How to check if the NVIDIA drivers/modules are installed?

[jarkky]

Even the system says nvidia installed as:

nvidia1

I could not find the NVIDIA drivers with the lsmod and I'm not sure if the NVIDIA driver really is installed at all.

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$ lsmod | grep vid
video                  53248  1 i915

[Nikolai5]

What does it say when you run driver manager?

It should tell you which one installed and whether it's being used. You can also try switching to open source and then back to proprietary again.

[jarkky]

Right, it was wrong menu, but it shows the NVIDIA in use:

nvidia2

But it isn't found that this module is loaded. It is not necessarily in use.
I guess, I should select the "recommended" driver instead.
Actually when I closed the driver manager and started again, it shows now as:

nvidia3

So, like opening and closing the driver manager without any installation action, the driver was changed...
Maybe wrong click by the mouse (???).
It looks like the driver manager can not figure out what version is installed and secondly the installed driver
didn't load and didn't work.

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$ lsmod | grep vid
video                  53248  1 i91

[kc1di]

you can use the inxi command to discover which driver is being used.

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inxi -G

you will get an output with your card and driver being used.

[jarkky]

I'm thinking the inxi -G will display the "possible" graphics devices, not necessarily if the driver is in use for that device:

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$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 driver: i915 v: kernel 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX250] driver: N/A 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1680x1050~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (WHL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 

[SMG]

I'm thinking the inxi -G will display the "possible" graphics devices, not necessarily if the driver is in use for that device:

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$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 driver: i915 v: kernel 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX250] driver: N/A 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1680x1050~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (WHL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 

This output indicates your system is in Intel-PowerSave mode. The Nvidia driver is not loaded (N/A) when in that mode to help save power. You would have to switch to On-Demand mode or Nvidia mode and then reboot for the Nvidia driver files to load.

There is a difference between the Nvidia driver files being installed on your computer and the driver files being loaded during boot time.

If you used Driver Manager to install the files, you can run dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia to see what files are installed on your computer. You can check that even when you are in Intel-PowerSave mode because it checks for installed files and not loaded files.

[jarkky]

The driver manager possibly shows wrong status. Here is the dpkg results:

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$ dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia
ii  libnvidia-cfg1-470:amd64                          470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA binary OpenGL/GLX configuration library
ii  libnvidia-common-470                              470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               all          Shared files used by the NVIDIA libraries
ii  libnvidia-compute-470:amd64                       470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA libcompute package
ii  libnvidia-compute-470:i386                        470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               i386         NVIDIA libcompute package
ii  libnvidia-decode-470:amd64                        470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA Video Decoding runtime libraries
ii  libnvidia-decode-470:i386                         470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               i386         NVIDIA Video Decoding runtime libraries
ii  libnvidia-encode-470:amd64                        470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVENC Video Encoding runtime library
ii  libnvidia-encode-470:i386                         470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               i386         NVENC Video Encoding runtime library
ii  libnvidia-extra-470:amd64                         470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        Extra libraries for the NVIDIA driver
ii  libnvidia-fbc1-470:amd64                          470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA OpenGL-based Framebuffer Capture runtime library
ii  libnvidia-fbc1-470:i386                           470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               i386         NVIDIA OpenGL-based Framebuffer Capture runtime library
ii  libnvidia-gl-470:amd64                            470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA OpenGL/GLX/EGL/GLES GLVND libraries and Vulkan ICD
ii  libnvidia-gl-470:i386                             470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               i386         NVIDIA OpenGL/GLX/EGL/GLES GLVND libraries and Vulkan ICD
ii  libnvidia-ifr1-470:amd64                          470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA OpenGL-based Inband Frame Readback runtime library
ii  libnvidia-ifr1-470:i386                           470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               i386         NVIDIA OpenGL-based Inband Frame Readback runtime library
ii  nvidia-compute-utils-470                          470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA compute utilities
ii  nvidia-dkms-470                                   470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA DKMS package
ii  nvidia-driver-470                                 470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA driver metapackage
ii  nvidia-kernel-common-470                          470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        Shared files used with the kernel module
ii  nvidia-kernel-source-470                          470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA kernel source package
ii  nvidia-prime                                      0.8.16~0.20.04.1                      all          Tools to enable NVIDIA's Prime
ii  nvidia-prime-applet                               1.3.1                                 all          An applet for NVIDIA Prime
ii  nvidia-settings                                   470.57.01-0ubuntu0.20.04.2            amd64        Tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver
ii  nvidia-utils-470                                  470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA driver support binaries
ii  screen-resolution-extra                           0.18build1                            all          Extension for the nvidia-settings control panel
ii  xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-470                     470.86-0ubuntu0.20.04.2               amd64        NVIDIA binary Xorg driver

