Install Nvidia proprietary drivers in LinuxMint UPDATED 2014

[carsten888]

I got a nvidia GTX 765M and an integrated intel. Where to go from here?

I tried step 1. sudo service mdm stop and screen went black.

[kraghot]

Any advice on properly installing the drivers if you have the "optimus" hybrid configuration? I've been trying for a long time and I just can't get the drivers to work.

[mweishaa]

I got a nvidia GTX 765M and an integrated intel. Where to go from here?

I tried step 1. sudo service mdm stop and screen went black.

Did you read all of the steps before doing step 1? (including the part where you go to a console via CTRL-ALT-F1)

[carsten888]

I got a nvidia GTX 765M and an integrated intel. Where to go from here?

I tried step 1. sudo service mdm stop and screen went black.

Did you read all of the steps before doing step 1? (including the part where you go to a console via CTRL-ALT-F1)

yes.

[mweishaa]

I got a nvidia GTX 765M and an integrated intel. Where to go from here?

I tried step 1. sudo service mdm stop and screen went black.

Did you read all of the steps before doing step 1? (including the part where you go to a console via CTRL-ALT-F1)

yes.

Well, in looking back in this thread, I don't think that was anyone's "step 1". In what I did, it was step 3.
But stopping mdm will make your display manager screen go blank, it stops the display manager. That is why you exeucute it from the console.
Did you go any further, attempt to install the new driver, etc?

[carsten888]

I tried step 1. sudo service mdm stop and screen went black.

ahum, that actually was step 5.

Did you go any further, attempt to install the new driver, etc?

no because I could not see anything as the screen went black.
I tried to skip step five and go straight to the install, but that did not work. I figured that if the current fallback is on the intel driver, maybe as the other driver is not active, I didn't need to deactivate it to install the new driver. (I'm just a newbe)

[mweishaa]

ahum, that actually was step 5.

Not in the steps I did, which I posted about halfway down the first page of the thread. That's why I said "in what I did".

Did you go any further, attempt to install the new driver, etc?

no because I could not see anything as the screen went black.
I tried to skip step five and go straight to the install, but that did not work. I figured that if the current fallback is on the intel driver, maybe as the other driver is not active, I didn't need to deactivate it to install the new driver. (I'm just a newbe)

No problems on being a newbie... Linux can sometimes make anyone feel like that.
So I'll get really basic then.
The screen that was running your desktop should go black, but if your console went black I am not sure.
Sorry to beat this dead horse... but you were on your desktop, with firefox, a terminal, whatever... and you downloaded the driver and saved it somewhere. Then, while on your desktop, you pressed CTRL+ALT+F1 (at the same time)? That should have taken you to a text terminal, where you logged in, and stopped mdm?
With mdm stopped, if you then went back to where your desktop was by pressing CTRL-ALT-F8, you would have seen a black screen.

But... you said the fallback was on your intel driver... so you have integrated graphics as well as an nvidia card that you're trying to update the drivers for. Is your monitor plugged into the nvidia card or the integrated port? Maybe you could describe your video setup, version of Mint, driver, etc.

[carsten888]

you pressed CTRL+ALT+F1 (at the same time)? That should have taken you to a text terminal, where you logged in, and stopped mdm?

thats what I did. pressed CTRL+ALT+F1 (at the same time) logged in and after entered 'sudo service mdm stop' I hit enter and all went black.

so you have integrated graphics as well as an nvidia card that you're trying to update the drivers for

yes. well I only need to install the driver for nvidia, as the intel seems to work fine. This is on a laptop, so can't really see anything plugged in

This is on mint cinnamon 16. I did the extra install of the mate desktop yesterday, so now I at least got one stable system, but I much rather have cinnamon. No problems on mate at all. If I do 'lspci -nn | grep VGA' while logged in in a mate session, I also get the intel card in the result. So mate is not using my nvidia card either. When in mate, I opened the driver manager, but no driver suggestions at all.

[mweishaa]

you pressed CTRL+ALT+F1 (at the same time)? That should have taken you to a text terminal, where you logged in, and stopped mdm?

thats what I did. pressed CTRL+ALT+F1 (at the same time) logged in and after entered 'sudo service mdm stop' I hit enter and all went black.

so you have integrated graphics as well as an nvidia card that you're trying to update the drivers for

yes. well I only need to install the driver for nvidia, as the intel seems to work fine. This is on a laptop, so can't really see anything plugged in

This is on mint cinnamon 16. I did the extra install of the mate desktop yesterday, so now I at least got one stable system, but I much rather have cinnamon. No problems on mate at all. If I do 'lspci -nn | grep VGA' while logged in in a mate session, I also get the intel card in the result. So mate is not using my nvidia card either. When in mate, I opened the driver manager, but no driver suggestions at all.

AH... laptop eh? I run on a desktop so don't really have any hands-on with hybrid graphics. You might want to check out vgaswitcheroo or bumblebee. I've only heard of them, and there may be some other better option out there. Or perhaps someone else here will have some advice.

