a small question Linux Mint and Nvidia GF119M

[Marie SWE]

Hi Minters.

A small question. What was the last version of Linux Mint and LMDE that had core/kernel/out of the box support for Nvidia GF119M Graphics?
I dont mean legacy drivers that can be run on latest Mint, i mean out of the box kernel support?
Was the last Mint 17 and LMDE2 or was it even earlier when Linux dropped the driver 610M support?

[SMG]

What was the last version of Linux Mint and LMDE that had core/kernel/out of the box support for Nvidia GF119M Graphics?

What does "core/kernel/output of the box support" mean? The nouveau driver is available in the kernel so if that is what you are referencing then all current versions support it.

The GF119M (610M) uses the proprietary Nvidia-390 driver. One can use that in Linux Mint 21 versions (supported until April 2027) and LMDE 5 (supported until July 1st). One may also be able to use it with LMDE 6, but I'm not sure.

I dont mean legacy drivers that can be run on latest Mint, i mean out of the box kernel support?

I don't understand what that means.

Currently, all drivers 470 and older are considered "legacy" by Nvidia, but proprietary Nvidia drivers have never been part of the Linux kernel.

[Marie SWE]

What was the last version of Linux Mint and LMDE that had core/kernel/out of the box support for Nvidia GF119M Graphics?

What does "core/kernel/output of the box support" mean? The nouveau driver is available in the kernel so if that is what you are referencing then all current versions support it.

The GF119M (610M) uses the proprietary Nvidia-390 driver. One can use that in Linux Mint 21 versions (supported until April 2027) and LMDE 5 (supported until July 1st). One may also be able to use it with LMDE 6, but I'm not sure.

I dont mean legacy drivers that can be run on latest Mint, i mean out of the box kernel support?

I don't understand what that means.

Currently, all drivers 470 and older are considered "legacy" by Nvidia, but proprietary Nvidia drivers have never been part of the Linux kernel.

Hi SMG
Nice that you of all did answer, as i know you are in to the graphic stuff (meant as a compliment)

To make a long story short.
I have had it with linux bad driver support on old hardware as they are quite fast on dropping drivers and then you have to spend to much time trying to "solve" the problem.

So i have decided to either go with windows7EOL but better would be to run Linux EOL as even linux is bad to use past EOL it is still better then running windows EOL. *smiling*
So I am trying to figure out what version of Mint or LMDE that was the last one with good driver support for an Asus A73sd (the small one with the i3-2350M cpu)

The 390driver is bad.. you get conflicts in the system that start to popup after 20days of uptime.. so way to much maintenance to keep the system running over time. and also the nouveau driver wont work.. it gives you problem with hibernation.

So I am way past to get a modern distro working on this old laptop and just want to find out what last Mint/LMDE version that did work 100% without any issues so i can use the computer instead of fix with the computer. *smiling*
Chipset and Graphic drivers seem to be main problem.

The computer is from 2011 or 2012.. and if i have figured out linux seem to drop hardware support after 5-6 years, so that should be around Mint 17?
Do you agree with my guessing?
I have tried to google the mint.com forum to see when people started to have problem with mint and the 610M.. but my google-fu is bad, so i get a lot of bad hits that has nothing to do with what I'm searching for. *LOL*
So after 2hours googleling i made this post in here.

[SMG]

To make a long story short.
I have had it with linux bad driver support on old hardware as they are quite fast on dropping drivers and then you have to spend to much time trying to "solve" the problem.

I don't think you will find many people agreeing with your "linux bad driver support on old hardware" thesis with regards to Nvidia. Nvidia stops supporting GPUs after a period of time. What you are implying is they stop supporting GPUs even as they release drivers which they say will work with those GPUs. If you don't trust Nvidia, then it doesn't matter which driver you are using.

So I am way past to get a modern distro working on this old laptop and just want to find out what last Mint/LMDE version that did work 100% without any issues so i can use the computer instead of fix with the computer. *smiling*
Chipset and Graphic drivers seem to be main problem.

The computer is from 2011 or 2012.. and if i have figured out linux seem to drop hardware support after 5-6 years, so that should be around Mint 17?
Do you agree with my guessing?

No. Nvidia tests their drivers with specific kernels and X.org versions.

You can use Linux Mint 20 versions right now with the 5.4 kernel and install the Nvidia-340 driver. Just because your GPU can use the 390 does not mean it has to use it. LM20 versions have another year of support.

According to Nvidia Support timeframes for Unix legacy GPU releases,"The Linux 340.* legacy driver series is the last to support the G8x, G9x, and GT2xx GPUs, and motherboard chipsets based on them. Support for X.Org xserver version 1.20 was added to the 340.* legacy driver series with version 340.107, and support for Linux kernels up to Linux 5.4 was added with version 340.108. No further releases from the 340.* series are planned."

LM20 versions use the 5.4 LTS kernel and has the 1.20 Xorg version.

