Serious problems with nVidia proprietary driver installation on 64-bit Kubuntu 12.04

[Caesar]

sudo lspci -v

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G84 [GeForce 8600M GT] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
        Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. Device 3fad
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
        Memory at d2000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        Memory at c0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32M]
        I/O ports at 5000 [size=128]
        Expansion ROM at d3000000 [disabled] [size=128K]
        Capabilities: [60] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [68] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
        Capabilities: [78] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [128] Power Budgeting <?>
        Capabilities: [600] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=024 <?>
        Kernel driver in use: nouveau
        Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidiafb

[oshunluvr]

I'm not convinced you're doing anything wrong. It seems you have run into a bug with the ubuntu kernel newer than 2.6.34 and the 8600M video when used with a non-standard pci bus. I've found 3-4 potential solutions but let's get more info. Try and post the output of lspci -v - just the VGA part.

[Caesar]

Well, I previously used several Linux distributions, including Aurox, Mandriva, Arch and Kubuntu 11.10 and also didn't experience this kind of problem with proprietary drivers... Tell me then, what am I doing wrong?

[tek_heretik]

I have never had a problem with nVidia drivers from the repository or the updates. I am running an original 64-bit install of 12.04, fully up to date, I accept all updates.

[Caesar]

Thanks a lot. I'll report back on the results when I will be back home (probably tomorrow).

EDIT:

I've managed to try Your tricks earlier than I thought, but to no avail...

Xorg.0.log errors

	(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[    62.567] (II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
[    63.394] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA GPU at PCI:1:0:0.  Please
[    63.394] (EE) NVIDIA(0):     check your system's kernel log for additional error
[    63.394] (EE) NVIDIA(0):     messages and refer to Chapter 8: Common Problems in the
[    63.394] (EE) NVIDIA(0):     README for additional information.
[    63.394] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA graphics device!
[    63.394] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failing initialization of X screen 0
[    63.394] (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

lspci | grep -i vga

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G84 [GeForce 8600M GT] (rev a1)

dkms status

nvidia-current, 304.43, 3.5.0-13-generic, x86_64: installed

Again: is it me or the Precise Pangolin

P.S. Funny thing, after adding those edgers repos jockey no longer offers to install the nVidia proprietary drivers. I had to do it via Muon.

[oshunluvr]

No it's a desktop - They're XFX Alpha Dog 8800GT's overclocked (see my sig). I use the drivers supplied in the PPA I listed above. I haven't used the drivers from the nVidia website ever since I stopped using PCLinuxOS. The only issue I've ever had with the Ubuntu supplied drivers is they're at least several weeks behind nVidia so if there's a bug effecting you - you have to wait. The xorg-edgers drivers are updated much quicker.

[Caesar]

I'm using the 3.5.0-13 kernel with nVidia 304.43 driver and all is well. My cards are 8800 GT's

Then I should give 3.5.0 a try, but first tell me if Your GPUs are also mobile (8800M GT), and from where did You get the drivers - was it nVidia's official website or nvidia-current-updates from repository?

[oshunluvr]

I'm using the 3.5.0-13 kernel with nVidia 304.43 driver and all is well. My cards are 8800 GT's

[dibl]

3.2 isn't really all that bleedy-edge -- I've got an Nvidia GTX-480 running just fine on a Debian 3.5.3 kernel today, with the 304.37 driver. But it is a fact that your GPU is showing its gray hair -- maybe the later drivers aren't all that supportive of legacy GPUs. And as I recall, there were a few models in the 7000 and 8000 series that never did perform as well as the rest of those series. I had a GS-7900 that worked really well, but the poor blokes with the 7950 seemed to have never-ending problems.

[Caesar]

First of all thanks for the interest in this topic. To the point now...

Anyway, you gave us the specs of you machine but not what steps you did to do the driver installation.

First - I did a "fresh" installation in both cases, that is for the drivers available via jockey (nvidia-current and nvidia-current-updates) and for those available on the nVidia website. As You can imagine I installed my Kubuntu from scratch many times.
When installing via jockey I only pressed one button (Activate - as described here) and then rebooted, so there's really nothing to talk about the process.
When installing the drivers from nVidia's website, after shutting down the KDM

sudo service kdm stop

and removing Nouveau driver (proprietary driver required that step)

I executed only one command

sudo sh /path/to/NVIDIA*

After that I created new xorg.conf with

sudo nvidia-xconfig

and in most tries I did also rebuild initramfs

sudo update-initramfs -u

Linux-headers and gcc packages were installed before the whole process.

I'm not sure why you posted your kernel log as I don't see anything related to nvidia drivers or video in it.

I did that because in Xorg.0.log there was a line stating "check your system's kernel log for additional error", so perhaps it would be useful to someone.

Once you have installed and can boot to a GUI using the Nouveau driver, use "Jockey" - aka the "Additional Drivers" tool - to install the nVidia driver from the Kubuntu. This should install all the necessary additional packages - like dkms and the kernel headers - to complete the driver install. If this seems to proceed successfully, but after reboot you still get no GUI, type "dkms status" after logging in. It should list your kernel version and the nvidia driver version and list it as "Installed."