[welder]

My graphic card is NVIDIA Go FX5200 and I have problem with nvidia-173 driver. Mint 16 Petra MATE, clean install. With previous version (15) no issue with this at all. When try to install it from Driver Manager, after restart, became black screen. When try to install script from text mode (without mdm loaded), became error in module or something else and installation process has been aborted. I try to upgrade kernel with new version (latest for few days ago - 3.13.2), but no change - all is the same. Nouveau driver working, but very laggy and after few minutes system freeze and became unresponsive. Now i use old and outdated Windows XP.

[carsten888]

I got an integrated intel card and a nvidia 765M. (as posted above)

When I did CTRL+ALT+F1 (at the same time) after entered 'sudo service mdm stop' I hit enter and all went black. So I figured maybe I don;t need to kill the display manager as I'm installing a driver for a device which is not in use anyway. So I went straight for the install
sudo sh n.run
it seemed to be doing something, unpacking and then a lot of --------'s in the terminal, then this:

exit.png

Does this mean I got to exit linux before I can install? How to install without Linux? Is there some graphic-driver-installer-distro that can be run from cd?

After 'ok' it tells me it made a log from this error. This is in the log:

nvidia-installer log file '/var/log/nvidia-installer.log'
creation time: Mon Feb 24 15:35:06 2014
installer version: 331.49

PATH: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

nvidia-installer command line:
./nvidia-installer

Using: nvidia-installer ncurses user interface
-> The file '/tmp/.X0-lock' exists and appears to contain the process ID '1509' of a runnning X server.
ERROR: You appear to be running an X server; please exit X before installing. For further details, please see the section INSTALLING THE NVIDIA DRIVER in the README available on the Linux driver download page at http://www.nvidia.com.

[mweishaa]

From your screenshot, you are trying to run it in a terminal app on your desktop... the Xserver has to be stopped to install the driver. That is why you have to go to the console with CTRL-ALT-F1. You can't install it with the Xserver/display manager running.

[roblm]

carsten888,

As mweishaa said, you always need to stop the X server in tty1 with the command “sudo service mdm stop” before trying to
install a video driver from the Nvidia website. The next time you get the black screen just try pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 again. I've
seen that message “You appear to be running an X server” even after stopping the mdm service. If that happens then you will
need to open the file manager and look in the /tmp directory for “X0-lock” files. Right click on the /tmp directory and select
“Open as Root” and then delete those files. You may need to reboot before entering tty1 again.

However, it appears you have hybrid graphics so you can't install the Nvidia driver this way. You will need to install Bumblebee
first. Check this link:
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... us#p725173

welder,

I just experienced the same black screen problem as you did while testing a Mint 16 installation. I had added the PPA
xorg-edgers to get the latest Nvidia driver first. Then the nvidia-331 driver appeared in Driver Manager. After installation
I got a black screen. I was able to enter tty1 by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1. I then removed the driver with this command:
sudo apt-get remove nvidia-331
I also typed this command to remove any “xorg.conf” file that may have been created: sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

After rebooting, the previous system was restored. I then tried a test by installing the nvidia-331 driver again in Driver Manager,
and to my surprise it worked this time. I tested this procedure again twice, both with and without installing updates, to see if it was
some fluke but it worked again. Evidently some packages must have been removed or upgraded to allow this. So you could try
this as a last resort.

From reading the posts in this topic it appears that nobody with Mint 16 installed has been able to download video drivers from
the Nvidia website and successfully install them using the steps in this topic. In Mint 14 and 15 I had no problem doing this but
I have not been able to do it with Mint 16. I tried the steps in this topic but ended up with the exact same error messages I got
when using my previous method of installation. The two people who claim success are mweishaa, who has Mint 15 installed and
luick, who didn't say what version of Mint he had installed. Some other people have hybrid graphics so they need to install
Bumblebee first. Mint 16 uses the 3.11 kernel but this problem started with the 3.10 kernel, which I became aware of when testing
LMDE with a 3.10 kernel.

Here's a quote from a recent article I read that deals with this topic:

“Proprietary NVIDIA/AMD graphics drivers don't support KMS/VirtualFB and are often late supporting newer X.org server and
kernel releases. Besides Linux developers do everything to break closed source drivers by changing APIs (to give you an example,
kernels 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13 all had changes that rendered NVIDIA binary drivers inoperable, i.e. uncompilable)
or making APIs unusable beyond the GPL realm.”

Now that statement isn't totally true because I was able to install downloaded Nvidia drivers in kernels 3.8 and 3.9.

In step 12 of kk5000's first post, the package name “libdrm-nouveau1a” in the line:
sudo apt-get purge xserver-xorg-video-nouveau libdrm-nouveau1a nvidia*
does not exist in Mint 16. It should be “libdrm-nouveau2”. There was a package with that name in Mint 14 but it was changed in Mint 15.
WARNING: It's very fortunate that mistake was made because if "libdrm-nouveau1a" is removed in Mint 14 Cinnamon or libdrm-nouveau2 is removed in Mint 16 Cinnamon, then 38 other packages are also removed, some of which are necessary for normal operation, such as nemo and cinnamon. After rebooting you will end up with a black screen, unable to recover, even after entering tty1 and reinstalling
libdrm-nouveau2 or libdrm-nouveau1a.

[carsten888]

@roblm
thank you.

