[SOLVED] nvidia fedora

darksaurian · 01-10-2011, 10:53 PM

I'm trying Fedora for the first time. I tried installing NVidia's driver with their shellscript but it didn't work for lots of reasons.

Has anyone done this before?:
http://linuxsoftwareblog.com/?p=516

Does it work? I never used a distro with a package manager before. Aren't there several different drivers for different NVidia cards? How do the instructions in that link make you get the correct driver? And then does it create an /etc/X11/xorg.conf file?

EDIT:
or is the Neaveau driver good enough already? I can't figure out if it's basically a finished product or not.

John VV · 01-11-2011, 01:57 AM

i take it you did not read the official guide on the nvidia driver on fedoraforum
" F14, F13 & F12 Nvidia driver guide "
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=204752
and blacklist "nouveau" the way that is on the above page

also if this is very old hardware the card might not be supported ( by old - older than 8 years )

Quote:

or is the Neaveau driver good enough already? I can't figure out if it's basically a finished product or not.

some say it is , i do not .Neaveau is the opensource version of nvidia's proprietary binary blob
with fedora it is best to use the kmod or akmod nvidia rpm . If you use the nvidia.run then YOU WILL NEED to rebuild it for every and all kernel,x11,xorg,and mesa updates .
Also you will NEED to reinstall measa and the mesa-devel rpms ( EVERY TIME).The .run overwrites some fedora system files AND chances one heder file so code built with one WILL NOT work with the other

RockDoctor · 01-11-2011, 06:58 AM

I'm using the nouveau driver with my onboard geforce 9100 graphics, and everything seems to work properly. Depending on which version of Fedora you're using, you may also have the nv driver (which doesn't work at all for me) on your system. If you have both nv and nouveau, you should definitely blacklist one of them. My system requires an xorg.conf file to get its full 1680x1050 resolution because my monitor does not report a proper EDID; the xorg.conf file also specifies the nouveau driver.

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 03:26 PM

I don't have an old video card:

Code:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G92 [GeForce GTS 250] (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
        Subsystem: eVga.com. Corp. Device 1145
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
        Memory at fd000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        Memory at fa000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32M]
        I/O ports at dc00 [size=128]
        Expansion ROM at fe9e0000 [disabled] [size=128K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: nouveau
        Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidiafb

I just installed Fedora64, the KDE version. I haven't changed any drivers yet. I'm going to test some games and see if I can tell the difference with the nouveau driver first.

I don't really understand step two in the link above
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=204752

There's three steps within step two. The second step is for PAE kernel and the 3d step is for akmod. So then what is that first step? Are you supposed to do 1 and then 2 or 3? Or is it one or two or three?

John VV · 01-11-2011, 04:27 PM

the pae kernel is for 32 bit systems with 4 gig of ram

the akmod builds the kmod rpm for the updates ON BOOT

step two is importing the rpmfusion repo

Quote:

rpm -Uvh http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/...ble.noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfr...ble.noarch.rpm

and using the terminal package manager " yum" to install the driver
-- WARNING the 64 bit is a bit different than the 32 bit ---
you NEED to install the 64 bit driver not the 686 32 bit
run a search

Code:

yum search kmod-nvidia

and install the one for the 64 bit
you might want to read the fedora 14 documentation
http://docs.fedoraproject.org
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/index.html
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/...ide/index.html
wiki on the Nouveau driver
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/FeatureNouveau

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 05:31 PM

Well so far I only updated my kernel. Then I imported the RPM fusion repo:
rpm -Uvh http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/...ble.noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfr...ble.noarch.rpm

Then I did the yum search thing:

Code:

