Ubuntu
linux-restricted-modules-2.6.22 package

nvidia driver instantly crashes kernel - gutsy, nvidia-glx-new 1.0.9755

Bug #129343 reported by RichardNeill on 2007-07-30

This bug report is a duplicate of: Bug #157773: X Server is crashing with "nvidia" driver on Geforce 8xxx series cards in Ubuntu Gutsy. Edit Remove

Affects		Status	Importance	Assigned to	Milestone
	linux-restricted-modules-2.6.22 (Ubuntu)	New	Undecided	Oliver

Bug Description

Binary package hint: linux-restricted-modules-2.6-amd64-generic

When I start gdm with the nvidia driver, the machine instantly dies.

Fresh install of Gutsty (nightly on July 28th), on AMD64.
Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT.

0)Logged in remotely via SSH.

1) I used dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg to get a "working(*)" xorg.conf with the nv driver.
2) Then, I installed nvidia-glx-new, resulting in the following packages
Get: 1 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy/restricted nvidia-kernel-common 20051028+1ubuntu7 [5176B]
Get: 2 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy/restricted linux-restricted-modules-2.6.22-8-generic 2.6.22.2-8.4 [13.7MB]

3) I changed the "nv" line in xorg.conf to "nvidia".

4) /etc/init.d/gdm restart
* Stopping GNOME Display Manager... [ OK ]
* Starting GNOME Display Manager...

5) At this point, the machine crashed. Totally dead; display remained black, no ssh, no ping, not even Alt-SysRQ.

(*)Why do I need the nvidia driver?

- i) I'm using a dual monitor setup - the nv driver doesn't support this.
- ii)The screen is 1600x1200 LCD, and quite fussy about refresh rates. My old pc had no trouble with it, but the current card (with the nv driver) cannot drive it at better than 1024x1280. At 1600x1200, the screen flickers at about 10 Hz (most unpleasant!). This is true even if I force xorg.conf to exactly the horizsync/vertrefresh specified in the monitor's manual.

Revision history for this message

Sitsofe Wheeler (sitsofe) wrote on 2007-07-31:

Punting from linux-meta -> linux-restricted-modules-2.6.22

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RichardNeill (ubuntu-richardneill) wrote on 2007-07-31:

If I install the latest nvidia driver from nvidia's shell script, (http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display_amd64_100.14.11.html) it works, and seems to be stable. At least I can run glxgears for a while.

However, neither the nvidia driver nor the xorg nv one are usable: both cause the LCDs to flash/strobe in a way which causes an almost instant headache. [No idea why - these LCDs are the same ones I had on my old PC which has a GeForce FX 5200 running the nvidia driver under Mandriva 2006, and I'm even using the same xorg.conf file (except for the PCI ID)]

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Sitsofe Wheeler (sitsofe) wrote on 2007-07-31:

(Possibly another request for Bug #120943 )

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RichardNeill (ubuntu-richardneill) wrote on 2007-08-01:

This is *sort* of a request for bug #120943, but not entirely. I find the following:

- With either nvidia's latest, or nv driver, I get the dreadful strobing effect at 1600x1200. (800x600 is the highest that works OK).

- With the VESA driver (at 1600x1200, or 800x600), I just get a blank screen. xorg.0.log looks like it has started successfully, but the monitor will never come out of DPMS mode (even with Option "DPMS" "off".)

- None of the 3 drivers support VT switching: Ctrl-Alt-F[1-6] lead to a black screen, which does not return to the GUI with Ctrl-Alt-F7, but requires a restart of gdm.

- The nouveau driver can be built, but does not support this card.

Sorry this bug is slightly wandering off-topic - is there anything left to try, or should I give up and buy a different card? If so, are the 7600 series well supported?

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Sitsofe Wheeler (sitsofe) wrote on 2007-08-01:

RichardNeill:
I generally avoid giving out advice for hardware that uses binary only drivers due to "interesting" responses in the past. If you want to buy another NVIDIA i all I can say is "Try before you buy, caveat emptor".

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RichardNeill (ubuntu-richardneill) wrote on 2007-08-01:

I totally agree - binary-blob hardware is a bad idea. But as far as I can see, there isn't a choice at the moment - there are no cards on the market which will fit a PCI-E slot, have 2 DVI connections, and which have free drivers. Have I missed one?

I know about the Open Graphics Project, but that's not ready yet, so I think it's a choice of ATI/Nvidia/Matrox. Even the Matrox card is now partly non-free in its PCI-E version. Of these, the nvidia driver is usually the least bad, and there is a hope of a free driver soon from nouveau.

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Michael R. Head (burner) wrote on 2007-08-17:

The nvidia-glx-new driver crashes the kernel on my T61P in both gutsy and feisty. It turns out it doesn't support my Quadro FX 570M hardware anyway.

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OAM (onearmed) wrote on 2007-10-20:

this may or may not be related, but i have been having problems with X / GDM and Nvidia 8600GT using restricted drivers.

i have made some posts on this bug

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-restricted-modules-2.6.22/+bug/152263