<SOLVED> installing correct NVIDIA driver

[sarbear3000]

After installing Linux Mint 20.1 64bit on my OMEN 15 laptop I can only get it to boot with the open source graphics card driver and it will only boot in recovery mode. When it goes to sleep I get the black screen of death and I need to hard reboot the computer. I assume it's the graphics card driver and I've done a couple of days worth of searching and trying different approaches found on the forums but I haven't been able to get it solved so I figure I'll just ask the experts.

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CPU:
  Topology: 8-Core model: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 
  type: MT MCP arch: Zen rev: 1 L2 cache: 4096 KiB bogomips: 92632 
  Speed: 1397 MHz min/max: 1400/2900 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz): 
  1: 1397 2: 1397 3: 1398 4: 1396 5: 1397 6: 1397 7: 1397 8: 1397 9: 1397 
  10: 1396 11: 1397 12: 1397 13: 1397 14: 1397 15: 1397 16: 1397 
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm adx aes aperfmperf apic arat avic avx avx2 bmi1 
  bmi2 bpext cat_l3 cdp_l3 clflush clflushopt clwb clzero cmov cmp_legacy 
  constant_tsc cpb cpuid cqm cqm_llc cqm_mbm_local cqm_mbm_total 
  cqm_occup_llc cr8_legacy cx16 cx8 de decodeassists extapic extd_apicid 
  f16c flushbyasid fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr fxsr_opt ht hw_pstate ibpb ibrs ibs 
  irperf lahf_lm lbrv lm mba mca mce misalignsse mmx mmxext monitor movbe 
  msr mtrr mwaitx nonstop_tsc nopl npt nrip_save nx osvw overflow_recov pae 
  pat pausefilter pclmulqdq pdpe1gb perfctr_core perfctr_llc perfctr_nb 
  pfthreshold pge pni popcnt pse pse36 rdpid rdrand rdseed rdt_a rdtscp 
  rep_good sep sha_ni skinit smap smca smep ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2 
  sse4a ssse3 stibp succor svm svm_lock syscall tce topoext tsc tsc_scale 
  umip v_vmsave_vmload vgif vmcb_clean vme vmmcall wbnoinvd wdt xgetbv1 
  xsave xsavec xsaveerptr xsaveopt xsaves 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com ulyssa main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner

[sarbear3000]

Here's more info on the system.

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System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-70-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa 
  base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HP product: OMEN Laptop 15-en0xxx v: N/A 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: HP model: 8786 v: 22.54 serial: <filter> UEFI: AMI v: F.07 
  date: 09/16/2020 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 20.3 Wh condition: 71.0/71.0 Wh (100%) 
  model: Hewlett-Packard Primary status: Discharging 
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 
  model: Logitech Marathon Mouse/Performance Plus M705 
  charge: 100% (should be ignored) status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: 8-Core model: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 
  type: MT MCP arch: Zen rev: 1 L2 cache: 4096 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 92627 
  Speed: 1397 MHz min/max: 1400/2900 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1397 2: 1397 
  3: 1397 4: 1397 5: 1397 6: 1397 7: 1397 8: 1397 9: 1397 10: 1397 11: 1397 
  12: 1396 13: 1397 14: 1396 15: 1397 16: 1397 
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA TU116M [GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile] 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: N/A bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Device-2: AMD Renoir vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: N/A bus ID: 06:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: ati,fbdev 
  unloaded: modesetting,radeon,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~77Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 11.0.0 256 bits) v: 4.5 Mesa 20.2.6 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA TU116 High Definition Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
  Device-2: AMD Raven/Raven2/FireFlight/Renoir Audio Processor 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_rn_pci_acp3x v: kernel bus ID: 06:00.5 
  Device-3: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 06:00.6 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-70-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 02:00.0 
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: e000 
  bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 18.90 GiB (2.0%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital 
  model: PC SN730 SDBPNTY-1T00-1006 size: 953.87 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 652.80 GiB used: 9.41 GiB (1.4%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 49.9 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com ulyssa main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
  2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
  3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
  Processes: 310 Uptime: 11m Memory: 15.07 GiB used: 1.26 GiB (8.4%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 
  inxi: 3.0.38 
-
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation TU116M [GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile] [10de:2191] (rev a1)
	DeviceName: NVIDIA Graphics Device
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company TU116M [GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile] [103c:8786]
	Kernel modules: nvidiafb, nouveau
--
06:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Renoir [1002:1636] (rev c6)
	DeviceName:  Onboard IGD
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Renoir [103c:8786]
	Kernel modules: amdgpu
-
aliases.conf                           fbdev-blacklist.conf
blacklist_linux_5.4.0-58-generic.conf  systemd.conf
blacklist_linux_5.4.0-70-generic.conf

