NVIDIA driver issues++

[scaru]

Heyo, I'm all new to Kubuntu and Linux. I installed Kubuntu (minimal) on my pc just a few days ago, and it did not take long before I ran into some issues:
(1) My monitor will freeze or go blank, and I cannot seem to figure out what the problem is; thus, I end up doing a reboot every time. I think it might be because of my drivers

(2) I tried to follow some instructions on updating my drivers (because I currently use the Nouveau display driver,) but I ended up with a blank screen, and again I could not for the life of me fix it, nor return to the original driver. No reboot could sort it out, so I decided to reinstall Kubuntu.. I am now terrified of touching any of the drivers..

(3) Last thing, I cannot seem to properly install or launch the Waterfox web browser. I did install it by the use of the terminal, but I keep getting an error when I try to launch it..

I really want to like Kubuntu, because I can see how it's better than Windows OS, but it's tiring when you are new to it all and you don't know what youre doing..

Any help is most appreciated. Thanks

OS version: Kubuntu 26.04 LTS
KDE plasma version: 6.6.5
KDE frameworks version: 6.24.0
Qt version: 6.10.2
Kernel version: 7.0.0-28-generic (64-bit)
Graphics platform: Wayland

Processors: 12xAMD Ryzen 5 9600X 6-core
Memory: 16 GiB of RAM
Graphics processor 1: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (discrete)
Graphics processor 2: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 6-core (integrated)
Manufacturer: ASUS

Kubuntu is the only OS on my pc

[claydoh]

More details would be needed:

I tried to follow some instructions on updating my drivers

From where?
You should only need to use the Driver Manager (look in System Settings). It should offer a recommended driver/version for your card.

I did install it by the use of the terminal, but I keep getting an error when I try to launch it..

What was the exact error?
How exactly did you install it?

[scaru]

I used the driver manager, tried a couple different ones, but they both messed with my monitor.
I looked at different sources, everything from forums to youtube, to you name it. They all recommended the same thing. I later read a forum comment that said: "Standard proprietary drivers (nvidia-driver-580) may not work with this gpu [my RTX 5060Ti]. You must specifically install the "open" variant (nvidia-driver-580-open)..." So I don't know what to do now, and I do not see anything that says recommended. I'm currently using my windows PC, because my Kubunutu OS keeps freezing my monitor or it goes blank..

I copied this from the flathub github: net.waterfox.waterfox. I can copy paste my crash log if needed, but the error message says: "Application crash. /app/opt/waterfox/waterfox/ (part of Waterfox) has encountered a fatal error and was closed."

[skyfishgoo]

run ubuntu-drivers devices in a terminal and it will list the drivers and recommend one of them to you (don't know why this recommendation does not show up in device drivers).

then go to device drivers in the settings and choose that exact same driver from the list.

if that still gives you issues then i would start looking at your hardware, and perhaps try a different cable first or connection type.

you can always back out of a botched nvidia install by issuing the following:

sudo apt update
sudo apt purge *nvidia*
sudo apt autoremove
reboot​

which should bring you back to the kernel driver which is good enough for the desktop to work.

[die.boer]

can you post ouput of :

inxi -G

ubuntu-drivers devices

(if inxi not installed , do it with

sudo apt update && sudo apt install inxi

)

you could also see if it works with X11 session
if X11 not installed :

sudo apt update && sudo apt install plasma-session-x11

(log out/in and choose plasma X11 session at log in screen)
changes are it'll work 100s with X11

Your hardware is very modern (Ryzen 9600X + RTX 5060 Ti) , I suspect you're simply running a very new NVIDIA card on the Nouveau driver under Wayland, which is about the most difficult combination for a new Linux user.

regarding the waterfox issue , please post output of

which waterfox

and

waterfox

[scaru]

Alright, what skyfishgoo told me worked, for now. The driver I got recommended was also one of the two I tried the first time around, so I don't know why it's all good now. But, anyway. I guess thats sorted. So thank you very much for your help.

As for waterfox.. This is what I did. The first code gave me nothing. I can see Waterfox in the Applications, but I guess it's not properly installed. I wanted to install via Flathub, and not Snap..

user@KubuntuOS:~$ which waterfox

user@KubuntuOS:~$ waterfox
waterfox: command not found

[die.boer]

sudo apt install flatpak

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub \
https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo​

flatpak install flathub net.waterfox.waterfox

[skyfishgoo]

if you haven't already done so, going to discover and searching for "flatpak" will show you the discover fllatpak backend

i highly recommend you install this so discover can manage your flatpak installs for you, and you will be able get flatpak results when you search for software in discover

when i search for waterfox in discover, i find it right away and it is the flatpak version!

point and click.

[claydoh]

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub \ https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

, going to discover and searching for "flatpak" will show you the discover fllatpak backend

Noone likes to do it the easy way?? The easy way is less fun, tho.



Oops, you do need to restart Discover before the second step, and theoretically you need to reboot, but I honestly don't recall ever needing to do that.

[die.boer]

where is the fun in pointing and clicking ?
plus i try to stay away from discover as much as possible lol , but that's just me