[SOLVED] Problems in Sony Vaio / Nvidia drivers

cr4321 · 07-30-2010, 11:20 PM

This seems to be a very universal and general problem.

Ubuntu-10.04 is just refusing to display itself on these machines. Going by various threads, on similar machines, even in Ubuntu forums, it is high time someone come up with a single patch for all related issues - because not all solutions given are addressing this issue. Most affected people are novices - so a single "update" sort of patch is most welcome. As for the experts, I am sure they are able to "solve" their own individual problems. I am posting a similar thread in Ubuntu forums too.

mrmnemo · 07-31-2010, 09:56 AM

Hi!

Its early and I may be missing it....but. What EXACTLY is your problem? Another note:
Since a geforce card can be manufactured by various vendors there is always a chance that some conflict will arise. You should take that into consideration. I have found that a large part of learning how to fix something is understanding WHAT to ask. I would like to help you. However, please consider this: At what point does a question stop being a question and become a declaration?

Please post you EXACT problems.

cr4321 · 07-31-2010, 12:38 PM

Sorry, I get your point. (Actually, I have been seeking a solution for this but to no avail..)

I had a dual boot - win-7 and ubuntu-9.10 on my Sony Vaio laptop.

I tried upgrading to ubuntu-10.04. After rebooting, the screen goes blank.

I read various post in forums - and that's when it occurred to me that most sony laptops have problems with nvidia drivers - with Ubuntu. However, in one of the posts I found a sort of method - where I could remove the nvidia drivers, and operate Ubuntu in low resolution mode. Not satisfactory, but could manage.

Then I did an update of Ubuntu. It updated successfully, but on reboot - the same old problem. Blank screen. I tried many suggestions mentioned in the forums - unsuccessfully. Now, even in recovery mode, the screen goes totally blank. Would be happy if I can make ubuntu-10.04 work on my laptop.

Thanks in advance.

mrmnemo · 07-31-2010, 12:51 PM

well, I guess I should ask, did anyone have you check the nouveau driver? From the sounds of things, you have already done a bunch of stuff. Can you post the specs of your machine ( specific not sony vaio mdl) like your actual video card.

Your machines current status is FUBAR? Lots of personal data? Just screw it and reinstall status?

I have installed ubuntu 10.04 on both i5 integrated graphics and nvidia with little or no problems. Your frustration I understand.

If your willing to reinstall, well there is a way to go about that to avoid this next time around.
If you dont want to reinstall, that can be done too.
Whats your poison? New install or try to fix what you got and save your data?

NOTE: I am work so I will get back to ya...just got to give a second.

cr4321 · 07-31-2010, 01:36 PM

Hi,

First preference is obvious - (besides, there's a kick in getting things to work!) - and also would like to know the magic in the method of new install - just in case! Now for the specs :

Quote:

Manufacturer Sony Corporation
Family VAIO
Product Name VPCCW25FG

CPU Name Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
CPU Code Name Arrandale
Video Processor GeForce 310M
Adapter DAC Type Integrated RAMDAC
PCI ID 0x10DE / 0x0A75 (nVidia Corporation / GT218 [GeForce 310M])
PCI sub ID 0x104D / 0x9072 (Sony Corporation)
Memory 256 MBytes
Dedicated Video Memory 239 MB (250937344)
Dedicated System Memory 0 MB (0)
Shared System Memory 1271 MB (1332787200)

Monitor Model t Flat Panel
Monitor ID SNY05FA
Manufacturing Date 2002, Week 45
PnP Device Id DISPLAY\SNY05FA\5&376A737A&0&UID16777488
Input Digital
Display Size 13.9" (31 cm x 17 cm)
Brightness 40%
Horizontal Frequency 29-47 kHz
Vertical Frequency 0-61 Hz
Current Resolution 1366 x 768 @ 59Hz
Supported Resolution 1366 x 768 @ 60Hz - Aspect Ratio 16:9
EDID Version 1 revision 4
Max dot clock (video bandwidth) 80 MHz
DPMS Mode Support Active Off, Suspend, Standby

I must also add that the sound is also pretty low in this. Hope there is a work around for this!

mrmnemo · 07-31-2010, 04:45 PM

Cool.

