Diff for "Howto/NVIDIA"

Differences between revisions 16 and 52 (spanning 36 versions)

Contents

About this Howto
Determining your card model
Installing the drivers
Special notes
Uninstall the nvidia driver
Bug Report

About this Howto

This howto will help you install the correct nVidia driver for your graphics card as well as troubleshoot common driver problems.

The prerequisite is to have followed the Configuration page to have at least the RPM Fusion nonfree section available.

Determining your card model

nVidia has several driver series, each of which has different hardware support. To determine which driver you need to install, you'll first need to find your graphics card model.

If you don't know it, open a Terminal (Applications > System Tools > Terminal) and type:

/sbin/lspci | grep VGA

You can also check the nVidia download driver section and see which series is recommended for you card, then install the appropriate driver series.

Installing the drivers

Please remember that once the driver is installed, it will configure your xorg.conf automatically only if it's not already present. You can also run nvidia-xconfig or nvidia-settings at anytime. Changes will take effect after a full reboot on the newest kernel.

Newer GeForce

dnf install akmod-nvidia "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y

or kmod-nvidia/kmod-nvidia-PAE if using pre-built kmod for kernel/kernel-PAE

GeForce 8/9/200

dnf install akmod-nvidia-340xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y

or kmod-nvidia/kmod-nvidia-PAE if using pre-built kmod for kernel/kernel-PAE

GeForce 6/7

dnf install akmod-nvidia-304xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y

GeForce 5 (FX series)

Supported up to Fedora 20 - EOL, no more nvidia updates

yum install akmod-nvidia-173xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
yum update -y

GeForce 2 through GeForce 4

Supported up to Fedora 14 - EOL, no more nvidia updates

yum install akmod-nvidia-96xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
yum update -y

Special notes

Latest/Beta driver

You can install the latest drivers from Rawhide using the following command:

dnf --enablerepo=rpmfusion-nonfree-rawhide install akmod-nvidia 
dnf install "kernel-devel == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y

Or if you want to grab it from the latest fedora stable release:

yum --releasever=23 install akmod-nvidia
yum install "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
yum update -y

x86_64 (64bit) users

If you wish to have 3D acceleration in 32bit packages such as Wine, be sure to install the appropriate 32bit version of the xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs package for your driver variant. For example, if you installed kmod-nvidia then you will require xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686, but if you install kmod-nvidia-96xx, you will need xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-96xx-libs.i686. If using Fedora 11 you will need to use xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i586, with Fedora 10 or older use xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i386.

PAE (Physical Address Extension) kernel users

If you are on a 32bit (i686) system and have the PAE kernel installed to access more RAM, please append -PAE to all the "kmod" packages above. For example, kmod-nvidia-PAE or kmod-nvidia-96xx-PAE. This will install the kernel module for the PAE kernel instead of the regular 32bit kernel. Please note that this step is not required for any 64bit (x64_64) users.

VDPAU/VAAPI

In order to enable video acceleration support for your player and if your nvidia card is recent enough (Geforce 8 and later is needed). You can install theses packages:

# dnf install vdpauinfo libva-vdpau-driver libva-utils

With the native vdpau backend from a nvidia card, the output is similar to this:

$ vdpauinfo 
display: :0.0   screen: 0
API version: 1
Information string: NVIDIA VDPAU Driver Shared Library  280.13  Wed Jul 27 17:15:20 PDT 2011
...

Here is an example of an accurate output of vainfo, when the bridge to the VAAPI is correctly installed.

$ vainfo 
libva: libva version 0.32.0
Xlib:  extension "XFree86-DRI" missing on display ":0.0".
libva: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva: Trying to open /usr/lib64/dri/nvidia_drv_video.so
libva: va_openDriver() returns 0
vainfo: VA API version: 0.32
vainfo: Driver version: Splitted-Desktop Systems VDPAU backend for VA-API - 0.7.3
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
...