You will need to install Bumblebee first. Check this link:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=135283&p=725173&hilit=optimus#p725173

I'm continuing my quest for getting this driver installed in that thread.

[Ayawisgi]

I can confirm that these instructions worked on my dual-boot WINXP system running a fresh install of Mint16 w/Cinnamon and an NVIDIA 550 ti graphics card. (There were no previous drivers to deal with.)

While I'm a noob regarding Linux, I've wrestled with himem.sys and the Hayes command set so I'm pretty comfortable with command-line instructions. For anyone else who's new to Linux, a few thoughts:

1) Write down the instuctions in the original post in order, and double-check each one. I dropped a hypen between "update" and "initramfs" and it stopped me cold. If you get jammed up, don't be afraid to launch Firefox and revisit the instructions (which you should pin or bookmark now) in the middle of the process.

2) If you feel like you're doing the same thing over and over and getting nowhere, that's because you are.

3) You'll know you've gotten over the hump when you boot for the nth time but the Mint logo size has changed. That signals that you've finally kicked Nouveau to the curb, and if your experience is like mine you'll finally be able to load the NVIDIA drivers.

4) After the drivers loaded I was asked if I wanted to build a "DKMS kernel module" and had no idea if that was a good idea or a bad idea. I said yes and so far nothing bad has happened.

5) The only reason I wanted to install the NVIDIA drivers was because the default Mint drivers were running my monitor refresh rate at 60 and killing me. The new drivers now say they are running at 85, but there's no option to change that number, which strikes me as comically ironic.

Good luck.

[Yfrwlf]

Success, finally!

So this is what I did to get mine working with the latest stable nVidia driver 331.49. This was done while I had the 319 version installed with the Linux Mint driver manager (I ended up removing that driver)

Not sure if this was needed, but:

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sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r` xserver-xorg-dev pkg-config

Downloaded and made the 331.49 driver executable with the GUI.

Then I did

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CONTROL-ALT-F1 to get to tty1

switched to root

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sudo su -

ran the driver installer

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cd /home/username/Desktop (where I saved it to)
./NVIDIAblahblahblah just hit the tab key

After selecting yes on everything I tried to start back up Xorg.

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start mdm

This failed, and when it does it will ask if you want to check the Xorg output, as well as the "advanced" output, to find out why. It was not helpful and simply told me that the nvidia modules failed to load, and suggested I check the kernel log.

After checking the kernel log, I found that it was complaining about a version mismatch between the 319 driver I had installed with the driver/package manager and the new 331 version. I then purged the old driver and settings tool

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apt-get purge nvidia-319 nvidia-settings-319

made sure mdm was completely stopped again

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stop mdm

and reinstalled the driver again

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./N<tab>

after doing this, just for good measure, even though it does it at the end of the installation, I did

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nvidia-xconfig

and then tried starting Xorg again

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start mdm

It worked! I then rebooted, and it is still working!

Here is hoping that nVidia will make a Linux installer that doesn't require stopping Xorg as that is a horrible annoying experience. Even AMD doesn't require doing that with their driver installer, and AMD's installer even has a GUI as well as command line. Someone at nVidia hinted recently that they had big things in store for Linux, well I hope to see it soon and hope it is in the form of getting a nice auto-updater and installer like on Windows that leaves all this silliness in the past.

Hope this helps someone.

[ridobe]

^ My issue with this is exactly what you are saying. When I stop mdm, I lose everything. I cannot get to tty1. Nothing. I would love to be able to apply manually instead of exorg-edgers, but I cannot get past this point.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Brahim Salem]

Thanks for the update! But would please add this tutorial here http://community.linuxmint.com/ Thanks

Maybe you should add this to your tutorial as a tip http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=161341

[Grokling]

I just ran through this on a fresh install of LM16 Cinnamon on a new Dell laptop (inspiron 7000) and Cinnamon crashes consistently leaving me in failback mode.

inxi -Gx (from tty1) shows that I'm running on the Intel integrated graphics using nouveau,intel (unloaded: nvidia,fbdev,vesa)

lspci shows 04:00.0 3D controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK107M [GeForce GT 750M] (rev a1)

Any suggestions?

[roblm]

In my first post in this topic, I stated how I've been unable to install Nvidia drivers downloaded from the Nvidia website in Mint 16. I checked that site recently to see if newer drivers were available for my video card, which is a GeForce 210. The 331.67 driver was available, which supports video cards in the GeForce 8 series and newer. This driver would not install at first but after some more investigation and testing I was able to get it installed. I first had to open the Synaptic Package Manager and install the package libc6-dev. This also installs the package libc-dev-bin. Both are needed. These packages are already installed in Mint 14 and 15 Cinnamon, but not in Mint 16.

During the installation there was a different message with this driver. It stated that the nvidia-installer would also install the libvdpau and libvdpau_trace libraries. Libvdpau1 is already installed in Mint 14 but not in 15 or 16. It contains those two packages. So I uninstalled the Nvidia driver and installed the packages libvdpau1 and libvdpau-dev in Synaptic and then tried to reinstall the 331.67 driver and older Nvidia drivers, the 319.17 and 325.15, but they would not install. Evidently the libvdpau package that comes with the Nvidia 331.67 driver is not exactly the same as the package in Synaptic, or there's some other reason. I couldn't find any newer versions either.