The driver seen in the tab is as:

But driver is not the NVIDIA, like what is the said 'active profile'

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$ lsmod |grep vid
video                  53248  1 i915

[SMG]

The driver manager possibly shows wrong status.

No, the Driver Manager is not showing the wrong status. Let me try to explain again. I will use an analogy this time. Suppose I drive a car over to your home and give it to you and then I leave, but I forget to give you the keys. You physically have the car. That is the same as you installing the Nvidia driver using Driver Manager. You have the driver files on your computer.

However, until I come back and give you the keys for the car, you can not drive the car even though you have possession of it. When I give you the keys, then you can drive it. When the Nvidia driver modules loaded at boot time, you can use the Nvidia driver.

Two different steps.
1) Installing the Nvidia driver files.
2) Loading the files at boot time so they can be used.

Having the files installed on your computer is not enough to be able to use them. (The dpkg output indicates they are installed on your computer.) You also need them loaded at boot time. We need to figure out why they are not loading at boot time.

What is the output of ls /lib/modprobe.d?

Approximately was the last time Nvidia mode was working properly?

[jarkky]

This is the result:

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$ ls /lib/modprobe.d
aliases.conf			       blacklist_linux_5.4.0-94-generic.conf		fbdev-blacklist.conf	      systemd.conf
blacklist_linux_5.4.0-91-generic.conf  blacklist_linux-hwe-5.13_5.13.0-23-generic.conf	nvidia-graphics-drivers.conf
blacklist_linux_5.4.0-92-generic.conf  blacklist_linux-hwe-5.13_5.13.0-25-generic.conf	nvidia-kms.conf

I don't think it was working in NVIDIA mode, possibly never, even I had installed it and that is the 'active profile'.

[SMG]

I don't think it was working in NVIDIA mode, possibly never, even I had installed it and that is the 'active profile'.

Is the computer you are asking about in this topic the same as the one in this post? The one in that post shows the Nvidia 470.63.01 as installed and rendering.

Please switch to On-Demand mode and reboot the computer. Then provide the output of inxi -Fxxxrz and enclose the results within code tags.

Please also provide the Xorg log which might give us an idea of what is happening with the graphics. Please use this command in a terminal to upload the X Server log file to termbin:
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999
It will return with a url address that you can post in your next reply.

[jarkky]

Here is the NVIDIA performance mode result:

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$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Kernel: 5.13.0-25-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A Desktop: MATE 1.26.0 info: mate-panel wm: marco 1.26.0 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: HP product: HP ENVY Laptop 17-ce0xxx v: Type1ProductConfigId serial: <filter> Chassis: 
           type: 10 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: HP model: 85E5 v: 30.31 serial: <filter> UEFI: Insyde v: F.11 date: 08/06/2020 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 54.2 Wh condition: 54.2/54.2 Wh (100%) volts: 13.0/11.6 model: 333-54-2C-A LK03055XL 
           type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: Full 
           Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Keyboard serial: <filter> charge: 55% (should be ignored) 
           rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
           Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse serial: <filter> charge: 55% (should be ignored) 
           rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-8565U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake rev: C L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 31999 
           Speed: 2300 MHz min/max: 400/4600 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 2300 2: 2300 3: 2300 4: 2350 5: 2300 6: 2300 7: 2300 
           8: 2300 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3ea0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX250] driver: N/A bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1d13 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa compositor: marco v: 1.26.0 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (WHL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-cnl 
           bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:9dc8 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.13.0-25-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Cannon Point-LP CNVi [Wireless-AC] driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 5000 bus ID: 00:14.3 
           chip ID: 8086:9df0 
           IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: kernel 
           port: 3000 bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.59 TiB used: 613.95 GiB (37.6%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital model: PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G-1006 size: 238.47 GiB speed: 15.8 Gb/s 
           lanes: 2 serial: <filter> rev: 20110006 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST1000LM049-2GH172 size: 931.51 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: RXM3 scheme: GPT 
           ID-3: /dev/sdb type: USB vendor: HP model: x796w size: 462.32 GiB serial: <filter> rev: PMAP scheme: MBR 
RAID:      Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 port: 5060 bus ID: 00:17.0 
           chip ID: 8086.282a rev: 30 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 48.97 GiB used: 24.13 GiB (49.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6 
           ID-2: /boot size: 975.9 MiB used: 541.7 MiB (55.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
           ID-3: /home size: 479.62 GiB used: 287.27 GiB (59.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 71.0 C mobo: 60.0 C 
           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 una 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
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teams.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/ms-teams stable main
Info:      Processes: 337 Uptime: 1h 15m Memory: 15.36 GiB used: 3.98 GiB (25.9%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: mate-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 
$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999
https://termbin.com/vkst4

The results after I switched to on-demand mode is:

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$ inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Kernel: 5.13.0-25-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A Desktop: MATE 1.26.0 info: mate-panel wm: marco 1.26.0 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: HP product: HP ENVY Laptop 17-ce0xxx v: Type1ProductConfigId serial: <filter> Chassis: 
           type: 10 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: HP model: 85E5 v: 30.31 serial: <filter> UEFI: Insyde v: F.11 date: 08/06/2020 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 54.2 Wh condition: 54.2/54.2 Wh (100%) volts: 13.0/11.6 model: 333-54-2C-A LK03055XL 
           type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: Full 
           Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Keyboard serial: <filter> charge: 55% (should be ignored) 
           rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
           Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse serial: <filter> charge: 55% (should be ignored) 
           rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-8565U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake rev: C L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 31999 
           Speed: 2300 MHz min/max: 400/4600 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 2300 2: 2300 3: 2350 4: 2350 5: 2300 6: 2300 7: 2300 
           8: 2300 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3ea0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX250] driver: N/A bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1d13 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa compositor: marco v: 1.26.0 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (WHL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-cnl 
           bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:9dc8 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.13.0-25-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Cannon Point-LP CNVi [Wireless-AC] driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 5000 bus ID: 00:14.3 
           chip ID: 8086:9df0 
           IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: kernel 
           port: 3000 bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
           IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.59 TiB used: 613.90 GiB (37.6%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital model: PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G-1006 size: 238.47 GiB speed: 15.8 Gb/s 
           lanes: 2 serial: <filter> rev: 20110006 scheme: GPT 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST1000LM049-2GH172 size: 931.51 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s rotation: 7200 rpm 
           serial: <filter> rev: RXM3 scheme: GPT 
           ID-3: /dev/sdb type: USB vendor: HP model: x796w size: 462.32 GiB serial: <filter> rev: PMAP scheme: MBR 
RAID:      Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0 port: 5060 bus ID: 00:17.0 
           chip ID: 8086.282a rev: 30 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 48.97 GiB used: 24.08 GiB (49.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6 
           ID-2: /boot size: 975.9 MiB used: 541.7 MiB (55.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 
           ID-3: /home size: 479.62 GiB used: 287.26 GiB (59.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 70.0 C mobo: 59.0 C 
           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 una 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
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teams.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/ms-teams stable main
Info:      Processes: 353 Uptime: 2m Memory: 15.36 GiB used: 2.53 GiB (16.5%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: mate-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 
$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999
https://termbin.com/im9x

Each case even if t showed the use of NVIDIA driver, that was not found in the lsmod-command and NVIDIA was not enabled.
It want use the NVIDIA-driver only (performance mode).

