anyway to run nvidia 7200gs on mint-19.3-xfce-32bit ?

[Touhami-dz]

Hi there
without gpu i could install this version of linux but when i plug in my nvidia i cant even boot correctly is there anyway to fix this i was trying all night to install a driver that i found but i had probleme : x server etc i finally find something that worked :
cd /tmp
SUDO rm -rf .X0-lock
but just after that another probleme occured which is gss version etc so overall im just exhausted if anyone knows soluion plz help and thank u

[SMG]

Hi there
without gpu i could install this version of linux

Welcome to the forum, Touhami-dz.

What graphics did your computer have that you were able to install Linux Mint without the GPU? Are you able to give us information about the hardware you are using?

Use either your installed version or boot to a live version of Mint with in your install media and please give us information about your install by entering this command in a terminal: inxi -Fxxxrz
Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code markers and paste the results of the command between the code markers [code]Results[/code]. This will let us know how Mint sees your hardware.

You might need to add the kernel parameter nomodeset to get the nvidia gpu to work correctly, but please give us information about your computer first.

[Touhami-dz]

i can boot and run linux mint on P4 only when i unplug the GPU and with only the P4 cant even watch 360p Youtube
there is my hardware




if i understand corectly it shows that i have 512 mb ram but in reality i cleaned the rams and now the other one is working so 1gb ram this is one of my close friends to my father he cant affort a pc right now )=

[SMG]

i can boot and run linux mint on P4 only when i unplug the GPU and with only the P4 cant even watch 360p Youtube
there is my hardware

The LM19.3 ISO comes with the 5.0 kernel which is no longer supported. The choices to have a supported kernel are either to switch to the 4.15 kernel, which is the LTS (long-term-support) kernel for LM19, or to use the 5.4 kernel which is the LTS kernel for LM20.

In order to keep the kernel from getting too big in size, when newer drivers are added (for newer hardware) there are some older drivers which are removed from the kernel. That means the newer kernel will not support the older hardware which needed those drivers.

If you look at the output you posted in the Graphics section, the first line has N/A after driver. My guess is the 5.4 kernel does not have the driver for that older card. I believe the 4.15 kernel does have it.

I suggest you install the 4.15 kernel and use it and remove the 5.0 and 5.4 kernels. If you need help or instructions for doing that, let us know.

[Touhami-dz]

thank u for ur time
i downloaded Mint 19 xfce 32 bit i made the usb bootable tried but same problem

[SMG]

i downloaded Mint 19 xfce 32 bit i made the usb bootable tried but same problem

Which "same problem"? Your initial post seemed to indicate more than one problem.

[Touhami-dz]

i downloaded mint 19 and mx 16 32 bit on usb tried both i plugged in my gpu and it gives me a white screen so i cant boot correctly and i think the reason is that both versions doesnt support 7200 gs on their kernel that's my guess

in the post i was just explaining how i couldnt install 304.137.run on mint 19.3

[SMG]

i downloaded mint 19 and mx 16 32 bit on usb tried both i plugged in my gpu and it gives me a white screen so i cant boot correctly and i think the reason is that both versions doesnt support 7200 gs on their kernel that's my guess

The 7200GS was supported by the Nvidia-304 driver which is no longer available (it's too old), but it was available when Mint 19 first came out. I would expect the kernel should recognize the 7200GS and be able to use the nouveau driver.

If you are sure the Nvidia GPU still works? I did a search on this forum on that card and someone was wanting to switch to the onboard graphics because they were having issues with the Nvidia GPU.

[SMG]

If that computer only has Nvidia graphics, then you would need to boot in compatibility mode to get graphics in a live session. Then after installing Mint, you would need to boot with the nomodeset kernel parameter and install the xorg-server-nouveau driver from Driver Manager. (I can not recall for sure, but I think you may need to continue using the nomodeset parameter for future boots.)

You indicated you attempted to install the Nvidia driver from the website. How did you clear that attempt from the computer? Did you start over with a new install?

