[SOLVED] Nvidia X Server Settings window not working

[xka]

When I run "Nvidia X Server Settings" I get this empty window. Any idea how to fix it?


I also have Intel graphic card (besides Nvidia) in my laptop, switched to using it and since then I'm having this problem.

I'm using Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon

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ubuntu-drivers devices
== /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.0/0000:3b:00.0 ==
modalias : pci:v00008086d00002723sv00001A56sd00001654bc02sc80i00
vendor   : Intel Corporation
manual_install: True
driver   : backport-iwlwifi-dkms - distro free

== /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.0 ==
modalias : pci:v000010DEd00001F91sv00001028sd00000905bc03sc02i00
vendor   : NVIDIA Corporation
driver   : nvidia-driver-460 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-470 - distro non-free recommended
driver   : nvidia-driver-460-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-450-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-418-server - distro non-free
driver   : xserver-xorg-video-nouveau - distro free builtin

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sudo nvidia-settings

ERROR: NVIDIA driver is not loaded


ERROR: Unable to load info from any available system


(nvidia-settings:6833): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 13:33:51.702: g_object_unref: assertion 'G_IS_OBJECT (object)' failed
** Message: 13:33:51.704: PRIME: No offloading required. Abort
** Message: 13:33:51.704: PRIME: is it supported? no

[SMG]

When I run "Nvidia X Server Settings" I get this empty window. Any idea how to fix it?

I also have Intel graphic card (besides Nvidia) in my laptop, switched to using it and since then I'm having this problem.

If you are running Intel, then the Nvidia driver is probably not loaded and thus the Nvidia X Server settings would be an empty window. Nvidia driver only loads when running in Nvidia Performance mode or On-Demand mode.

Are you able to see the Nvidia prime applet?

Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help! explains the data we need to be able to help you. 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.

[xka]

If you are running Intel, then the Nvidia driver is probably not loaded and thus the Nvidia X Server settings would be an empty window. Nvidia driver only loads when running in Nvidia Performance mode or On-Demand mode.

Are you able to see the Nvidia prime applet?

Yeah, that seems to be the case. I don't see the applet.
How can I switch to using the Nvidia card?

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Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: N/A bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1f91 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.8 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 

[SMG]

I don't see the applet.

And I don't see the information I requested.

There was a bug a while back that caused problems with the applet, but corrected files have since been released. I would like to see the full inxi information I requested so I can get an idea of why your system might not be working. I even made it easy for you and spelled out exactly what info to provide so you didn't even have to read READ: How To Get Help! to provide the necessary information.

[xka]

And I don't see the information I requested.

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inxi -Fxxxrz
System:    Host: XPS15 Kernel: 5.4.0-80-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.4.8 
           wm: muffin 4.4.4 dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Dell product: XPS 15 7590 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0VYV0G v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 1.5.0 date: 12/25/2019 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 83.0 Wh condition: 94.1/97.0 Wh (97%) volts: 12.9/11.4 model: SMP DELL GPM0365 type: Li-ion 
           serial: <filter> status: Unknown 
           Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech M570 serial: <filter> charge: 90% rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: 6-Core model: Intel Core i7-9750H bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake rev: A L2 cache: 12.0 MiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 62399 
           Speed: 900 MHz min/max: 800/4500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 900 2: 900 3: 900 4: 900 5: 900 6: 900 7: 900 8: 900 
           9: 900 10: 900 11: 900 12: 900 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:3e9b 
           Device-2: NVIDIA vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: N/A bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:1f91 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 2560x1440~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.8 compat-v: 3.0 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
           chip ID: 8086:a348 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-80-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Intel vendor: Bigfoot Networks driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 3b:00.0 chip ID: 8086:2723 
           IF: wlp59s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: tun0 state: unknown speed: 10 Mbps duplex: full mac: N/A 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 671.31 GiB (70.4%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Toshiba model: KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1024GB size: 953.87 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 
           serial: <filter> rev: 10604105 scheme: GPT 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 797.68 GiB used: 670.89 GiB (84.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-0 
           ID-2: /boot size: 704.5 MiB used: 332.6 MiB (47.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 78.0 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/apandada1-brightness-controller-bionic.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/apandada1/brightness-controller/ubuntu bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ethereum-ethereum-bionic.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ethereum/ethereum/ubuntu bionic main
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/home:manuelschneid3r.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozillateam-ppa-bionic.list 
           1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/mozillateam/ppa/ubuntu bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/18.04/prod bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list 
           1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_14.x bionic main
           2: deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_14.x bionic main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nordvpn.list 
           1: deb https://repo.nordvpn.com/deb/nordvpn/debian stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/packages tricia main upstream import backport
           2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.csg.uzh.ch/ubuntu bionic main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.csg.uzh.ch/ubuntu bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.csg.uzh.ch/ubuntu bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ bionic partner
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/slimbook-slimbook-bionic.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list 
           1: deb http://linux.teamviewer.com/deb stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/wire-desktop.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://wire-app.wire.com/linux/debian stable main
Info:      Processes: 425 Uptime: 5h 09m Memory: 30.98 GiB used: 15.76 GiB (50.9%) Init: systemd v: 237 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 7.5.0 alt: 7 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.32 