Ok, first step is kinda straight forward with the install. You mentioned a Win 7 partition; so, make sure and look for it. If your not sure or you think you may have wiped it out with a previous install it wont matter much at this point. Either way, I would recommend setting up your partitions yourself. You will want to select "Specify Partitions Manually" ( see screen shot of partition manager ). Once you start making the partitions you will need ( in this order ):

/boot make this a PRIMARY partition( I set mine at 500/MB which I have been told is twice what i need. You can research that yourself)
/ ( this is the root partition. I set mine up for 8GB or 8000/MB. Once again, research that to see what you need. )
SWAP ( just multiply your RAM by 1.5 and use the sum)
/usr (I have had no problems on my laptop with 15GB. Your case may not be the same, adjust as needed. This will be the = of a windows c:/PROGRAMS folder.)
/usr/local (You may not need this one. I use it to keep anything that I install from source or that is not in the Ubuntu repositories)
/home (This is where all your documents, pics, vids will )
/var ( being that you'll be writing logs a lot, and Debian writes a lot of them , set this to at least 5GB)
/tmp ( I set mine to twice the amount of ram I have. Research it to see what you think you'll need. I use twice the amount of my RAM due to the way suspend works)

You may want to think ahead and set up a little space for a windows partition, thats up to you.
You can read more on the subject partition layouts HERE
Dont worry , its really easy.

Once you get your partitions laid out you just go ahead with the install.
Now for the important part. I would suggest letting the machine boot on its own to see if you get the blank screen again. If you do then try the following:
While your machine is booting like this, you will need to press shift in order to get to the grub menu. Now hit "e" Once in the grub boot menu (it will look like this. In the next screen you will need to use your arrow keys to get to the line that starts with "LINUX"; edit out 'quiet splash' and replace with 'nosplash nomodeset'. Once you do that just hit ctrl+x to finish loading Ubuntu.

Let me know once you get to that point. I should be home by then; however, you will have your desktop to play with at that point I imagine. Just keep in mind that you will still need to edit /etc/defaults/grub.conf to make this stick and to get some nvidia drivers loading correctly.

mrmnemo · 07-31-2010, 05:01 PM

as to your sound issue. I MAY ( MAY ) be able to help you get in the ball park of a fix. I have had the same issues with my sound card. I got it sorta louder. lol. that is a step or two down the road.

cr4321 · 07-31-2010, 09:52 PM

Hi there...

Wow - this is magic!!

I just edited the menu. In my case, the line ended as "ro quiet splash" and like you suggested, I changed it to "nosplash nomodeset". It just booted and here I am! This is just great!

Now, the resolution is [1280x720] -instead of [1366x768] - which would be nice to correct too, along with the sound, of course. When I tried to configure the display - it does not identify the monitor and the refresh rate-[reading 0(zero)] or resolution cannot be changed.

Thanks for your detailed instruction, my overall knowledge about Linux has increased by about 50%!!! - (I was under the false impression that I knew all about setting up partition till now!!!).

Best regards.

cr4321 · 07-31-2010, 09:52 PM

Hi there...

Wow - this is magic!!

I just edited the menu. In my case, the line ended as "ro quiet splash" and like you suggested, I changed it to "nosplash nomodeset". It just booted and here I am! This is just great!

Now, the resolution is [1280x720] -instead of [1366x768] - which would be nice to correct too, along with the sound, of course. When I tried to configure the display - it does not identify the monitor and the refresh rate-[reading 0(zero)] or resolution cannot be changed.

Thanks for your detailed instruction, my overall knowledge about Linux has increased by about 50%!!! - (I was under the false impression that I knew all about setting up partition till now!!!).

Best regards.

mrmnemo · 07-31-2010, 10:35 PM

"ro quiet spalsh"? you should google that. That usally means read only. YOu performed the install first correct?
Any way, your not done setting up your video just yet. do the following:

hit alt+f2 and type terminal, then selct the radio ( little + sign button) and select the terminal application. Then type the following in the terminal:

Code:

 sudo nano /etc/defaults/grub

NOW You should see something like this:

Code:

cat /etc/default/grub 
# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
[GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash blacklist=nouveau"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

I highlighted the lines you will need to change. In short, just add blacklist=nouveau. You should not need to do this but it wont hurt.

NEXT: Type

Code:

 sudo update-grub && sudo update-initramfs && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

After that go ahead and install nvidia-current with

Code:

 sudo apt-get install nvidia-current -y

Let me know how that goes.

mrmnemo · 07-31-2010, 10:37 PM

If you do find this was helpful mark the post as helpful. It may help someone else having the same issue. Everything I have shown I found by reading and google and help here.

cr4321 · 08-01-2010, 01:36 AM

Hi there,

Yes, did all the above successfully - (installed nvidea current ..etc). small correction?