Unless you can find a mirror that has not been updated, old Linux Mint versions are not available.

[Marie SWE]

To make a long story short.
I have had it with linux bad driver support on old hardware as they are quite fast on dropping drivers and then you have to spend to much time trying to "solve" the problem.

I don't think you will find many people agreeing with your "linux bad driver support on old hardware" thesis with regards to Nvidia. Nvidia stops supporting GPUs after a period of time. What you are implying is they stop supporting GPUs even as they release drivers which they say will work with those GPUs. If you don't trust Nvidia, then it doesn't matter which driver you are using.

I know many Linux users dont agree as they want to make linux sound better then what it really is.. as some windows user want to make windows sound better then it is.. or as some Mac users make Mac sounds as the best thing ever made.
That is another topic though.

But the truth is as can be read on kernel.org they do remove old driver support to prevent the kernel to become to big... and also as they dont want to spend time maintaining things only a few is using in the real world.
Yes Nvidia has also dropped support on this Nvidia card to win10 too... so i dont blame or talk down on linux about vendors stop supporting drivers to different OS's.. And i know some developers trying to make universal drivers like nouveau trying to.. But it dont play out well as the newer linux kernel is as it is and you get issues.
Windows is known for it's backward compatibility and that is also why windows is so darn big on disk after a clean install as it has so many things in the kernel is only for the backward compatibility.. If linux had done the same, then a linux install had been 30GB or more on disk after a clean install.
I never said i dont trust Nvidia.. I do trust Nvidia.
I said the 390driver dont work flawless as it causes problems after to long uptime and that's why I'm looking for the right older Mint/LMDE version where Nvidia driver do work flawless so i can have a long uptime when i need it.
I can tweak an old win7 Nvidia x64 driver to run on win11, but it will have issues as the 11kernel dont have the win10 compatibility support for that old card as win11 dropped a lot of backward support on old card that cant run directX12.
That is the same problem with modern linux kernel it dont play well with the old Nvidia driver and that is why it causes issues as it is not designed to work on tooooo old hardware. and i accept that and i have no issues with it its just a fact to run the right tuff on the right hardware.

I have no problem with modern LMDE or Mint on my newer machines. Its only this old museum piece that dont play well with modern OS's so i need older software/OS that is made for this era so they play nice together.

So I am way past to get a modern distro working on this old laptop and just want to find out what last Mint/LMDE version that did work 100% without any issues so i can use the computer instead of fix with the computer. *smiling*
Chipset and Graphic drivers seem to be main problem.

The computer is from 2011 or 2012.. and if i have figured out linux seem to drop hardware support after 5-6 years, so that should be around Mint 17?
Do you agree with my guessing?

No. Nvidia tests their drivers with specific kernels and X.org versions.

You can use Linux Mint 20 versions right now with the 5.4 kernel and install the Nvidia-340 driver. Just because your GPU can use the 390 does not mean it has to use it. LM20 versions have another year of support.

According to Nvidia Support timeframes for Unix legacy GPU releases,"The Linux 340.* legacy driver series is the last to support the G8x, G9x, and GT2xx GPUs, and motherboard chipsets based on them. Support for X.Org xserver version 1.20 was added to the 340.* legacy driver series with version 340.107, and support for Linux kernels up to Linux 5.4 was added with version 340.108. No further releases from the 340.* series are planned."

LM20 versions use the 5.4 LTS kernel and has the 1.20 Xorg version.

Unless you can find a mirror that has not been updated, old Linux Mint versions are not available.

Thanks that seems to be the answer i have been looking for, so it is up to the 5.4 kernel and LM20 that is officially supported.. Nice
So to be on the really safe side.. then Mint 19.3 or LMDE3 is the safest bet to this old-old-old hardware

I sooo knew that you was the right person to figure it out, as you do know your graphic stuff

[SMG]

But the truth is as can be read on kernel.org they do remove old driver support to prevent the kernel to become to big... and also as they dont want to spend time maintaining things only a few is using in the real world.

That is not at all relevant to your question. Nvidia drivers are not in the kernel so there is nothing to be "removed" from the kernel with regards to proprietary Nvidia drivers.

That is the same problem with modern linux kernel it dont play well with the old Nvidia driver and that is why it causes issues as it is not designed to work on tooooo old hardware.

It appears you did not read what I wrote in my last post. Nvidia tests their drivers with specific kernels so your theory has a major flaw in it.

Its only this old museum piece that dont play well with modern OS's so i need older software/OS that is made for this era so they play nice together.

I'm typing right now on a Sandy-bridge Celeron laptop with a fully supported operating system in LM20.3. Same era as your "old museum piece".

So to be on the really safe side.. then Mint 19.3 or LMDE3 is the safest bet to this old-old-old hardware

No, it isn't. It's a flawed theory you made up. You can believe whatever fantasy you want, but don't expect others to believe it as well.

[Hoser Rob]

There's a limit to all this "Linux saves old hardware" thing and there always has been in my experience with it.