[SMG]

I was hoping there might be a similarity between your computer and some of the others experiencing the issue which happened several months ago, but I did not find others with Dell posting about it. It seems the issue was affecting different computers differently, but there was one fix/workaround which seemed to work for most people.

Run the following to check and make sure the nvidia-prime-applet is installed on your computer: dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia

If it is there, the fourth post in this thread Disappearing Nvidia drivers :Prime the prime suspect? describes a one line code fix (editing line 34) for a know bug with some of the graphics files related to Nvidia that may fix the issue you are having about not seeing the nvidia-prime-applet and being able to use it to switch to Nvidia or On-Demand.

The original issue you mentioned in your first post about the Nvidia X Server Settings being empty is not a "problem". It is a change to the code of dual-graphics laptops so Nvidia is not loaded when Intel is being used. It's my understanding that is supposed to help with power savings (battery life) by not having the Nvidia modules loaded at boot.

However, you should be able to see and use the nvidia-prime-applet to switch to Nvidia Performance Mode or On-Demand Mode. Let us know if the fix makes the applet visible again. To change to Nvidia you would then switch using the applet and the reboot the computer (so the Nvidia modules can load).

As a FYIs and not related to this issue: There are quite a few BIOS/UEFI updates available for your laptop. Dell XPS 15 7590 System BIOS. Also, many people with 9th-gen Intel cpus tend to get better performance with newer kernels (5.8 or higher), but that would require moving to LM20.

[xenopeek]

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Repos:
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/packages tricia main upstream import backport

Hi, I think unrelated but I see you're using the EvoWise mirror. EvoWise shut down their Linux distro mirror server permanently yesterday I've just heard. You'll want to go into Software Sources and select a different main mirror. You won't receive software updates or be able to install new software using the EvoWise mirror.

[xka]

If it is there, the fourth post in this thread Disappearing Nvidia drivers :Prime the prime suspect? describes a one line code fix (editing line 34) for a know bug with some of the graphics files related to Nvidia that may fix the issue you are having about not seeing the nvidia-prime-applet and being able to use it to switch to Nvidia or On-Demand.

...
Let us know if the fix makes the applet visible again.

Yes, that has fixed the issue

Thanks for the help

[xka]

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Repos:
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://mirrors.evowise.com/linuxmint/packages tricia main upstream import backport

Hi, I think unrelated but I see you're using the EvoWise mirror. EvoWise shut down their Linux distro mirror server permanently yesterday I've just heard. You'll want to go into Software Sources and select a different main mirror. You won't receive software updates or be able to install new software using the EvoWise mirror.

Changed... Thanks..