Quote:

sudo nano /etc/defaults/grub
the actual folder is :
sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Also edited the grub file as below :

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash blacklist=nouveau"
however, after rebooting - the "ro" in the menu is persisting and reads:
"........... ro quiet splash blacklist=nouveau"

Laptop booted normally. The resolution is still the same (1280x720)

When I checked monitor setting, I got the message as in the msg01.png file.
[It appears that your graphics ddriver does not support the necessary extension to use this tool. Do you want to use your graphics driver vendor's tool instead? No/Yes]

When I clicked "Yes" - I got message as in msg02.png file
[You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run 'nvidia-xconfig' as root, and restart the X server.]

Please let me know what it means, or how it has to be done?

Thanks again.

ps - could not upload the snap shots..

mrmnemo · 08-01-2010, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cr4321

When I checked monitor setting, I got the message as in the msg01.png file.
[It appears that your graphics ddriver does not support the necessary extension to use this tool. Do you want to use your graphics driver vendor's tool instead? No/Yes]

First: Did you check System>Administration>Hard Ware Drivers? Did you run

Code:

 sudo apt-get install nvidia-current

If you did you should see a driver called nvidia-current listed under Hardware Drivers. About to head to work, if you can respond real fast i can try to help before i head out. Otherwise I will take a look on my break.

Second: POst the output of

Code:

 lsmod

so we can see if the nvidia driver is showing up.

Third: Post the outpput of

Code:

dpkg --get-selections | grep nvidia

This willl show us if nvidia is installed.

mrmnemo · 08-01-2010, 12:00 PM

Also, you performed the system update / upgrade first then everything else right?

cr4321 · 08-01-2010, 01:21 PM

Hi,

Sorry, I was busy elsewhere ... To answer your queries,

Yes, in the hardware NVIDEA is listed as installed and "activated but not currently in use"

Output of "lsmod"

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
nls_cp437               4919  1 
isofs                  29250  1 
udf                    78785  0 
crc_itu_t               1371  1 udf
aes_i586                7268  0 
aes_generic            26863  1 aes_i586
nouveau               467048  0 
ttm                    49943  1 nouveau
drm_kms_helper         29297  1 nouveau
drm                   162377  3 nouveau,ttm,drm_kms_helper
i2c_algo_bit            5028  1 nouveau
snd_hda_codec_realtek   203310  1 
snd_pcm_oss            35308  0 
snd_hda_intel          21941  2 
snd_hda_codec          74201  2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep               5412  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_mixer_oss          13746  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_dummy           1338  0 
snd_pcm                70662  3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
joydev                  8708  0 
arc4                    1153  2 
snd_seq_oss            26726  0 
nvidia               9961216  0 
snd_seq_midi            4557  0 
snd_rawmidi            19056  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event      6003  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq                47263  7 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_timer              19098  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          5700  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
fbcon                  35102  71 
tileblit                2031  1 fbcon
uvcvideo               56990  0 
ath9k                 306010  0 
mac80211              205146  1 ath9k
ath                     7611  1 ath9k
sony_laptop            28248  0 
font                    7557  1 fbcon
bitblit                 4707  1 fbcon
softcursor              1189  1 bitblit
intel_agp              24119  0 
btusb                  10925  0 
videodev               34361  1 uvcvideo
v4l1_compat            13251  2 uvcvideo,videodev
bluetooth              49892  1 btusb
snd                    54148  17 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
sdhci_pci               5470  0 
video                  17375  0 
sdhci                  15462  1 sdhci_pci
output                  1871  1 video
psmouse                63245  0 
cfg80211              126517  3 ath9k,mac80211,ath
serio_raw               3978  0 
led_class               2864  2 ath9k,sdhci
soundcore               6620  1 snd
snd_page_alloc          7076  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
vga16fb                11385  1 
vgastate                8961  1 vga16fb
agpgart                31724  4 ttm,drm,nvidia,intel_agp
lp                      7028  0 
parport                32635  1 lp
usbhid                 36110  0 
hid                    67032  1 usbhid
ohci1394               26950  0 
ahci                   32200  3 
sky2                   40775  0 
ieee1394               81181  1 ohci1394

Output of "dpkg --get-selections | grep nvidia"

Code:

nvidia-185-libvdpau				deinstall
nvidia-current					install
nvidia-glx-173					deinstall
nvidia-glx-173-dev				deinstall
nvidia-glx-185					deinstall
nvidia-glx-185-dev				deinstall
nvidia-settings					install

All system upgrades, and updates have already been performed. No current updates are available now.

Regards. (It is nearing midnight here, so if delayed, I will come back early morning)