After switched back to the performance mode it shows now as:

Code: Select all

$ lsmod | grep vid
nvidia              35315712  1
drm                   557056  6 drm_kms_helper,nvidia,i915
video                  53248  1 i915

Do you suggest that this indicates using the NVIDIA?
I think it is still not using the NVIDIA driver, even switched back to the performance mode.
Waiting for couple of minutes and checking lsmod again, results to:

Code: Select all

$ lsmod | grep vid
video                  53248  1 i915

Active profile though is shown as NVIDIA.

nvid

[SMG]

Here is the NVIDIA performance mode result:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  
Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3ea0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX250] driver: N/A bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1d13 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa compositor: marco v: 1.26.0 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (WHL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 direct render: Yes 

$ cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999

The info in that log indicates only the Intel GPU is activated. That matches the info on the inxi -Gx output.

The results after I switched to on-demand mode is:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3ea0 
           Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX250] driver: N/A bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1d13 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa compositor: marco v: 1.26.0 
           resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (WHL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 direct render: Yes 

This output is exactly the same as your prior output. Additionally, the Xorg log has the same information.

Each case even if t showed the use of NVIDIA driver, that was not found in the lsmod-command and NVIDIA was not enabled.

I have no idea why you are posting the results of the lsmod command you are running.

X Server runs the graphics on Linux Mint and usually the inxi -Gx command will let you know what drivers are being used because inxi gets its information from the Xorg log.

After switched back to the performance mode it shows now as:

Code: Select all

$ lsmod | grep vid
nvidia              35315712  1
drm                   557056  6 drm_kms_helper,nvidia,i915
video                  53248  1 i915

Do you suggest that this indicates using the NVIDIA?

I think you should check inxi -Gx to see what is being used.

I think it is still not using the NVIDIA driver, even switched back to the performance mode.
Waiting for couple of minutes and checking lsmod again, results to:

Did you reboot the computer after you changed modes? You have to reboot the computer for the modes to change because the graphics driver modules load at boot time.

If you were not rebooting after you changed modes with the nvidia-prime-applet, then that explains why the settings were the same. You did not complete the process of changing modes.

[trytip]

been a while since i used nvidia and never had dual-gpu intel/nvidia. i used nvidia-smi command to see more info if available. you are correct i believe that nvidia is not used
if you don't have these settings, nvidia is not loaded.

some more display info if it helps:

Code: Select all

sudo lshw -C display
lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'
DRI_PRIME=1 glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

[jarkky]

I get the below result:

Code: Select all

$ nvidia-smi 
NVIDIA-SMI has failed because it couldn't communicate with the NVIDIA driver. Make sure that the latest NVIDIA driver is installed and running.

Even though the NVIDIA performance mode is reported as the active profile.

I think it is really not loaded / in use there.

[roblm]

Use this command and post the output. This is similar to what trytip requested but you didn’t answer:
lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "3D|VGA"

Also post the output of mokutil --sb-state

[jarkky]

Here is the output results:

Code: Select all

$ lspci -nnk | grep -EA3 "3D|VGA"
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) [8086:3ea0] (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) [103c:85e5]
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
--
02:00.0 3D controller [0302]: NVIDIA Corporation GP108M [GeForce MX250] [10de:1d13] (rev ff)
	Kernel modules: nvidiafb, nouveau, nvidia_drm, nvidia
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
	DeviceName: Hanksville Gbe Lan Connection
$ mokutil --sb-state
SecureBoot disabled
Platform is in Setup Mode

[roblm]

Post the output of these commands:

Code: Select all

ls /etc/modprobe.d/
ls /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/
ls /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/

Use this command to upload the dmesg log to terminal.com pastebin: dmesg -T | nc termbin.com 9999
Post the URL address that is displayed in the Terminal window.