EDITED: The following instructions has a step that is not needed in Mint 16 and 17. Go down to the
UPDATED INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS below.

I didn't use the method of installation suggested in this topic, but used the method I've always used in Mint 14 and 15. The nouveau driver has to be disabled first so it doesn't load in the initial ramdisk image that is created early during startup and later in the kernel. I manually disable that driver by creating a file named “disable-nouveau.conf” by opening the Terminal and typing:
gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Then add these two lines to the opened file:
blacklist nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0

Save the file. To disable nouveau in the ramdisk, open the Terminal and type:
gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Look for the line: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
Change it to : GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash rdblacklist=nouveau"

Some use this command: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nouveau.blacklist=1"

The first step in disabling nouveau can be done automatically by the nvidia-installer but the second cannot. Save the file and open the Terminal and type these two commands:
sudo update-grub
sudo update-initramfs -u

Move the downloaded Nvidia driver to your "/home/user-name" directory. Rename the file "N.run" so you don't have to type that long name later. Reboot and then enter the virtual terminal tty1 by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1. Then type these commands:
sudo service mdm stop
sudo sh N.run
Answer "yes" at all the screens. After installation type: sudo service mdm start

Grokling,
If you have hybrid graphics, with an integrated intel graphics and a separate Nvidia graphics card, then you can't use the method of
installation in this topic. You need to install Bumblebee first.
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=135283


UPDATED INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS: 4-20-14

Download the Nvidia driver and move it to your “/home/user-name” directory. For example, we will use the driver package
NVIDIA-Linux-x86-331.67.run. Rename it “N-331.67.run”, so you don't have to type that long name later.

Install the package “libc6-dev” by using this command in the Terminal:

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sudo apt-get install libc6-dev

Then use this command to create a file named “disable-nouveau.conf”:

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gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

For Mint 18.xx, use the command: gksudo xed /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

For Mint 19.xx, use this command to create the file: sudo touch /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf
Then use this command to open the file for editing: xed admin:////etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Add these two lines to the opened file:

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blacklist nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0

Save the file. Use this command to update the initial ramdisk and reboot:

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sudo update-initramfs -u; reboot

Enter the virtual console tty1 by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1. Log in and use this command to stop the display manager:

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sudo service mdm stop

For Mint 18.2, 18.3 and 19.xx, use this command: sudo service lightdm stop

Sometimes you may now see a different screen. Just press Ctrl+Alt+F1 again.
Then use this command to start the installation:

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sudo sh N-331.67.run

Ignore the message about the "pre-install script failed!" Always choose “yes” during the installation, and when it's finished, use this command:

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sudo service mdm start

For Mint 18.2, 18.3 and 19.xx, use this command: sudo service lightdm start

If you have a laptop or notebook with Optimus Technology, which has hybrid graphics (Integrated Intel and separate Nvidia card), then your distro's package manager should be used to install the Nvidia driver, so that OpenGL is configured correctly.

EDITED: I recently added this section at the bottom of this post:
How to install the Nvidia driver on an Optimus laptop (integrated Intel + Nvidia card) - Added Dec. 2018


UNINSTALL THE NVIDIA DRIVER:

If there is a reason you need to uninstall the Nvidia driver and restore the nouveau driver, then do these steps, using the driver
installed above as an example. Enter the virtual console tty1 by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1. Log in and use this command:

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sudo sh N-331.67.run --uninstall

After the uninstall process is finished, remove the "disable-nouveau.conf" file by using this command:

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sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Then use this command:

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sudo update-initramfs -u

Then use this command to restore the nouveau driver and reboot:

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sudo apt-get install --reinstall xserver-xorg-video-nouveau libdrm-nouveau2; reboot

Update for Mint 19:

An alternate way to uninstall the driver is to open the Terminal and use this command to remove the disable-nouveau.conf file:
sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Update the initial ramdisk: sudo update-initramfs -u

Then remove the Nvidia driver and reboot: sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall

If you get a black screen, then press and hold the Alt key and then press, one at a time, the keys SysRq, R, E, I, S, U, B.


UPDATING NVIDIA DRIVERS:

In the future, if there is a newer driver available from Nvidia's website, then installation of it is very easy. I tested this with the
Nvidia 334.21 driver in the package “NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-334.21.run”. Download the driver and move it to your “/home/user-name” directory and rename it “N-334.21.run”. Enter the virtual console tty1, log in and use this command:

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sudo service mdm stop

Then use this command:

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sudo sh N-334.21.run

After the installation, use this command:

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sudo service mdm start

NVIDIA DRIVER ALREADY INSTALLED:

If you have already installed an Nvidia driver using Driver Manager, the Synaptic Package Manager, or apt in the Terminal,
then it should be removed before attempting to install the downloaded Nvidia driver. Open Driver Manager and select →
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau. Also the package libc6-dev will have already been installed.

Click → Apply Changes. Reboot and follow the installation steps above.