[code[dkms status: nvidia-current-updates, 304.43, 3.2.0-30-generic, x86_64: installed[/code]

Assuming none of this works, purge the driver again and get back to the GUI. Then add this ppa to your system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:org-edgers/ppa 
sudo apt-get update

and then try first to upgrade to the 3.5.0-13 kernel then use the latest and greatest nvidia driver. There is a bug floating around with the current kernel and a newer video-card-to-screen interface called eDP and this might be your issue. Hopefully, the newer kernel and driver in the ppa will fix your problem. If not, you may have to wait it out.

Well, first of all my GPU is quite old. Second - does anyone use this bleeding-edge kernel? Is it stable?

[dmeyer]

Thiis is off topic but useful.

I almost wanted to say that the hardware is old enough that noveau is on par but it looks like the 8600 was keft behind or something because the 9000 series had much better parity. Dibl is dead-on about what you need to do.

[oshunluvr]

Good call, dibl

[dibl]

If memory serves, there has at times been a failure of jockey-kde to pull in the kernel-headers and build-essential packages. So you might want to install them, prior to running the "Additional Drivers" routine.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

[oshunluvr]

Firstly, as there are 100-1000's of us using nvidia drivers successfully with 12.04, I don't think we can vilify the entire release based on this problem.

Anyway, you gave us the specs of you machine but not what steps you did to do the driver installation. I'm not sure why you posted your kernel log as I don't see anything related to nvidia drivers or video in it.

Please know that the driver from the nVidia website is configured differently from the one in the repositories so if you install the one from nVidia, you'll be better off at their website for help.

Since you've already installed both drivers at one time or another, I suggest you start with a fresh install.

Once you have installed and can boot to a GUI using the Nouveau driver, use "Jockey" - aka the "Additional Drivers" tool - to install the nVidia driver from the Kubuntu. This should install all the necessary additional packages - like dkms and the kernel headers - to complete the driver install. If this seems to proceed successfully, but after reboot you still get no GUI, type "dkms status" after logging in. It should list your kernel version and the nvidia driver version and list it as "Installed."

Assuming none of this works, purge the driver again and get back to the GUI. Then add this ppa to your system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:org-edgers/ppa
sudo apt-get update

and then try first to upgrade to the 3.5.0-13 kernel then use the latest and greatest nvidia driver. There is a bug floating around with the current kernel and a newer video-card-to-screen interface called eDP and this might be your issue. Hopefully, the newer kernel and driver in the ppa will fix your problem. If not, you may have to wait it out.

[Caesar]

O.K., I've been trying to make any use of many ideas, suggestions, possible solutions for some time now, but still I haven't succeed in installing nVidia proprietary driver on Kubuntu 12.04 64-bit. It's weird, very weird, as I didn't have any problems on previous Kubuntu with this matter. Anyways here's what I've got.

For start my specs:
MSI GX 600P laptop
Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2,10GHz (64-bit)
nVidia Ge Force 8600M GT (G84)
Kubuntu 12.04 64-bit (with all the latest updates)

1. I tried both methods: using Kubuntu's built-in software for installing proprietary drivers, or downloading them directly from nVidia's website - the result is always the same.

2. After a successful installation and rebooting my OS, I'm left with command line interface and, which is strange, a running KDM... (I can stop it with service stop kdm) No tricks can make KDM to display log-in window though...

3. When in command line I was able to retrieve some information from system logs and other places, and this is what they state:

a) error messages (EE) in Xorg.0.log - cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep EE

(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[    60.117] (II) Loading extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
[    60.981] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA GPU at PCI:1:0:0.  Please
[    60.981] (EE) NVIDIA(0):     check your system's kernel log for additional error
[    60.981] (EE) NVIDIA(0):     messages and refer to Chapter 8: Common Problems in the
[    60.981] (EE) NVIDIA(0):     README for additional information.
[    60.981] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA graphics device!
[    60.981] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failing initialization of X screen 0
[    60.982] (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