Akmods

An akmod is a type of package similar to dkms. As you start your computer, the akmod system will check if there are any missing kmods and if so, rebuild a new kmod for you. Akmods have more overhead than regular kmod packages as they require a few development tools such as gcc and automake in order to be able to build new kmods locally. If you think you'd like to try akmods, simply replace kmod with akmod in the instructions above and run them again. For example, kmod-nvidia-96xx becomes akmod-nvidia-96xx. Akmods are fully compatible with regular kmods, so you can switch between the two or even use both at once without any problems.

Nouveau compatibility

As nouveau is enabled by default starting with Fedora 11, you may experience problem which is caused by the nouveau kernel module being present in the initrd image. After the reboot, this command should not output anything:

lsmod |grep nouveau

Secure Boot

Sometimes, Secure Boot blocks the kernel loading the nvidia driver. It can be disabled before booting the OS as a test.

Rawhide

Rawhide kernels are built with debug enabled GPL-only symbols which kernel is incompatible with the nvidia binary-only driver. You need to use the Rawhide nodebug repository.

Please remind that Xorg server version is also to take into consideration. In the case of incompatibilities with the xorg-server, you might need to downgrade to the previous fedora release:

dnf downgrade xorg-x11-server\* --releasever=22 --allowerasing
echo "exclude=xorg-x11*" >> /etc/dnf/dnf.conf

Uninstall the nvidia driver

yum remove xorg-x11-drv-nvidia\*

Bug Report

If you still cannot make the driver to work, you can either report a problem to nVidia or to RPM Fusion packager team. Please read: If you have a problem, PLEASE read this first

CategoryHowto

-  ⇤ ← Revision 16 as of 2010-09-19 16:17:44 → 
  Size: 6238
  Editor: BrackBill
  Comment: Added command for disable 96xx drivers
+   ← Revision 52 as of 2016-02-26 10:37:28 → ⇥
  Size: 6646
  Editor: JonathanWakely
  Comment: spelling
-Deletions are marked like this.
+Additions are marked like this.
 Line 4:
+The prerequisite is to have followed the [[Configuration]] page to have at least the RPM Fusion nonfree section available.
-Line 14:
+Line 17:
-== Fedora version notes ==
<<Anchor(fedora_version_notes)>>
=== Fedora 12 / 13 ===
In order to keep [[#nouveau|compatibility with nouveau]], you either need to recreate the initrd manually after the driver has been installed, or add a command line option to the kernel.  To recreate the initrd:
{{{
su - 
mv /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r)-nouveau.img
dracut /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r)
}}}
To use the default initrd, but disable the nouveau driver, edit /etc/grub.conf and add the following to the end of the line(s) starting with 'kernel':
{{{
  rdblacklist=nouveau nomodeset
}}}

Before using the driver, you need to lower your system protection so SElinux doesn't prevent the driver to load.
{{{
setsebool -P allow_execstack on
}}}
Note: With lastest packages this options is set automatically.<<BR>>
Note: kmod-nvidia-96xx is not currently available for Fedora 13 [[http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODQyNQ|(1)]]

=== Fedora 11 ===
In order to keep [[#nouveau|compatibility with nouveau]], you need to recreate the initrd manually after the driver has been installed.
{{{
su - 
mv /boot/initrd-$(uname -r).img /boot/initrd-$(uname -r)-nouveau.img
mkinitrd /boot/initrd-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r)
reboot
}}}

=== Fedora 10 ===
Unfortunately, nVidia has not released a driver for card older than Geforce 2 that is compatible with Fedora 10 and beyond.
+You can also check the [[http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx|nVidia download driver]] section and see which series is recommended for you card, then install the appropriate driver series.
-Line 51:
+Line 21:
-Please remember that once the driver is installed, it will configure your xorg.conf automatically and changes will take effect after a full reboot on the newest kernel. Using nvidia-xconfig or nvidia-settings before the reboot will garanty you problems.
+Please remember that once the driver is installed, it will configure your xorg.conf automatically only if it's not already present.  You can also run nvidia-xconfig or nvidia-settings at anytime. Changes will take effect after a '''''full reboot''''' on the newest kernel.
-Line 53:
+Line 23:
-=== GeForce 6 and newer ===
+=== Newer GeForce  ===
-Line 55:
+Line 25:
-yum install kmod-nvidia-PAE (or kmod-nvidia if not using kernel-PAE)
+dnf install akmod-nvidia "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y
}}}
or kmod-nvidia/kmod-nvidia-PAE if using pre-built kmod for kernel/kernel-PAE


