KDE 9 amd64 Stable nVidia driver problem. (solved)

[shu48]

According to the specs for my 19 inch CRT, it's top resolution is 1600 x 1200 at 75Hz. I want to use 1280 x 1024. I went into Nvidia settings as root either of those two resolutions are available in the Nvidia settings. I have on-board graphics GeForce 6150 (nforce 430). I don't even mind sticking at 1024 x 768 but I would really like to get rid of this flicker.

[Old Ruler]

See if you can change the refresh rate in System Settings - Hardware - Display and Monitor - Size and Orientation - Refresh.

[ferro]

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=54312

that post has the steps I used for this problem AND fix the splash screen on startup/shutdown

In addition, you can run 'xrandr -q' to see which modes are currently available

[djk]

This is all well and good, but, remember that the average computer user who wants to try or use Mint has no idea how to edit grub. This should be taken care of in the background so the user can just use the Hardware Driver route for installing and activating the NVidia drivers.

[ferro]

I won't argue against that. I guess for now novice users will just have to deal with all of us. Of course, the average computer user still doesn't seem to know what Linux is.

[Nick_Djinn]

I think a lot more novices are using linux now than before, so I dont think that expecting every Linux user to be a hacker is going to cut it anymore, though I think it remains a good choice for hackers.

[linuxnut69]

this worked perfectly !!!!!! thank you for your hard work.

Based on advice posted by newkdemintuser I managed to activate nVidia proprietary driver. Step by step:

0) Linux Mint 9 Isadora, KDE edition

1) sudo aptitude update

2) sudo aptitude full-upgrade

3) Reboot
- this step install new kernel (2.6.32-24) and new xserver-xorg-core
- results:
Boot splash shows only 5 dots, not the pretty Mint logo.
PC boots into kernel 3.6.32-24, grub gives no choice to boot other installed kernels.
Linux headers 2.6.32-24 are NOT INSTALLED. See the next step.

4) Use aptitude to install linux-headers-2.6.32-24
How to do this:
run sudo aptitude, type 'l', type 'headers', press Enter, find linux-headers-2.6.32-24, type +, type g, type g).
- results:
aptitude displays among other things:
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/dkms 2.6.32-24-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/header_postinst.d/nvidia-common 2.6.32-24-generic /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic

5) Launch "Hardware Drivers" (jockey-kde).
NVIDIA proprietary current driver is reported as active. I did not check if nvidia or nouveau were running at this point. So if you have Desktop Effects working you are done! Check if the /var/log/Xorg.0.log lists "nouveau" or "nvidia". If it lists nvidia, you are done.

6) Remove the nVidia driver in "Hardware Drivers".

7) Reboot
- result: splash screen has the nice Mint logo
- lsmod displays "nouveau" and does not display "nvidia"

Run Launch "Hardware Drivers". Choose NVIDIA proprietary driver "current". Click "Activate".

9) Reboot
- results:
Boot splash shows only 5 dots, not the pretty Mint logo.
nVidia driver is working! Check if the /var/log/Xorg.0.log lists "nouveau" or "nvidia". If it lists nvidia, you are done.