[tinass]

The driver manager possibly shows wrong status.

No, the Driver Manager is not showing the wrong status. Let me try to explain again. I will use an analogy this time. Suppose I drive a car over to your home and give it to you and then I leave, but I forget to give you the keys. You physically have the car. That is the same as you installing the Nvidia driver using Driver Manager. You have the driver files on your computer.

However, until I come back and give you the keys for the car, you can not drive the car even though you have possession of it. When I give you the keys, then you can drive it. When the Nvidia driver modules loaded at boot time, you can use the Nvidia driver.

Two different steps.
1) Installing the Nvidia driver files.
2) Loading the files at boot time so they can be used.

Having the files installed on your computer is not enough to be able to use them. (The dpkg output indicates they are installed on your computer.) You also need them loaded at boot time. We need to figure out why they are not loading at boot time.

I'm new here, but I have to say this has to be one of the best laymen explanations I've read on here thus far. Learning so much! Thank you

[jarkky]

This is some output:

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$ ls /etc/modprobe.d/
alsa-base.conf			blacklist.conf		    blacklist-modem.conf	 dkms.conf
amd64-microcode-blacklist.conf	blacklist-firewire.conf     blacklist-oss.conf		 intel-microcode-blacklist.conf
blacklist-ath_pci.conf		blacklist-framebuffer.conf  blacklist-rare-network.conf  iwlwifi.conf
$ ls /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/
10-amdgpu.conf	10-nvidia.conf	10-quirks.conf	10-radeon.conf	11-nvidia-prime.conf  40-libinput.conf	70-wacom.conf
$ ls /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/char/drm/
nvidia-drm.ko  nvidia.ko  nvidia-modeset.ko  nvidia-peermem.ko	nvidia-uvm.ko
$ dmesg -T | nc termbin.com 9999
https://termbin.com/jjan

It happens now that the primary display is dark immediately after login. Something is affecting also the monitor settings.
The dmesg results is:

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[  798.579186] nvidia: probe of 0000:02:00.0 failed with error -1
[  798.579213] NVRM: The NVIDIA probe routine failed for 1 device(s).
[  798.579215] NVRM: None of the NVIDIA devices were initialized.
[  798.582861] nvidia-nvlink: Unregistered the Nvlink Core, major device number 509
[  799.144254] nvidia-nvlink: Nvlink Core is being initialized, major device number 509
[  799.144262] NVRM: This is a 64-bit BAR mapped above 4GB by the system
               NVRM: BIOS or the Linux kernel, but the PCI bridge
               NVRM: immediately upstream of this GPU does not define
               NVRM: a matching prefetchable memory window.
[  799.144881] NVRM: This may be due to a known Linux kernel bug.  Please
               NVRM: see the README section on 64-bit BARs for additional
               NVRM: information.

[roblm]

From the dmesg output, the problem appears to be from 64-bit BAR (Base Address Register) mapping. This is the first time I’ve seen this particular problem in the Mint forums.

This line says to check the Nvidia Linux Graphics Driver README.

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NVRM: see the README section on 64-bit BARs for additional information

See Chapter 9. Known Issues, under the section 64-Bit BARs (Base Address Registers)
http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/L ... ssues.html

Possible solutions are to try different kernels and Nvidia drivers and possibly a BIOS update.

This bug report shows the same dmesg lines:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... ug/1742112

User Plumbtus in comment #18 and 20 found a workaround by using the kernel parameters 'acpi_osi=! acpi_osi="Windows 2009"' and acpi_osi=Linux.

To test this, use this command to open the grub file for editing: xed admin:///etc/default/grub
Change this line:

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GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

To this:

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GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=! \"acpi_osi=Windows 2009\""

Then update grub and reboot: sudo update-grub

You can also test the parameter acpi_osi=Linux:

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GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=Linux"