[root@darkswamp darksaurian]# yum search kmod-nvidia
Loaded plugins: langpacks, presto, refresh-packagekit
Adding en_US to language list
============================================================================= Matched: kmod-nvidia ==============================================================================
akmod-nvidia.x86_64 : Akmod package for nvidia kernel module(s)
akmod-nvidia-173xx.x86_64 : Akmod package for nvidia-173xx kernel module(s)
akmod-nvidia-96xx.x86_64 : Akmod package for nvidia-96xx kernel module(s)
kmod-nvidia.x86_64 : Metapackage which tracks in nvidia kernel module for newest kernel
kmod-nvidia-173xx.x86_64 : Metapackage which tracks in nvidia-173xx kernel module for newest kernel
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.10-68.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-68.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.10-69.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-69.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.10-72.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-72.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.6-45.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.6-45.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.6-48.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.6-48.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-173xx-2.6.35.9-64.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-173xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.9-64.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-68.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-68.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-69.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-69.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-72.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-72.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.6-45.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.6-45.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.6-48.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.6-48.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.9-64.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.9-64.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-96xx.x86_64 : Metapackage which tracks in nvidia-96xx kernel module for newest kernel
kmod-nvidia-96xx-2.6.35.10-68.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-96xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-68.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-96xx-2.6.35.10-69.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-96xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-69.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-96xx-2.6.35.10-72.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-96xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-72.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-96xx-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-96xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-96xx-2.6.35.6-48.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-96xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.6-48.fc14.x86_64
kmod-nvidia-96xx-2.6.35.9-64.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 : nvidia-96xx kernel module(s) for 2.6.35.9-64.fc14.x86_64
[root@darkswamp darksaurian]#

Code:

[root@darkswamp darksaurian]# uname -a
Linux darkswamp 2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64 #1 SMP Thu Dec 23 16:04:50 UTC 2010 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[root@darkswamp darksaurian]#

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 06:05 PM

Oh so those 173, 96, and 71 thingies are legacy drivers. Or something.

So probably I need this:
kmod-nvidia.x86_64 : Metapackage which tracks in nvidia kernel module for newest kernel

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 06:12 PM

Well I suppose it's working. I haven't blacklisted anything so maybe I can skip that last optional step. Not sure yet.

Code:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G92 [GeForce GTS 250] (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
        Subsystem: eVga.com. Corp. Device 1145
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
        Memory at fd000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        Memory at fa000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32M]
        I/O ports at dc00 [size=128]
        [virtual] Expansion ROM at fe9e0000 [disabled] [size=128K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: nvidia
        Kernel modules: nvidia, nouveau, nvidiafb

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 08:59 PM

Actually I need 32 bit wine for some games to work, I think. But then when I try to start them they can't get opengl to work. Something about 32 bit wine trying to use 64 bit nvidia drivers or something. Not sure how to solve this. I wonder what happens if you install both the 32 and 64 bit drivers? I'm not sure if that makes any sense. Or if a 32 bit driver even works on a 64 bit system. I'm going to try a few things.

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 09:09 PM

Well apparently they're both installed now. Not sure what that means. Going down for a reboot. If you don't hear back from me then I destroyed X and I'm banished to command prompt.

Code:

[root@darkswamp ~]# yum install kmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686
Loaded plugins: langpacks, presto, refresh-packagekit
Adding en_US to language list
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package kmod-nvidia.x86_64 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4 set to be installed
--> Processing Dependency: kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64 >= 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4 for package: 1:kmod-nvidia-260.19.29-1.fc14.4.x86_64
---> Package xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686 1:260.19.29-2.fc14 set to be installed
--> Processing Dependency: libvdpau(x86-32) >= 0.3 for package: 1:xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs-260.19.29-2.fc14.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libXvMC.so.1 for package: 1:xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs-260.19.29-2.fc14.i686
--> Running transaction check
---> Package kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4 set to be updated
---> Package libXvMC.i686 0:1.0.5-1.fc13 set to be installed
---> Package libvdpau.i686 0:0.4.1-1.fc14.1 set to be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

