Help to get nVidia GTX980M drivers working

[Steensen]

Hi folks.
I'm running Mint 18.3 cinamon on a Acer Predator 09-591-726M (most hw stated in signature).
I have attempted to get nvidia driver running, but so far all attempts have failed, distro crashes.
I have installed time machine, so easy restore points have been made.
There is both an intel GPU integrated in the CPU and the nVidia GTX980M.

How do I get the newest nVidia driver installed, in stead of the secondary drivers, in such a way that the change back and forth between intel and nvidia will happen automattically when starting/stopping i.e. Steam?
i have already downloaded the 390,67 driver from nVidia's website.
thx in advance.

[Mattyboy]

Hi.

Yeah, in Linux we don't do the Windows thing of going to a website and downloading drivers.... and all the bloatware that comes with it.... we have the 'driver manager'.

'Driver manager' is very clever, it searches for the best drivers for YOUR system and version of Linux and offers it as a download.

Delete all that guff you've downloaded.... and as we don't know what you've done trying to install drivers clean your system up a bit... open the terminal and run the following commands.

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sudo apt-get purge nvidia*

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sudo apt-get autoclean

Important step... RE-BOOT your machine.

Done that? Good.

Now go to the menu and under administration select the driver manager.

It will now search and then offer you any alternative propriety drivers, simply select the one you want and install it, you'll have to do another re-boot for display drivers to take effect.

If the driver manager doesn't offer you any alternatives then you're already using the best drivers for YOUR system.

Clever right?

[Steensen]

Hi Mattyboy.
Thx for your small guide.
This time my complete system did not crash, but still 384 selected/shown as possibillity.
But when I start Steam-->Civ. VI, then the graphic is incomplete, blue areas in stead of "filling" in i.e. clothing, and the game is unable even to do a benchmark. Conclusion: Still CPU integrated GPU, not dedicated GPU doing the job.

What is next step?

Edit, In a different thread there where asked for output of this code:

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inxi -Fxz

Giving the following output:

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System:    Host: martin Kernel: 4.10.0-38-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.6.6 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3)
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   System: Acer (portable) product: Predator G9-591 v: V1.10
           Mobo: Acer model: Mustang_SLS v: V1.10
           Bios: Acer v: V1.10 date: 03/03/2016
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-6700HQ (-HT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 20736
           clock speeds: max: 3500 MHz 1: 899 MHz 2: 894 MHz 3: 899 MHz
           4: 845 MHz 5: 893 MHz 6: 812 MHz 7: 897 MHz 8: 799 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Skylake Integrated Graphics bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA GM204M [GeForce GTX 980M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.02hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake GT2)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.2.8 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-H HD Audio
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-38-generic
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
           driver: ath10k_pci bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: alx port: a000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-3: Atheros usb-ID: 001-003
           IF: null-if-id state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2000.4GB (3.5% used)
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 model: N/A size: 512.1GB
           ID-2: /dev/sda model: ST2000LM003_HN size: 2000.4GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 217G used: 51G (25%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 17.06GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 54.5C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 259 Uptime: 14 min Memory: 1820.1/15926.1MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 

Hope this info helps you.
brgds

[Mattyboy]

Hi Mattyboy.
Thx for your small guide.
This time my complete system did not crash, but still 384 selected/shown as possibillity.
But when I start Steam-->Civ. VI, then the graphic is incomplete, blue areas in stead of "filling" in i.e. clothing, and the game is unable even to do a benchmark. Conclusion: Still CPU integrated GPU, not dedicated GPU doing the job.

What is next step?

Presuming you re-booted your machine and the driver is active it will be a question for steam forums as your system will be running the 'absolute best way it can'.

To check if you're actually running the driver... actually this useful command will tell you a lot about your system... open the terminal and run.

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inxi -Fxz

As you can see my system, which is Mint 19 beta is running NIVIDA drivers.

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Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA GP106 [GeForce GTX 1060 6GB] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 )
           drivers: nvidia (unloaded: modesetting,fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.00hz
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1060 6GB/PCIe/SSE2
           version: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 390.48 Direct Render: Yes

Remember the driver manager recommendations are the best drivers your YOUR system. If you absolutely need to have the bleeding edge proprietary drivers, 390, then in all likelihood the best option will be to install a bleeding edge version of your distro of choice.