[Touhami-dz]

i tried to install and it failed so everything is still the same i guess
the mint 19.3 is the only OS installed on the HDD right now and it works fine just when i plug in the GPU it doest work and i need the GPU to run youtube videos since the cpu alone cant even run 360p youtube videos

[Touhami-dz]

im noob so bare with me , i have a question can i install the xorg-server-nouveau driver from Driver Manager
without doing the nomodest boot ? since i can boot linux mint when i unlpug gpu ??

[SMG]

im noob so bare with me , i have a question can i install the xorg-server-nouveau driver from Driver Manager
without doing the nomodest boot ? since i can boot linux mint when i unlpug gpu ??

You can install it, but for the install to take effect you will need to reboot the computer. That means you can install it using Driver Manager, but do not click the button to automatically reboot the computer. Shut down the computer and put in the Nvidia GPU. Restart the computer so the nouveau driver gets used.

You might still need the nomodeset parameter even with the nouveau driver (I can not recall for sure). Here are instructions How to add a kernel parameter. It includes how to add one temporarily and permanently.

the mint 19.3 is the only OS installed on the HDD right now and it works fine just when i plug in the GPU it doest work and i need the GPU to run youtube videos since the cpu alone cant even run 360p youtube videos

What graphics is it using when the GPU is not plugged in? Is there onboard graphics?

Make sure you are using the 4.15 kernel. That kernel will be better for the older hardware.

[Touhami-dz]

when 7200 gs i not plugged in it uses only the P4 cpu

[mattlach]

Oh wow.

That's some pretty old hardware. Is this a "just to see if it works" type of project?

If the kernel noveau driver no longer supports the older hardware, maybe the nvidia binary blob driver will?

I'm trying to think of the best way to test this.

Maybe boot it up with the on board graphics like you already have, then manually install the nvidia binary blob drivers from the command line?

The package you'd be looking for would be nvidia-xxx

The xxx would be the driver revision. I don't know which drivers were available back in 19.3, I don't have a machine available to check.

But try this:

First update your apt sources:

"sudo apt update"

Then do a "sudo apt-cache search nvidia-"

You'll get a long list of stuff that is not relevant. Scroll up and look for a packages that are just nvidia-xxx, where xxx are three numbers, the revision of the drivers.

If you are on old fashioned non-GUI console, use less to scroll:

"sudo apt-cache search nvidia- |less"

I'd choose the oldest revision you can find, to increase the chance of that 7200GS still being supported.

The 7200GS was Nvidias "Curie" architecture. Nvidia doesn't seem to document well which drivers support which products, but I found a discussion in the release notes for the 352 release that suggested Curie was no longer supported back then, but they pointed to the 304 revision drivers as maybe still supporting Curie (I say maybe, as they were talking about professional workstation products, may not be relevant to consumer products like that 7200GS.. So if you can, try to find 304 or earlier drivers. Essentially, I'd just try to use the oldest ones I could find.

For me on my 20.2 install that is nvidia-331, but you might have something older available to you in 19.3. Not sure.

Once you find the appropriate package install using:

"sudo apt install nvidia-xxx"

If it doesn't install it automatically (I cant remember it has been a while since I did this) you may also want to install the package "nvidia-settings".

Then shut down, reinstall the video card, and boot back up and see if it works?

No guarantees. This is a "try it and maybe it will work" kind of thing.

All of that said, the 7200GS was a very low end video card 15 years ago when it was new. XFCE is definitely the right choice. (either that or LXDE) That GPU would likely struggle with Cinnamon or Mate.

[mattlach]

I did some more googling and rummaging.

If you search Nvidia's website for drivers, select the GeForce 7 series, and Linux 32 bit it will take you here.

This lists 304 (released in 2017) as the last drivers to support the GeForce 7 series.

If they are not available in the repository for 19.3 as I have described above, you can download and install the binary blob drivers manually.