===================================================================================================
 Package                              Arch   Version               Repository                 Size
===================================================================================================
Installing:
 kmod-nvidia                          x86_64 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4  rpmfusion-nonfree-updates  32 k
 xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs             i686   1:260.19.29-2.fc14    rpmfusion-nonfree-updates  15 M
Installing for dependencies:
 libXvMC                              i686   1.0.5-1.fc13          fedora                     23 k
 libvdpau                             i686   0.4.1-1.fc14.1        fedora                     22 k
Updating for dependencies:
 kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64 x86_64 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4  rpmfusion-nonfree-updates 2.8 M

Transaction Summary
===================================================================================================
Install       4 Package(s)
Upgrade       1 Package(s)

Total download size: 18 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
Setting up and reading Presto delta metadata
Processing delta metadata
Package(s) data still to download: 18 M
(1/5): kmod-nvidia-260.19.29-1.fc14.4.x86_64.rpm                            |  32 kB     00:00     
(2/5): kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64-260.19.29-1.fc14.4.x86_64.rpm   | 2.8 MB     00:02     
(3/5): libXvMC-1.0.5-1.fc13.i686.rpm                                        |  23 kB     00:00     
(4/5): libvdpau-0.4.1-1.fc14.1.i686.rpm                                     |  22 kB     00:00     
(5/5): xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs-260.19.29-2.fc14.i686.rpm                   |  15 MB     00:13     
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                              1.0 MB/s |  18 MB     00:17     
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Warning: RPMDB altered outside of yum.
  Installing     : libvdpau-0.4.1-1.fc14.1.i686                                                1/6 
  Installing     : libXvMC-1.0.5-1.fc13.i686                                                   2/6 
  Updating       : 1:kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64-260.19.29-1.fc14.4.x86_64            3/6 
  Installing     : 1:kmod-nvidia-260.19.29-1.fc14.4.x86_64                                     4/6 
  Installing     : 1:xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs-260.19.29-2.fc14.i686                            5/6 
  Cleanup        : 1:kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64-260.19.29-1.fc14.x86_64              6/6 

Installed:
  kmod-nvidia.x86_64 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4     xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686 1:260.19.29-2.fc14    

Dependency Installed:
  libXvMC.i686 0:1.0.5-1.fc13                    libvdpau.i686 0:0.4.1-1.fc14.1                   

Dependency Updated:
  kmod-nvidia-2.6.35.10-74.fc14.x86_64.x86_64 1:260.19.29-1.fc14.4                                 

Complete!
[root@darkswamp ~]#

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 09:31 PM

Well that worked. Not sure what's going on now but Dragon Age works flawlessly. And it only took me 5 hours. I rule.

John VV · 01-11-2011, 10:52 PM

5 hours
you will get better with time

darksaurian · 01-11-2011, 11:10 PM

Yeah I was used to using Slackware and just running the script from NVidia. I guess that would complicate things if I wanted to update my kernel or something but it never mattered to me, I'm not a system administrator or anything. A new distro version comes out I just back up some files and format my hard drive and install.

Plus I had issues with wine and 64 bit and 32 bit and I stopped to make nachos and I made this tutorial at the same time:
http://darkswamp.com/dragon.html

EDIT:
Hey I have a Fedora logo now. If I wanted the Slackware logo I always had to tweak firefox settings. I guess the fedora package did it for me or something.

So far pros for Fedora are downloading binaries which is faster than downloading source and compling with SlackBuild scripts.

But pros for Slackware include I can just run NVidia scripts and they work and I don't have to do any distro specific BS.

John VV · 01-11-2011, 11:34 PM

most of the time i use the nvidia.run for CentOS5.5 and Arch and now opensuse 11.3
an old habit from the fedora 4,5,6 days when a new kernel came out and 3 to 14 days latter a kmod-nvidia came out for it ( not fun)

but fedora and CentOS use a different mesa than the the one in the .run( made by nvidia for nvidia )
this it the "binary blob" issue ( google it )