=== GeForce 8/9/200 ===
{{{
dnf install akmod-nvidia-340xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y
}}}
or kmod-nvidia/kmod-nvidia-PAE if using pre-built kmod for kernel/kernel-PAE

=== GeForce 6/7  ===
{{{
dnf install akmod-nvidia-304xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y
}}}
=== GeForce 5 (FX series) ===
Supported up to Fedora 20 - EOL, no more nvidia updates
{{{
yum install akmod-nvidia-173xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
yum update -y
}}}
=== GeForce 2 through GeForce 4 ===
Supported up to Fedora 14 - EOL, no more nvidia updates
{{{
yum install akmod-nvidia-96xx "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
yum update -y
-Line 58:
+Line 56:
-=== GeForce 5 (FX series) ===
+== Special notes ==

=== Latest/Beta driver ===
You can install the latest drivers from Rawhide using the following command:
-Line 60:
+Line 61:
-yum install kmod-nvidia-173xx
}}}
=== GeForce 2 through GeForce 4 ===
{{{
yum install kmod-nvidia-96xx
}}}
=== Older ===
For Fedora 9 and older, you can do:
{{{
yum install kmod-nvidia-legacy
+dnf --enablerepo=rpmfusion-nonfree-rawhide install akmod-nvidia 
dnf install "kernel-devel == $(uname -r)"
dnf update -y
-Line 72:
+Line 66:
+Or if you want to grab it from the latest fedora stable release:
{{{
yum --releasever=23 install akmod-nvidia
yum install "kernel-devel-uname-r == $(uname -r)"
yum update -y
}}}
 Line 73:
-== Special notes ==
-Line 75:
+Line 74:
-If you wish to have 3D acceleration in 32bit packages such as Wine, be sure to install the xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i386 package for your driver variant. For example, if you installed kmod-nvidia then you will require xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i386, but if you install kmod-nvidia-'''96xx''', you will need xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-'''96xx'''-libs.i386. If using Fedora 11 you will need to use xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i586, with Fedora 12 use xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686.
+If you wish to have 3D acceleration in 32bit packages such as Wine, be sure to install the appropriate 32bit version of the xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs package for your driver variant. For example, if you installed kmod-nvidia then you will require xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686, but if you install kmod-nvidia-'''96xx''', you will need xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-'''96xx'''-libs.i686. If using Fedora 11 you will need to use xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.'''i586''', with Fedora 10 or older use xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.'''i386'''.
 Line 77:
-If you are on a 32bit (i686) system and have the PAE kernel installed to access more RAM, please append '''-PAE''' to all the "kmod" pacakges above. For example, '''kmod-nvidia-PAE''' or '''kmod-nvidia-96xx-PAE'''. This will install the kernel module for the PAE kernel instead of the regular 32bit kernel. Please note that this step is not required for any 64bit (x64_64) users.
+If you are on a 32bit (i686) system and have the PAE kernel installed to access more RAM, please append '''-PAE''' to all the "kmod" packages above. For example, '''kmod-nvidia-PAE''' or '''kmod-nvidia-96xx-PAE'''. This will install the kernel module for the PAE kernel instead of the regular 32bit kernel. Please note that this step is not required for any 64bit (x64_64) users.

