SlackwareThis Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I just updated the -current installation on one of my slackboxes, and now the Nvidia driver won't run. Here is the snippet from Xorg.0.log:
Code:
[ 277.573] ================ WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING ================
[ 277.574] This server has a video driver ABI version of 20.0 that this
driver does not officially support. Please check
http://www.nvidia.com/ for driver updates or downgrade to an X
server with a supported driver ABI.
[ 277.574] =================================================================
[ 277.574] (EE) NVIDIA: Use the -ignoreABI option to override this check.
but as soon as the desktop came up, X segfaulted back to the console.
Even worse, when I use the noveau driver, everything seems to run, but after about 10 minutes the desktop locked up. I could still move the mouse pointer, but nothing else. The only way out of it was to power down. The Xorg.0.log from this incident:
Distribution: Slackware64-current with "True Multilib" and KDE4Town.
Posts: 9,097
Rep:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReaperX7
If you're running -Current, using the proprietary driver from Nvidia is ill advised.
Which exact video card do you have anyways?
You have said this before. Why? One reason, if not the principal reason, behind having a development version is to find out what works, what doesn't work and what needs to be changed or fixed. Plus the NVidia driver is just flat superior to the noveau (sp) driver.
Last edited by cwizardone; 11-16-2015 at 08:57 AM.
I guess I'll patiently wait for Nvidia to update for the new ABI.
As for the second thing I reported, so far that seems to have been a one-time lockup, but if it happens again I'll let you know.
OOPS! I guess I was a bit premature on the lockup. As soon as I posted, it locked up again as I was exiting Firefox. Since the first lockup was while I was still in Firefox, I'm starting to suspect either it or the plugins (java or flash) as possible culprits. Meantime, I'm doing a complete reinstall of 64-current on that partition.
Last edited by Lenard Spencer; 11-16-2015 at 10:00 AM.
Reason: New information
I guess I'll patiently wait for Nvidia to update for the new ABI.
As for the second thing I reported, so far that seems to have been a one-time lockup, but if it happens again I'll let you know.
OOPS! I guess I was a bit premature on the lockup. As soon as I posted, it locked up again as I was exiting Firefox. Since the first lockup was while I was still in Firefox, I'm starting to suspect either it or the plugins (java or flash) as possible culprits. Meantime, I'm doing a complete reinstall of 64-current on that partition.
Do you have any "video=1024x768" or "vga=791" or similarly in your boot options? The proprietary Nvidia driver doesn't play well with the framebuffer.
If you're running -Current, using the proprietary driver from Nvidia is ill advised.
I've been running the proprietary driver from Nvidia in -current for years. This is exactly the second time it's ever broken on me (the last time was the update to the 4.1 kernel.) It's not completely unreasonable to expect that updates to even the testing branch of Slackware would not break something as crucial as one of the big three video card drivers.
I've been running the proprietary driver from Nvidia in -current for years. This is exactly the second time it's ever broken on me (the last time was the update to the 4.1 kernel.) It's not completely unreasonable to expect that updates to even the testing branch of Slackware would not break something as crucial as one of the big three video card drivers.
Are we supposed to wait for (and test) that proprietary drivers work before releasing a new X server in -current? No way, you put it out and then the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Or it doesn't.
I fully expected that a new major release of the X server would break the nVidia blob, and everyone else should expect that as well. In any case, whether they work or not is beyond our control.
Are we supposed to wait for (and test) that proprietary drivers work before releasing a new X server in -current? No way, you put it out and then the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Or it doesn't.
I fully expected that a new major release of the X server would break the nVidia blob, and everyone else should expect that as well. In any case, whether they work or not is beyond our control.
Totally understandable. And I really don't have a problem with the fact that you released something that broke it, Pat (I got to keep both pieces!) My issue is more with the idea that because we're running -current, we should avoid proprietary drivers completely.
It's all about measures of silliness. I'm a little silly to think that updates to -current won't break the video card driver. It would be VERY silly to then state that I shouldn't try to run the proprietary driver under -current at all. If I wasn't comfortable with the system breaking, I wouldn't be running -current!
I guess I should temper my expectations, though - unfortunately, the only way to test the Nvidia driver is on an installed (not virtualized) OS with a real Nvidia card. That makes it a little difficult on both sides of the development pipeline.
Well, let's put a little nuance on this situation.
If you want to be the first person to report that the nvidia driver doesn't work with the latest -current, go right ahead and update as soon as a new -current lands at osuosl.
If you want to run -current but you don't want to risk the hassle of reverting to nouveau occasionally, just wait a couple of days after each big update, and then check for howls of anguish here at LQ, and then, if necessary, wait some more for a fix.
We only need one nvidia trailblazer, and frankly it's best not to be that guy. Same goes for everything else, if you want to try -current for actual normal work. Just stay a week behind the bleeding edge. You're still a valuable contributor to the development of Slackware: it's the subtle problems that are hardest to shake out.
I'm guilty of upgrading -current packages as soon as they are available at my local mirror. I agree that waiting a couple of days is the reasonable thing to do when running -current on a day-to-day basis.
Last edited by mats_b_tegner; 11-18-2015 at 08:11 AM.
If you're running -Current, using the proprietary driver from Nvidia is ill advised.
Which exact video card do you have anyways?
I have been running current since 13.37 and have never had any trouble with the proprietary drivers. Though there have been kernel versions that wouldnt work with, some nvidia versions.
This is the first i remember a -current update with specific nvidia problems. Since i have been using it, anyway.
I just read the Nvidia forum link, that sure was a snappy response wasnt it?
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
