init 3

Now go to the directory containing the drivers.

cd /usr/share/doc/nvidia

or

cd /the/path/where/you/saved/the/drivers/from/nvidia/website

Now simply type the following and follow instructions

sh NVIDIA-Linux-<arch>-<version>-<build>-<pkg#>.run -q

Configure X.org

In opensuse 11.1 run

nvidia-xconfig

this will make necessary changes to xorg.conf file to start using the nvidia driver.

Note: This does not seem to be required for v177.68 on opensuse 11.0 as it is done in the installer.
The next step is to configure the X.org to use the new nvidia drivers. To do this, type the following

sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia

Sax2 will start it's configuration program in X. You can do more tweaking here, but this is your option. With 10.0 you won't need to specify -m 0=nvidia any more, sax automatically detects and uses it if you activate 3D acceleration.

Example: openSUSE 10.2 and earlier

Check prerequisites:

rpm -q gcc kernel-source make

If gcc, make, kernel-source or kernel-syms is missing install now with YaST.

Choose and download *.run script: http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk

Leave X-Window System / Shift down runlevel:

init 3

Start *.run script: (guided procedure)

sh /[script path]/[script name].run -q

X-Window Setup:

sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia

Return to X-Window System / Shift up runlevel:

init 5

Legacy chipset support

SUSE 10.0, 10.1 and openSUSE 10.2 support all NVIDIA chipsets, including the legacy via the open source "nv" driver, which unfortunately means degraded performance because it has no 3D acceleration. In order to enable accelerated 3D support on these cards via the closed source driver from NVIDIA.

For you convenience here is a complete list for all 3 branches (new unified, legacy 1.0-96xx and old legacy 1.0-71xx):

• List of supported chips by driver

It can be used for orientation in which category is your chipset or graphic card.

NOTE: Nvidia is still maintaining drivers and releasing newer versions with bug fixes. It is impossible to put one link here that will be accurate for a long. To download latest drivers visit:

• http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html

and using knowledge from list of supported chipsets select driver that is appropriate for you chipset.

Prior to installing the NVIDIA driver you have to shut down the X server. The easiest way to do this is to switch to the Linux console by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 and logging in as root. Then type

init 3

To install the driver run downloaded file, for instance:

sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-7185-pkg0.run

Once the driver has been successfully installed, take a look at /etc/X11/xorg.conf to make sure that the "nvidia" driver is being used instead of the opensource "nv" driver. To see whether the X server is able to start up, type X on the console and press Enter. You should see the NVIDIA logo on a white screen. To quit the X server hit Ctrl+Alt+Backspace. If you've gotten this far successfully, you can safely switch to runlevel 5. Type in the following on the command line

init 5; exit