[SMG]

Your system needs the 5.8 kernel to get the drivers for your Renoir apu.

Open Update Manager. Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue. Make sure 5.8 is selected on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear. Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active.

For future reference, this ISO Linux Mint 20.1 "Ulyssa" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit) has the 5.8 kernel.

Did you try installing an Nvidia driver from Driver Manager yet?

[sarbear3000]

Thank you for your reply! After installing the 5.8 kernel the boot and sleep issue has been solved. When I tried to install the recommended NVIDIA driver (nvidia-driver-460) from the driver manager previously I couldn't get Linux to boot at all and ended up reinstalling it. Do you think that now that I've updated the kernel the recommended driver will work?

[SMG]

I'm not sure what may have happened previously, but it should work. This thread [Solved] Can't get two displays working appears to be nearly the same laptop as you have. Since then the newer 5.8 kernel has become available, so some of what is in that thread no longer applies.

Take a Timeshift snapshot of your current system and then install the Nvidia driver. Post the inxi -Gx information after installation and we can verify the Nvidia driver installed properly. If it doesn't seem like it wants to work properly, you can always try using the Nvidia-450 driver. While the Nvidia-460 has worked for most computers, some computers have been happier using the Nvidia-450.

Ubuntu/Mint are set up to pretty much automatically handle switching between Intel/Nvidia computers, but you have an AMD/Nvidia computer so a little "behind the scenes" work has to be done if you want to be able to switch between the AMD and Nvidia gpus. First you make sure both the AMD and Nvidia drivers are installed. Then you can do the "behind the scenes" work.

That work is explained in this post viewtopic.php?p=1881334#p1881334
starting with the line: "Open the File Manager. Create a document in Home….."
Then read the next post in that topic, which discusses how to create a script to make switching GPUs easier.

If you plan to run your computer with an external monitor, then you will need to install the Nvidia driver. It's our understanding the external ports run from the Nvidia gpu and not the AMD gpu.

[sarbear3000]

It looks like it worked. Wonderful! Thank you!

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Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA TU116M [GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile] 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: nvidia v: 460.39 bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Device-2: AMD Renoir vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: amdgpu v: kernel 
  bus ID: 06:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati,nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~144Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.39 
  direct render: Yes 

How do I know if the AMD driver is installed as well?

[SMG]

AMD driver in blue. Nvidia driver in red. Renderer is Nvidia, so Nvidia is running your graphics.

Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA TU116M [GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile]
vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: nvidia v: 460.39 bus ID: 01:00.0
Device-2: AMD Renoir vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: amdgpu v: kernel
bus ID: 06:00.0
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati,nvidia
unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~144Hz
OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 460.39
direct render: Yes

[sarbear3000]

Well, I screwed something up trying to install the switch between the AMD and NVIDIA drivers and now I get a black blinking screen after the mint logo when I boot. Which leads me to another important lesson, how to I access my snapshots?

[SMG]

Well, I screwed something up trying to install the switch between the AMD and NVIDIA drivers and now I get a black blinking screen after the mint logo when I boot.

You may be able to boot into grub, go to the Advanced Options, and select Recovery Mode which disables the graphics and other drivers to be able to get in. If so, you can get to Timeshift that way or undo whatever change might have been the problem.

If you do not normally see grub, it's my understanding one would:
-- Hold the shift key during boot to enter grub for non-EUFI/Legacy boot.
-- Hold the escape key during boot to enter grub when have EUFI boot.

Which leads me to another important lesson, how to I access my snapshots?

Boot to a live session of Mint with your usb. Open Timeshift. You want to Restore. Timeshift will pull up the snapshots on your drive so you can select one.