As Mint 19 is still in Beta I would recommend Ubuntu 18.04 MATE as that fully supports the 4.15 Kernel and the latest NVIDIA 390.48.... no guarantees though, unfortunately gaming on Linux can be very hit and miss.



EDIT: Ahhh, you posted inxi while I was typing

Yeah, you're not running the NIVIDA.

Update your system in the update manager completely including the Kernel to version 4.13x... install everything... then...

Follow my steps again in the original post for a start.....

[Steensen]

Hi again.
Whilst waiting for your reply, I updated the kernel to 4.15.22, and still no difference.

Have now "re-done" your nVidia deleting, new install of 384, and here is new result of inxi:

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System:    Host: martin Kernel: 4.15.0-22-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.6.6 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3)
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   System: Acer (portable) product: Predator G9-591 v: V1.10
           Mobo: Acer model: Mustang_SLS v: V1.10
           Bios: Acer v: V1.10 date: 03/03/2016
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-6700HQ (-HT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 20736
           clock speeds: max: 3500 MHz 1: 3356 MHz 2: 3448 MHz 3: 3374 MHz
           4: 3110 MHz 5: 3105 MHz 6: 3107 MHz 7: 3300 MHz 8: 3246 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Skylake Integrated Graphics bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA GM204M [GeForce GTX 980M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.02hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake GT2)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.2.8 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-H HD Audio
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-22-generic
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
           driver: ath10k_pci bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: alx port: a000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-3: Atheros usb-ID: 001-003
           IF: null-if-id state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2000.4GB (3.6% used)
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 model: N/A size: 512.1GB
           ID-2: /dev/sda model: ST2000LM003_HN size: 2000.4GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 217G used: 52G (25%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 17.06GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 52.5C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 252 Uptime: 1 min Memory: 784.4/15921.3MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 

[Steensen]

I have now re-tried it 3 times, and the game (Civ. VI) only sees the intel 530 integrated GPU, not the nVidia GPU.

Seems as if the intel GPU is native active, unable to load change to the "big boy" nVidia.

Is there a way to make the nVidia active as "Native"?
I don't care about the extra power consumption.

[catweazel]

Is there a way to make the nVidia active as "Native"?
I don't care about the extra power consumption.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/703330/ ... nel-module

You may find that helpful, but it's 3 years old, and you'll need to up the version of the driver mentioned in the answer.

[Steensen]

After reading a bit more on the net, the setting of the GLX renderer is set for intel integrated GPU, thus my mind concludes that the linux kernel is stating that the intel is supposed to do all graphic rendering, and not changing over to the nVidia.

catweazel, thx for info, don't seem to be the solution for my issue here.

[Mattyboy]

Yeah, somethings amiss here... does this list your card?

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lspci | grep NVIDIA

and

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dpkg -l | grep nvidia*

Post the results in the </> code tags.

[Steensen]

The nVidia is seen now, was it not earlier "in the thread"

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01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM204M [GeForce GTX 980M] (rev a1)

So something have happened in the process of getting closer to the goal, but not all the way there yet.
Any suggestions?

[Mattyboy]

The nVidia is seen now, was it not earlier "in the thread"

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01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM204M [GeForce GTX 980M] (rev a1)

So something have happened in the process of getting closer to the goal, but not all the way there yet.
Any suggestions?

Just checking.. don't worry about it, I've added another command above.

[Steensen]

There you go mattyboy:

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martin@martin ~ $ dpkg -l | grep nvidia*
ii  nvidia-384                                  384.130-0ubuntu0.16.04.1                     amd64        NVIDIA binary driver - version 384.130
ii  nvidia-opencl-icd-384                       384.130-0ubuntu0.16.04.1                     amd64        NVIDIA OpenCL ICD
ii  nvidia-prime                                0.8.2linuxmint1                              amd64        Tools to enable NVIDIA's Prime
ii  nvidia-settings                             361.42-0ubuntu1                              amd64        Tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver

Edit: When trying to load nvidia settings:

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martin@martin ~ $ nvidia-settings
** Message: PRIME: No offloading required. Abort
** Message: PRIME: is it supported? no

ERROR: nvidia-settings could not find the registry key file. This file should
       have been installed along with this driver at
       /usr/share/nvidia/nvidia-application-profiles-key-documentation. The
       application profiles will continue to work, but values cannot be
       prepopulated or validated, and will not be listed in the help text.
       Please see the README for possible values and descriptions.