Go to the link provided in this post, click download, save the file in a folder you have easy access to. Go there using terminal. Make the binary blob executable (chmod 755 filename) then execute the binary blob by doing a "./filename" and wait.

This will execute a script that uncompresses and installs the drivers.

It may have to compile a kernel module for your kernel revision. If it needs to do this, expect to wait a little, as compiling stuff on a Pentium 4 is unlikely to be very fast.

Once complete, same as above, shut down, reinstall GPU, and boot back up and cross your fingers!

Note: You may have to re-do this step when you upgrade kernels. If installed from the package manager, the system knows and it will recompile the driver on its own for the new kernel, but if you install it manually you may have to do this step every time.

Also, I have no idea how well using binary blob drivers from 2017 will work on a current kernel. The driver module may compile, or it may not. If it fails, try using an older kernel.

GOOD LUCK!

[SMG]

If the kernel noveau driver no longer supports the older hardware, maybe the nvidia binary blob driver will?

Nowhere in this topic is there any mention of the nouveau driver not supporting the hardware. In fact, the reverse is true. The nouveau driver does support the older hardware, but one has to install it for it to work. The OP of the thread has not yet done that.

The oldest driver currently still available in Driver Manager is the Nvidia-340 which is too new to work on this GPU. Installing anything older than that is asking for problems. The OP needs to be using the nouveau driver.

[mattlach]

If the kernel noveau driver no longer supports the older hardware, maybe the nvidia binary blob driver will?

Nowhere in this topic is there any mention of the nouveau driver not supporting the hardware. In fact, the reverse is true. The nouveau driver does support the older hardware, but one has to install it for it to work. The OP of the thread has not yet done that.

The oldest driver currently still available in Driver Manager is the Nvidia-340 which is too new to work on this GPU. Installing anything older than that is asking for problems. The OP needs to be using the nouveau driver.

Oh I agree.

Certainly, all of this is well outside of the "officially supported" or "recommended" category, but if it winds up being the only thing that works, he can at least try it.

Noveau would certainly be my first choice for older hardware as well, but I went out on a limb and assumed it was not supported in Noveau, because the noveau module should have been installed with the kernel and/or mesa. He shouldn't need to do anything to manually install it. It should "just work" out of the box.

I agree with your suggestion to try an older kernel, but if that also does not work, the only option may be using really old binary blob drivers.

Personally I'd probably try to use a different GPU instead. That 7200GS was low end 15 years ago, and is unlikely to be a pleasure to work with today. I have seen people give away much newer video cards than the 7200GS for free...

[SMG]

Noveau would certainly be my first choice for older hardware as well, but I went out on a limb and assumed it was not supported in Noveau, because the noveau module should have been installed with the kernel and/or mesa. He shouldn't need to do anything to manually install it. It should "just work" out of the box.

That is true for LM20. That was not the case for LM19. This person is installing LM19 because they need the 32-bit version of Mint.

Personally I'd probably try to use a different GPU instead. That 7200GS was low end 15 years ago, and is unlikely to be a pleasure to work with today. I have seen people give away much newer video cards than the 7200GS for free...

OP has indicated, "this is one of my close friends to my father he cant affort a pc right now "

[mattlach]

Personally I'd probably try to use a different GPU instead. That 7200GS was low end 15 years ago, and is unlikely to be a pleasure to work with today. I have seen people give away much newer video cards than the 7200GS for free...

OP has indicated, "this is one of my close friends to my father he cant affort a pc right now "

Yeah, I read that too. There are alternatives between "buying a new PC" and sticking with a 20 year old one.

For instance, on craigslist nearby my house someone is giving away a complete Dell desktop, 10-15 years newer than the Pentium IV hardware we are working on here.

Heck, if he were nearby I'd give him one of my spare Quadro 2000's from my spare parts/junk bin.

Either way, let's see how this goes. I was just kind of thinking out loud that if this becomes too difficult to get working, maybe scanning the free listings on whatever service is local to OP might be a good idea.