Nvidia settings empty

[joneall]

After installling the nvidia driver (331,38) with the driver manager, I noticed that the characters on my screens had become soft and fuzzy, looking rather like Windows 3! (I am in Trusty.) Going to look at the Nvidia settings, I find only two lines in the interface and no possibility for seeing or setting screen resolution.

(See attached file. I do not know how to insert it here.)

For info:

$ gksudo nvidia-settings
** Message: PRIME: is it supported? no
ed. Abort
$ dkms status
bbswitch, 0.7, 3.18.0-031800rc2-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-331, 331.38: added
$ lsmod | grep nvidia
$ uname -a
Linux jon-desktop 3.18.0-031800rc2-generic #201410281737 SMP Tue Oct 28 21:38:57 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

What gives?

[joneall]

I have returned to nouveau and rebooted. But I notice that with neither can I change the display settings. System settings > Display and monitor > Display configuration just says Samsung Electric Company DVI-I-1 without any possibility of adjustment or indication of setting. Clearly, tho, the settings are quite different from those with nvidia.

So how could I change the screen resolution? I could in the past.

[oshunluvr]

Your nvidia driver is not installed, hence the dkms retort "added". This is also why you have no settings available. Nouveau doesn't support that.

I would start by looking at your /var/log/Xorg.0.log file carefully. Also, verify the correct linux-headers are installed for the kernel you're using.

[NoWorries]

I am wondering what login manager you are using. I could only get the NVIDIA X Server Settings to work with lightdm. Kdm failed to give me the ability to select the nvidia card as with my system, I also have an Intel video card.

[joneall]

Your nvidia driver is not installed, hence the dkms retort "added". This is also why you have no settings available. Nouveau doesn't support that.

I would start by looking at your /var/log/Xorg.0.log file carefully. Also, verify the correct linux-headers are installed for the kernel you're using.

Hm. When I installed the system, I clicked to load 3rd-party software, but after it had sat for several hours without doing anything, I started over and did NOT click to install that. Still, when I went into the driver manager and picked nvidia, it worked for 10 minutes or so doing something.

So why is it not installed? And how to install it? Can I do that by hand to be sure?

Why do I need headers when I do not compile anything? And where would they be?

Thanks again for your input.

[oshunluvr]

You are compiling something: the nvidia drivers into a kernal package. You can try manually installing the drivers to see if you get an error message that might give us a clue.

dkms install -m nvidia -v 331.38 --all

where the 331.38 is the nvidia driver version. The --all switch will attempt install to all kernels present. Usually this happens automatically when the correct packages are available, so make sure you have your kernel headers installed.

[NoWorries]

I would like to know if you have lightdm installed or not as I could only get the nvidia settings to work properly with lightdm installed.

My understanding is that the header files are required for installing the nvidia driver as I have noticed that the installation involves compiling modules for the Linux kernel.

[joneall]

I would like to know if you have lightdm installed or not as I could only get the nvidia settings to work properly with lightdm installed.

My understanding is that the header files are required for installing the nvidia driver as I have noticed that the installation involves compiling modules for the Linux kernel.

Yes, I do have lightdm installed. according to dpkg, but I am not sure why. Must be a default of some sort.

[joneall]

You are compiling something: the nvidia drivers into a kernal package. You can try manually installing the drivers to see if you get an error message that might give us a clue.

dkms install -m nvidia -v 331.38 --all

where the 331.38 is the nvidia driver version. The --all switch will attempt install to all kernels present. Usually this happens automatically when the correct packages are available, so make sure you have your kernel headers installed.

Uh, is this anything that might screw up my kernel boot images?

Apparently the headers are installed, at least for 3.13.0-39:

$ dpkg -l linux-headers-3.13.0-39 linux-headers-3.13.0-39-generic
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Architecture Description
+++-===========================-==================-==================-================================================== =========
ii linux-headers-3.13.0-39 3.13.0-39.66 all Header files related to Linux kernel version 3.13.0
ii linux-headers-3.13.0-39-gen 3.13.0-39.66 amd64 Linux kernel headers for version 3.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP

[NoWorries]

When I was trying to get my system to use the nvidia drivers I tried bumblebee and that did not do what I was wanting. (I have an Intel video card as well as an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M.) To reset my system, from my recollection, I did the following to clear everything to do with nvidia:

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get install -f

During these operations, I rebooted and repeated some of these operations to make sure everything was OK with the package management.

After this I then used the muon package manager to install nvidia-331. I am not sure if this will help in your case, but I suspect that you have been trying various options and it might be worthwhile clearing out all packages related to nvidia and having another go.

[kc1di]

Which nvidia card are you using ?

[joneall]

Which nvidia card are you using ?

$ lspci | grep -i nvidia
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GT215 [GeForce GT 240] (rev a2)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)

[kc1di]

the latest driver for your card is 340.46 -- But it's not available in Kubuntu yet. You would have to download it from Nvidia Here:
http://www.geforce.com/drivers
and do a manual install
instructions here:

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/02/h...ally-in-ubuntu

or you can try getting a newer one from the xorg edgers ppa here:

http://www.binarytides.com/install-n...-ubuntu-14-04/

Good Luck

[joneall]

Thanks, everybody, for the suggestions.

The page you indicated, kc1di, says the installed driver is "...purposely built against the kernel version you have at the time." Is that the one I see with the uname -a command? Does it replace something in the /boot directory?

$ ls /boot
abi-3.13.0-37-generic initrd.img-3.13.0-37-generic System.map-3.13.0-39-generic
abi-3.13.0-39-generic initrd.img-3.13.0-39-generic System.map-3.18.0-031800rc2-generic
abi-3.18.0-031800rc2-generic initrd.img-3.18.0-031800rc2-generic vmlinuz-3.13.0-37-generic
config-3.13.0-37-generic memtest86+.bin vmlinuz-3.13.0-39-generic
config-3.13.0-39-generic memtest86+.elf vmlinuz-3.18.0-031800rc2-generic
config-3.18.0-031800rc2-generic memtest86+_multiboot.bin
grub System.map-3.13.0-37-generic

What I'm wondering now is, do I really want to install the nvidia driver. I have disabled desktop effects and that seems to have ended the freezes I encountered 2 or 3 times a day before.

So do I really need the nvidia driver?

[kc1di]

if your happy with what you have you do not need the Nvidia Driver. You only need the nvidia propitiatory drivers if you need the full range of
support for GL and 3D. If the NV or Nouveau work no need to install nvidia.
I use the Nvidia drivers for my card because the Nouveau driver will not work well with my card.

Food for thought thought anyway .
if you install the driver from nvidia it does build it against what ever kernel you using and is active at the time it's built. If you do it the manual way
you'll have to redo it anytime the kernel changes.

Normally with the recommended driver from kubuntu or Ubuntu uses a program called dkms which automatically rebuilds the driver when a new kernel is installed.