Mint 17 Update for restoring the nouveau driver. Use this command:

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sudo apt install --reinstall xserver-xorg-video-nouveau-lts-vivid libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-nouveau2:i386

Mint 18 & 18.1 Update for restoring the nouveau driver. Use this command:

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sudo apt install --reinstall xserver-xorg-video-nouveau libdrm-nouveau2

Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce Update:

The display manager has been changed from MDM to LightDM. These two commands will no longer work to stop and start the display manager:

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sudo service mdm stop
sudo service mdm start

These are the new commands:

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sudo service lightdm stop
sudo service lightdm start

Mint 18.2 has simplified the installation or removal of the Nvidia driver.
The package libc6-dev does not have to be installed for the Nvidia driver installation.
No packages need to be installed to restore the nouveau driver.

If you have a laptop or notebook with Optimus Technology, which has hybrid graphics (Integrated Intel and separate Nvidia card), then your distro's package manager should be used to install the Nvidia driver, so that OpenGL is configured correctly.

EDITED: I recently added this section at the bottom of this post:
How to install the Nvidia driver on an Optimus laptop (integrated Intel + Nvidia card) - Added Dec. 2018


Mint 18.3 Cinnamon Update:

Works the same as version 18.2

EDITED: This was true for the nvidia 384.111 driver, used for newer video cards. However, this was not true for the nvidia 340.106 driver, used for older video cards. The package libc6-dev still had to be installed, and this command was required to reinstall the nouveau driver:

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sudo apt install --reinstall xserver-xorg-video-nouveau libdrm-nouveau2

Mint 19 Nvidia Driver Installation Update:

You will need to decide if the 32-bit compatibility libraries are needed, to run Steam and other 32 bit programs or those running in Wine. If you need them, then the --compat32-libdir option needs to be added to the installation .run file; for example:
sudo sh Nvidia-390.87.run --compat32-libdir=lib32

The libraries will be installed in /usr/lib32. If you use that option, then this message will be seen:

Install NVIDIA'S 32-bit compatibility libraries?

If you don't use that option, then this message will be seen:

“WARNING: Unable to find a suitable destination to install 32-bit compatibility libraries. Your system may not be set up for 32-bit compatibility. 32-bit compatibility files will not be installed; if you wish to install them, re-run the installation and set a valid directory with the --compat32-libdir option.”

If the initial Nvidia driver installation is done using the distro's package manager and then that driver is uninstalled, and then you begin installing a driver downloaded from Nvidia's website, then you will not need to add the --compat32-libdir option.

Then this message will be seen for newer drivers that use the libglvnd libraries:

“An incomplete installation of libglvnd was found. Do you want to install a full copy of libglvnd?
This will overwrite any existing libglvnd libraries.”

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The choices are: 	Don’t install    	Install and overwrite     	Abort installation

Select “Install and overwrite”. There are actually no libglvnd files installed on your system, so nothing will be overwritten.


Mint 20 Nvidia Driver Installation Update:

For the Nvidia-450 driver series and higher, you can optionally use the SIMPLIFIED INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS below.

Remove any Nvidia driver that is already installed from using the distro's package manager. In Mint 20, as in previous versions, Driver Manager cannot remove an installed Nvidia driver completely. Also the command apt purge nvidia* will not work as it did in previous versions. Use the command sudo apt-get purge *nvidia*, or apt remove nvidia-driver-450 (substitute 450 for the correct driver version) and then apt autoremove. Reboot.

Mint 20.1 Update: Driver Manager is now able to completely remove the Nvidia-450 driver series and higher.

Download the Nvidia driver and move it to your Home directory (/home/your-user-name).
For example, rename the NVIDIA-Linux-x86-450.57.run package to N-450.57.run, so you don't have to type that long name later.

Use this command to install libc6-dev: apt install libc6-dev

For Nvidia-450 driver series and higher, also install libglvnd-dev: apt install libglvnd-dev

Use this command to create a disable-nouveau.conf file:
sudo touch /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Open the file for editing: xed admin:///etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Add this line: blacklist nouveau

Update the initial ramdisk and reboot: sudo update-initramfs -u; reboot

Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to enter tty1. If that doesn't work, then press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to enter tty2.
Stop the display manager: sudo service lightdm stop

Sometimes you may now see a black screen with no text. If that happens, just press ENTER, or Ctrl+Alt+F1 again.

Install the Nvidia driver: sudo sh N-450.57.run

Select Continue installation at this screen:

An alternate method of installing the Nvidia driver was detected...(for Nvidia-450.57 driver & higher)

The distribution-provided pre-install script failed! (for Nvidia-440 and older drivers)

Select Yes at this screen:

Would you like to register the kernel module sources with DKMS?

Select Yes at this screen:

Install NVIDIA's 32-bit compatibility libraries?

For Nvidia-440 and older drivers, select Install and overwrite at this screen:

An incomplete installation of libglvnd was found…..Do you want to install a full copy of libglvnd? This will overwrite any existing libglvnd libraries.

Select No at this screen:

Would you like to run the nvidia-xconfig utility to automatically update your X configuration file…..

After the installation, restart the display manager: sudo service lightdm start


SIMPLIFIED INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
You can greatly simplify the installation for the Nvidia-450 driver series and higher by using these steps:

For example, download the Nvidia-450 driver (NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-450.119.03.run) from this driver archive: https://http.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/

Rename the downloaded package to N-450.119.run and move it to the Home directory (/home/user-name).

