Dell Precision 5810 Setup

This page provides a summary of how to install OpenSUSE (Leap 42.1, Tumbleweed) on Dell Precision Tower 5810. As of early 2016, the Dell Precision Tower 5810 is the current standard workstation from our internal shop and it comes with a graphics card that works best with a proprietary driver.

BIOS Settings

1. Disable Secure Boot:

• Secure Boot > Secure Boot Enable, choose Disabled

2. Enable Legacy BIOS Boot:

• General > Boot Sequence > Boot List Options, choose Legacy
• General > Advanced Boot Options, enable Enable Legacy ROMs

OpenSUSE Leap 42.1

Installing OpenSUSE Leap 42.1

1. Boot from DVD
2. Disable KMS using [F3]
3. Choose Installation
4. For partitioning, use the Expert Partitioner
   1. Create a new MS-DOS partition table
   2. Create partitions as needed
5. Finish installation

After Installing openSUSE, Installing the NVIDIA Driver

1. Enable the NVIDIA repository: YaST > Software Repositories > Add Button, Community Repository, choose NVidia Graphics Drivers
2. Install the NVIDIA driver:

   # sudo zypper in nvidia-gfxG04-kmp-default

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed

Installing OpenSUSE Tumbleweed

1. Boot from DVD or USB drive
2. Choose Installation
3. For partitioning, use the Expert Partitioner
   1. Create a new MS-DOS partition table
   2. Create partitions as needed
4. Finish installation

After Installing openSUSE, Installing the NVIDIA Driver

Manually

1. Download driver from the NVIDIA driver site: http://www.NVIDIA.com/object/unix.html
2. Disable the nouveau driver:

   # echo "blacklist nouveau" >> /etc/modprobe.d/50-blacklist.conf && mkinitrd && reboot

1. Make sure gcc and kernel sources are installed, so that the NVIDIA installer can compile the kernel driver:

   # zypper install gcc kernel-source

1. Run NVIDIA installer

For more information, see SDB:NVIDIA the hard way.

Running System Kernel updates

When the kernel is updated you have to rerun the NVIDIA installer to make the driver work again. This can fail sometimes when the kernel has changed and the driver has not been updated yet. Some help on how to deal with that is in the openSUSE Forum thread What's the frustration factor in running Tumbleweed with NVIDIA proprietary drivers?.

Using the Bumblebee Repository

The Bumblebee Repository provides the latest NVIDIA modules via DKMS. Let DKMS rebuild the kernel modules on upgrades.

1. Add bumblebee

sudo zypper ar -f http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Bumblebee-Project:/nVidia:/latest/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/ Bumblebee

2. Install x11-video-nvidia

sudo zypper in x11-video-nvidia

3. Load NVIDIA modules early, create /etc/modules-load.d/nvidia.conf

   nvidia
   nvidia_modeset

4. Don't use wayland with gdm, uncomment in /etc/gdm/custom.conf

   WaylandEnable=false

5. Allow non-root to start x

sudo chmod o+s /usr/bin/Xorg