=== VDPAU/VAAPI ===
In order to enable video acceleration support for your player and if your nvidia card is recent enough (Geforce 8 and later is needed). You can install theses packages:
{{{
# dnf install vdpauinfo libva-vdpau-driver libva-utils
}}}

With the native vdpau backend from a nvidia card, the output is similar to this:
{{{
$ vdpauinfo 
display: :0.0   screen: 0
API version: 1
Information string: NVIDIA VDPAU Driver Shared Library  280.13  Wed Jul 27 17:15:20 PDT 2011
...
}}}

Here is an example of an accurate output of vainfo, when the bridge to the VAAPI is correctly installed.
{{{
$ vainfo 
libva: libva version 0.32.0
Xlib:  extension "XFree86-DRI" missing on display ":0.0".
libva: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva: Trying to open /usr/lib64/dri/nvidia_drv_video.so
libva: va_openDriver() returns 0
vainfo: VA API version: 0.32
vainfo: Driver version: Splitted-Desktop Systems VDPAU backend for VA-API - 0.7.3
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
...
}}}
-Line 84:
+Line 113:
-As nouveau is enabled by default starting with Fedora 11, you may experience problem which is caused by the nouveau kernel module being present in the initrd image. To avoid such problem, after you have installed the right series of the nvidia driver for your hardware and execute the [[#fedora_version_notes|commands specifics]] for a given Fedora version:
+As nouveau is enabled by default starting with Fedora 11, you may experience problem which is caused by the nouveau kernel module being present in the initrd image.
-Line 91:
+Line 119:
+=== Secure Boot ===
Sometimes, Secure Boot blocks the kernel loading the nvidia driver. It can be disabled before booting the OS as a test.
-Line 92:
+Line 122:
-== Troubleshooting ==
If you're experiencing problems with the drivers (in particular, lack of 3D after using nvidia-xconfig or nvidia-settings), try executing these commands:
+=== Rawhide ===
Rawhide kernels are built with debug enabled GPL-only symbols which kernel is incompatible with the nvidia binary-only driver.
You need to use the [[http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RawhideKernelNodebug|Rawhide nodebug repository]].

Please remind that Xorg server version is also to take into consideration. In the case of incompatibilities with the xorg-server, you might need to downgrade to the previous fedora release:
-Line 95:
+Line 128:
-nvidia-config-display disable (or for 96xx: nvidia-96xx-config-display disable) (or for 173xx: nvidia-173xx-config-display disable)
nvidia-config-display enable
+dnf downgrade xorg-x11-server\* --releasever=22 --allowerasing
echo "exclude=xorg-x11*" >> /etc/dnf/dnf.conf
-Line 98:
+Line 131:
-This will re-configure xorg.conf for use with the RPM Fusion drivers.
-Line 101:
+Line 133:
-== Disable or uninstall the nvidia driver ==
+== Uninstall the nvidia driver ==
-Line 103:
+Line 135:
-It is possible to disable the driver without uninstalling the nvidia package.
-Line 105:
+Line 136:
-nvidia-config-display disable (or for 96xx: nvidia-96xx-config-display disable) (or for 173xx: nvidia-173xx-config-display disable)
rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
}}}
Or you can switch the Driver field from nvidia to nouveau in /etc/X11/xorg.conf
You also need to verify that /boot/grub/grub.conf doesn't contain nomodeset or rdblacklist=nouveau anymore.

Then you will need to '''reboot'''. (or switch to init3 and manually unloading/loading modules.).

Once done, if you really want to uninstall the driver:
{{{
yum remove xorg-x11-drv-nvidia\* livna-config-display
+yum remove xorg-x11-drv-nvidia\*
-Line 120:
+Line 141:
-If you still cannot make the driver to work, you can either report a problem to nVidia or to rpmfusion packager team.
Please read: [[http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=46678|How to report a problem about the nVidia proprietary driver]]
+If you still cannot make the driver to work, you can either report a problem to nVidia or to RPM Fusion packager team.
Please read: [[https://devtalk.nvidia.com/default/topic/522835/linux/if-you-have-a-problem-please-read-this-first/|If you have a problem, PLEASE read this first]]