b) error messages in kernel.log

Aug 28 22:25:23 felipe kernel: [   19.520257] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 28 21:04:37 felipe kernel: [ 2543.519269] nepomukservices[1826]: segfault at 0 ip           (null) sp 00007fffaae912e8 error 14 in nepomukservicestub (deleted)[400000+7000]
Aug 28 21:04:38 felipe kernel: [ 2544.650053] type=1400 audit(1346180678.973:41): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=2287 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=14619 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 28 21:04:39 felipe kernel: [ 2544.881906] type=1400 audit(1346180679.205:42): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=2287 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=14619 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 28 21:04:39 felipe kernel: [ 2544.881928] type=1400 audit(1346180679.205:43): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=2287 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=14619 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 28 21:05:34 felipe kernel: [   20.113749] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 28 22:16:20 felipe kernel: [ 4268.056217] type=1400 audit(1346184980.649:12): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=3086 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=6508 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 28 22:16:20 felipe kernel: [ 4268.158132] type=1400 audit(1346184980.749:13): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=3086 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=6508 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 28 22:16:20 felipe kernel: [ 4268.158150] type=1400 audit(1346184980.749:14): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=3086 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=6508 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 28 22:17:19 felipe kernel: [   26.079471] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 28 23:29:34 felipe kernel: [   24.864270] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 00:14:09 felipe kernel: [   25.800438] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 00:16:23 felipe kernel: [   25.412124] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 09:29:41 felipe kernel: [   25.768337] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 09:34:06 felipe kernel: [   23.586507] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 10:55:44 felipe kernel: [ 4925.260700] type=1400 audit(1346230544.505:15): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1988 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=4278 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 10:55:44 felipe kernel: [ 4925.354215] type=1400 audit(1346230544.597:16): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1988 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=4278 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 10:55:44 felipe kernel: [ 4925.354233] type=1400 audit(1346230544.597:17): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1988 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=4278 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 15:40:37 felipe kernel: [   24.157982] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 18:19:42 felipe kernel: [ 9572.321327] type=1400 audit(1346257182.905:15): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1928 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2860 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 18:19:43 felipe kernel: [ 9572.543018] type=1400 audit(1346257183.125:16): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1928 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2860 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 18:19:43 felipe kernel: [ 9572.543032] type=1400 audit(1346257183.125:17): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1928 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2860 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 20:06:50 felipe kernel: [   24.054143] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 29 20:30:32 felipe kernel: [ 1448.400408] nepomukserver[1745]: segfault at 7d1 ip 00007f2cc2cdec03 sp 00007fffa77fecf0 error 4 in libQtCore.so.4.8.1[7f2cc2c47000+2c6000]
Aug 29 20:30:33 felipe kernel: [ 1449.383763] type=1400 audit(1346265033.970:15): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1926 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2247 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 29 22:15:32 felipe kernel: [   24.460694] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 00:48:46 felipe kernel: [ 9219.581094] type=1400 audit(1346280526.178:15): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=2309 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2222 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 00:48:46 felipe kernel: [ 9219.772885] type=1400 audit(1346280526.370:16): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=2309 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2222 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 00:48:46 felipe kernel: [ 9219.772902] type=1400 audit(1346280526.370:17): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=2309 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2222 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 00:49:41 felipe kernel: [   25.754734] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 00:58:10 felipe kernel: [   24.360564] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 01:13:04 felipe kernel: [  919.517256] type=1400 audit(1346281984.106:15): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1924 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2277 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 01:13:04 felipe kernel: [  919.603330] type=1400 audit(1346281984.190:16): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1924 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2277 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 01:13:04 felipe kernel: [  919.603348] type=1400 audit(1346281984.190:17): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1924 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2277 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 09:47:34 felipe kernel: [   24.563342] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 15:38:36 felipe kernel: [   24.148285] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 16:07:44 felipe kernel: [ 1774.794214] nepomukservices[1753]: segfault at 0 ip           (null) sp 00007fff76feaca8 error 14 in nepomukservicestub[400000+7000]
Aug 30 16:07:45 felipe kernel: [ 1776.028679] type=1400 audit(1346335665.611:15): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1946 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2294 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 16:07:46 felipe kernel: [ 1776.426500] type=1400 audit(1346335666.007:16): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1946 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2294 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 16:07:46 felipe kernel: [ 1776.426514] type=1400 audit(1346335666.007:17): apparmor="DENIED" operation="file_perm" info="Failed name lookup" error=-13 parent=1946 profile="/usr/sbin/mysqld-akonadi///usr/sbin/mysqld" name=".local/share/akonadi/db_data/mysql.err" pid=2294 comm="mysqld" requested_mask="w" denied_mask="w" fsuid=1000 ouid=1000
Aug 30 18:05:03 felipe kernel: [   23.838956] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 19:05:16 felipe kernel: [   24.496045] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
Aug 30 19:17:22 felipe kernel: [   25.452298] EXT4-fs (sda7): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro

I've run into some sites stating, that this kind of error (namely "Failed to initialize the NVIDIA GPU at PCI:1:0:0. Please") could be related to Optimus hybrid graphics technology , but it was a dead end, as my laptop doesn't seem to have Optimus (bumblebee didn't detect it at least). The only thing I can do to recover my Kubuntu is to remove nVidia proprietary driver and go back to using Nouveau - not very efficient driver. Below are four easy steps how I do it for those, who experience similar issues (I've done a lot of reading and many re-installations before I found out this easy method):

1. sudo rmmod nvidia
2. sudo apt-get purge nvidia-current (or nvidia-current-updates - depending on which You have previously installed)
3. sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
4. sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

Anyway, I stuck with Nouveau. Is it me or the Precise Pangolin? I mean what possible mistakes I make when installing recommended proprietary drivers with a built-in software? Help?