Remove any Nvidia driver already installed from using the distro's package manager. If you don't know how, then see the instructions above.

Use this command to install libc6-dev and libglvnd-dev, create a file named disable-nouveau.conf containing the command "blacklist nouveau" and update the initial ramdisk:

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apt install -y libc6-dev libglvnd-dev && echo "blacklist nouveau" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf && sudo update-initramfs -u

Reboot. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to enter tty1. Stop the display manager: sudo service lightdm stop

Install the Nvidia driver: sudo sh N-450.119.run -q

Adding the -q option makes the installation automatic by removing the 4 steps where you would normally have to make a selection.

After the installation, restart the display manager: sudo service lightdm start


UNINSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
To uninstall the driver, use this command in the Terminal to remove the file disable-nouveau.conf:
sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Update the initial ramdisk: sudo update-initramfs -u

Uninstall the driver: sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall

At this next screen, select NO:

If you plan to no longer use the NVIDIA driver, you should make sure that no X screens are configured to use the NVIDIA X driver in your configuration file…..

If you get a black screen, press and hold the Alt key and then press the letters SysRq (Print Screen) r, e, i, s, u, b.

Reboot.


Installation of the NVIDIA driver with SECURE BOOT enabled - Sept 2018:

Many distributions require modules to be signed with a trusted key when loaded into kernels running on UEFI systems with Secure Boot enabled. The nvidia-installer that comes with the Nvidia driver downloaded from Nvidia’s website can generate keys during the driver installation that can be used for module signing. The nvidia-installer will present a series of interactive screens to guide users through the module signing process.

This is discussed in the NVIDIA Installation Guide, under the section Signing the NVIDIA Kernel Module, at this link: http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/L ... ulesigning

At the screen with this message, answer NO:

Would you like to register the kernel module sources with DKMS. This will allow DKMS to automatically build a new module, if you install a different kernel later.

If you answer YES, then the installation will fail with this message:

Error: Unable to load the ‘nvidia-drm’ kernel module.

The next screen message:

The target kernel has CONFIG_MODULE-SIG set, which means that it supports cryptographic signatures on kernel modules. On some systems, the kernel may refuse to load modules without a valid signature from a trusted key. This system also has UEFI Secure Boot enabled; many distributions enforce module signature verification on UEFI systems when Secure Boot is enabled. Would you like to sign the NVIDIA kernel module?

Answer: Sign the kernel module.

The next screen message:

Would you like to sign the NVIDIA kernel module with an existing key pair, or would you like to generate a new one?

Answer: Generate a new key pair.

The next screen message:

The NVIDIA kernel module was successfully signed with a newly generated key pair. Would you like to delete the private signing key?

Answer: YES.

The next screen message:

An X.509 certificate containing the public signing key will be installed to /usr/share/nvidia/nvidia-modsign-crt-XXXXXXXX.der The SHA1 fingerprint of this certificate is, for example:
8B :06 :FA :E6 :06 :07 :F4 :CA : 82 :1A :12 :04 :7C :36 :15 :CC :09 :53 :C8 :B6

This certificate must be added to a key database which is trusted by your kernel in order for the kernel to be able to verify the module signature.

Next message:

The signed kernel module failed to load, because the kernel does not trust any key which is capable of verifying the module signature. Would you like to install the signed kernel module anyway?

Note that you will not be able to load the installed module until after a key that can verify the module signature is added to a key database that is trusted by the kernel. This will likely require rebooting your computer.

Answer: Install signed kernel module.


After the installation, the desktop will be in Fallback mode. Open the file manager and go to /usr/share. Right click on the folder nvidia and select Open as Root. Copy the nvidia-modsign-crt-XXXXXXXX.der file name, by right clicking on it, selecting Properties and copying the Name.

Right click in the empty space and select Open in Terminal. Use this command to enroll the Public signing key into the Shim bootloader: mokutil --import nvidia-modsign-crt-XXXXXXXX.der

You will be asked to input a password twice. I used my user password, which is only 6 letters. This password will be used later.

Reboot. The Shim UEFI key management screen appears. Press any key.
The Perform MOK management screen appears, with this menu:

Continue boot
Enroll MOK
Enroll key from disk
Enroll hash from disk

MOK screen2.JPG

Select Enroll MOK. At the next screen, select Continue.

The next screen asks: Enroll the key (s)? Answer YES. Type the password you previously typed. Your system will reboot.

If you update the driver or the kernel, then the previous steps will need to be repeated.


How to install the Nvidia driver with Secure Boot enabled; for drivers installed using Driver Manager, apt or Synaptic:

Open the Terminal and use this command to generate a new Private signing key (MOK.priv) and an X.509 certificate (MOK.der), which contains the Public signing key, which are used for signing the Nvidia kernel module(s). They will be added to Home and stored in the MOK (Machine Owner Key) database.

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openssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -days 7300 -nodes -subj "/CN=nvidia module signing key/" -keyout MOK.priv -outform DER -out MOK.der -sha512

If you desire, the certificate name (commonName) after CN= can be changed.