The nvidia setting GUI starts, but no rules active.

[Mattyboy]

Hmmm, yeah ok.

It's not loading them.... getting a bit above my pay grade now...

I would run the nvidia purge again then

Boot your system from the grub menu ( press shift or esc after the beep ) and load the 4.10 kernel, go to the update manager/linux kernels and remove the 4.15 kernel then install 4.13. Re-boot.. then driver manger install 384, re-boot again.

Get your system running under the 4.13x Kernel with nvidia 384.

All the messing around might have 'corrupted' the .config file that loads the display drivers... not sure to be honest.

Someone else might be able to help, failing that a fresh install following the update and driver manager recommendations might just be the simplest solution.

Good luck mate

[Steensen]

Then I take a time machine restore point from 0800, then everything from today have been reset.
I'll be back in some time, after restoring and installing 4.13.
Thanks so far.

[Mattyboy]

Then I take a time machine restore point from 0800, then everything from today have been reset.
I'll be back in some time, after restoring and installing 4.13.
Thanks so far.

You're welcome.

[Steensen]

Now it's 4.13.43 kernel.
Here are some of the "look up":

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martin@martin ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: martin Kernel: 4.13.0-43-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.6.6 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3)
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   System: Acer (portable) product: Predator G9-591 v: V1.10
           Mobo: Acer model: Mustang_SLS v: V1.10
           Bios: Acer v: V1.10 date: 03/03/2016
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-6700HQ (-HT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 20736
           clock speeds: max: 3500 MHz 1: 890 MHz 2: 856 MHz 3: 889 MHz
           4: 853 MHz 5: 804 MHz 6: 829 MHz 7: 826 MHz 8: 801 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Skylake Integrated Graphics bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA GM204M [GeForce GTX 980M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1920x1080@60.02hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake GT2)
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.2.8 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Sunrise Point-H HD Audio
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.13.0-43-generic
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
           driver: ath10k_pci bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: alx port: a000 bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-3: Atheros usb-ID: 001-003
           IF: null-if-id state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2000.4GB (3.6% used)
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 model: N/A size: 512.1GB
           ID-2: /dev/sda model: ST2000LM003_HN size: 2000.4GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 217G used: 52G (25%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 17.06GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 49.5C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 250 Uptime: 4 min Memory: 798.7/15921.5MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 

and

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martin@martin ~ $ lspci | grep NVIDIA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM204M [GeForce GTX 980M] (rev a1)
martin@martin ~ $ dpkg -l | grep nvidia*
ii  nvidia-384                                  384.130-0ubuntu0.16.04.1                     amd64        NVIDIA binary driver - version 384.130
ii  nvidia-opencl-icd-384                       384.130-0ubuntu0.16.04.1                     amd64        NVIDIA OpenCL ICD
ii  nvidia-prime                                0.8.2linuxmint1                              amd64        Tools to enable NVIDIA's Prime
ii  nvidia-settings                             361.42-0ubuntu1                              amd64        Tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver

[Mattyboy]

Well, the only other thing I can think of.... might sound daft this..... you are running your vga/hdmi lead out the back of the graphics card not the one on the motherboard right??? ...

Past that I'm stumped, sorry.

[Steensen]

It's a laptop, so I have no external screen connections, only internal.

[Steensen]

Anyone other that have an input how to get my "big" graphic card to to the work during gaming?

[roblm]

Use these commands and post the output:

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1. xed /var/log/gpu-manager.log
2. dpkg -l |grep -i nvidia				(this is a little different from what you used before)
3. lspci -nnk |egrep -A3 -i "3D|VGA"
4. ls /etc/modprobe.d
5. ls /etc/X11