Use this command to list the installed Nvidia kernel modules: ls /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm

In this example there are 4 modules, but older drivers will have less:
nvidia-drm.ko nvidia.ko nvidia-modeset.ko nvidia-uvm.ko

Update: There are now 5 kernel modules, starting with the Nvidia-465 driver. The new one is nvidia-peermem.ko

Use these commands to sign the 5 kernel modules:

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sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/nvidia-drm.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/nvidia.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/nvidia-modeset.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/nvidia-peermem.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/nvidia-uvm.ko

Mint 21 Update: With nvidia-driver-470, 510, 515 or 520 installed, use this command to list the kernel modules:
ls /lib/modules/`uname -r`/updates/dkms/

Use these commands to sign the kernel modules:

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sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/updates/dkms/nvidia-drm.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/updates/dkms/nvidia.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/updates/dkms/nvidia-modeset.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/updates/dkms/nvidia-peermem.ko
sudo /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/scripts/sign-file sha512 MOK.priv MOK.der /lib/modules/`uname -r`/updates/dkms/nvidia-uvm.ko

Use this command to enroll the Public signing key into the Shim bootloader: sudo mokutil --import MOK.der

You will be asked to type a password twice. I used my user password, which is only 6 letters. This password will be used later.

Reboot. The blue Shim UEFI key management screen appears. Press any key.
The Perform MOK management screen appears, with this menu:

Continue boot
Enroll MOK
Enroll key from disk
Enroll hash from disk

Select Enroll MOK. At the next screen, select Continue.
The next screen asks: Enroll the key (s)? Answer YES. Type the password you previously used. Your system will reboot.

If you desire, you can use this command to verify if the kernel module is signed. The output should include the string
‘~Module signature appended~’:

hexdump -Cv /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/nvidia.ko | tail -n 5

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hexdump -Cv nvidia.ko | tail -n 5
00000180  8d c6 e3 43 1c 63 a1 9d  26 fe 46 77 60 4a ea 00  |...C.c..&.Fw`J..|
00000190  00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 01 8f 7e 4d 6f 64 75  |...........~Modu|
000001a0  6c 65 20 73 69 67 6e 61  74 75 72 65 20 61 70 70  |le signature app|
000001b0  65 6e 64 65 64 7e 0a                              |ended~.|
000001b7

If you update the driver or kernel, then the previous steps will need to be repeated. You may want to change the certificate name used in the openssl command. For example, use the name nvidia-390.77-key. After the MOK.priv and MOK.der keys are generated, they can be renamed to MOK-nvidia-390.77.priv and MOK-nvidia-390.77.der. After the keys are enrolled, they can be moved to a new MOK-keys folder.

If you update the kernel, the certificate name can be, for example, 4.15.0-36-kernel-nvidia-390.77-key


How to install the Nvidia driver on an Optimus laptop (integrated Intel + Nvidia card) - Added Dec. 2018

This info is especially useful if you need to use an older more compatible driver that is no longer available through the distro's package manager but can still be downloaded from Nvidia's website.

This testing was done in Mint 19 Cinnamon using the Nvidia 390.87 driver downloaded from Nvidia's website.

This method does not work in Mint.18xx

Use this command to install nvidia-prime and libc6-dev: apt install nvidia-prime libc6-dev
Mint 21 Update: Also need to install libglvd-dev: apt install libglvnd-dev

Remove any Nvidia driver that is already installed from using the distro's package manager and then reboot:
apt remove nvidia-driver-390 --autoremove (substitute the correct driver version number)

Download the Nvidia driver and move it to your Home directory (/home/your-user-name). For example, we will use the driver package NVIDIA-Linux-x86-390.87.run. I suggest renaming it “N-390.87.run”, so you don't have to type that long name later.

Switch to the nvidia profile (this may already be set): sudo prime-select nvidia

Use this command to create a disable-nouveau.conf file: sudo touch /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf

Open the file for editing: xed admin:///etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf
Add this line:

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blacklist nouveau

Update the initial ramdisk and then reboot: sudo update initramfs -u


Instructions for the Nvidia 390 drivers. Instructions for other drivers are in sections below.

Use these commands to copy libglx.so and libglamoregl.so to the /opt folder (which is usually empty), because they will be removed by the nvidia-installer:

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sudo cp /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libglamoregl.so /opt
sudo cp /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so /opt

Use this command to rename libglx.so to libglx.so.old
sudo mv /opt/libglx.so /opt/libglx.so.old

Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to enter tty1. Stop the display manager: sudo service lightdm stop
Install the Nvidia driver: sudo sh N-390.87.run

Mint 21 Update: Use this command: sudo sh N-390.157.run -q (substitute the correct version)
The -q option will make the installation automatic, without having to answer any questions.
Ignore the next 5 lines and go down to the line "After the installation..."

If you also want to install the 32 bit libraries: sudo sh N-390.87.run --compat32-libdir=lib32

This message will be seen:

“An incomplete installation of libglvnd was found. Do you want to install a full copy of libglvnd?
This will overwrite any existing libglvnd libraries.”

Select “Install and overwrite”.

After the installation, restart the display manager: sudo service lightdm start

Use these commands to copy libglamoregl.so to /usr/lib/xorg/modules and libglx.so.old to /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions

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sudo cp /opt/libglamoregl.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules
sudo cp /opt/libglx.so.old /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions

Create a desktop script to switch GPUs. Right click on the desktop and select Create New Document > Empty Document. The name can be “Switch GPU”. Open the file and add these lines:

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#!/bin/sh

if [ $(prime-select query) = "intel" ]; then
    sudo mv /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so.old
    sudo ln -s /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so.390.87 /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
    sudo prime-select nvidia; reboot

elif [ $(prime-select query) = "nvidia" ]; then
    sudo rm /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so                      
    sudo mv /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so.old /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
    sudo prime-select intel; reboot
fi 

For a newer driver, simply change the version number in line 5 of the script.

Click “Save” and close the file. Right click on it and select Properties > Permissions. Mark the checkbox next to “Allow executing file as program”. When you click on the desktop script, choose the option “Run in Terminal”.

I created a custom icon for this situation. If you want to use it, download it from here:
https://imgur.com/sb0LSOy



The desktop script must be used to switch GPUs. After you click on it and type your password, the GPU that is currently selected will be switched, followed by a reboot. No PRIME Profiles page will be added in the Nvidia Settings utility but the nvidia-prime applet's icon shows the correct GPU being used. If the icon is clicked, this message will be seen: You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Don't follow the instructions.


Instructions for the Nvidia 410.78, 415.18, 415.22, 410.93, 418.113, 430.40, 430.50, and 430.64 drivers:

The driver installation will remove libglamoregl.so, so it needs to be copied to another location such as the /opt folder:
sudo cp /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libglamoregl.so /opt

Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to enter tty1. Stop the display manager: sudo service lightdm stop
Install the Nvidia driver: sudo sh N-410.78.run (the driver version may be different)

If you also want to install the 32 bit libraries: sudo sh N-390.87.run --compat32-libdir=lib32

This message will be seen:

“An incomplete installation of libglvnd was found. Do you want to install a full copy of libglvnd?
This will overwrite any existing libglvnd libraries.”

Select “Install and overwrite”.

After the installation, restart the display manager: sudo service lightdm start

Copy libglamoregl.so back to /usr/lib/xorg/modules:
sudo cp /opt/libglamoregl.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules

The GPUs can't be switched using Nvidia Settings because there is no PRIME Profiles page. Use the commands
sudo prime-select intel and sudo prime-select nvidia

For faster switching, create a desktop script with these lines:

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#!/bin/sh

if [ $(prime-select query) = "intel" ]; then
    sudo prime-select nvidia; reboot

elif [ $(prime-select query) = "nvidia" ]; then
    sudo prime-select intel; reboot
fi 

Instructions for the Nvidia 435.21, 440.31, 440.36, and 440.44 drivers:
No files are removed by the installation.

Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to enter tty1. Stop the display manager: sudo service lightdm stop
Install the Nvidia driver: sudo sh N-435.21.run (the driver version may be different)

If you also want to install the 32 bit libraries: sudo sh N-390.87.run --compat32-libdir=lib32

This message will be seen:

“An incomplete installation of libglvnd was found. Do you want to install a full copy of libglvnd?
This will overwrite any existing libglvnd libraries.”

Select “Install and overwrite”.

After the installation, restart the display manager: sudo service lightdm start

The GPUs can't be switched using Nvidia Settings because there is no PRIME Profiles page. Use the commands
sudo prime-select intel and sudo prime-select nvidia

For faster switching, create a desktop script with these lines:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh

if [ $(prime-select query) = "intel" ]; then
    sudo prime-select nvidia; reboot

elif [ $(prime-select query) = "nvidia" ]; then
    sudo prime-select intel; reboot
fi 

Mint 20.1 Update: Installation of the Nvidia 450.102.04 & 460.39 drivers::
Same as the instructions for the Nvidia 435 & 440 drivers above but there is no message about libglnvd.
The package libc6-dev needs to be installed first: apt install libc6-dev

The nvidia-prime applet now works for GPU switching. Another feature that works is when the Menu is opened and you right-click on an app and select Run with Nvidia GPU, when using On-Demand mode.
There is no PRIME Profiles page in the Nvidia Settings utility in Performance and On-Demand modes, and Nvidia Settings does not appear at all in Intel mode.


Uninstalling the Nvidia driver:

Nvidia 390 drivers:
Use the desktop script to switch to the Intel GPU.
In the Terminal, use this command: sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall. Ignore any error message. If you get a black screen, press and hold the Alt key and then press the keys SysRq (Print Screen), R, E, I, S, U, B

All other newer drivers:
In the Terminal, use this command: sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall. Ignore any error message. If you get a black screen, press and hold the Alt key and then press the keys SysRq (Print Screen), R, E, I, S, U, B


Reinstalling the same or newer Nvidia driver:

Use this command in the Terminal to switch to the Nvidia GPU: sudo prime-select nvidia, but don't reboot.
Install the Nvidia driver using the correct instruction section.


Please do not add a new post to this topic. Since the topic is old, a forum moderator would then probably lock it. Then I would be unable to add any more updates. If you have a question, then contact me with a Private Message.