This could be called "yet another thread on nvidia and xorg"...
Here is my problem:
I use debian unstable
I've installed nvidia legacy packages (old graphic card) from debian repository, and I've used nvidia-xconfig to set xorg.conf.
It has worked once, but never again...
The xorg log tells me:
"Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module"
aborting, etc.

To this point, the cause seems clear.
But now read this:

lsmod | grep nvidia

nvidia 3921404 0
agpgart 31400 2 nvidia,via_agp

The module is ALREADY loaded!
I've tried to unload it and startx again, same result.

I use linux-image-2.6.15-1-686 kernel and of course nvidia-kernel-legacy-2.6.15-1-686

Does anyone have an idea?

Thanks by advance!

What is your graphics card? And could you post your xorg.conf file?

I just did this yesterday however, I used this nvidia-kernel-2.6.15-1-686 instead of the legacy but I have an Nvidia 6600GS

Thanks for your fast answer!

The graphic card is a "Guillemot Maxi Gamer Phoenix 2"
It's a Vanta chip with 16Mo RAM.
Here is the xorg.conf (generated automatically by nvidia-xconfig):

# nvidia-xconfig: X configuration file generated by nvidia-xconfig
# nvidia-xconfig: version 1.0 (randy@juliet2) Fri Dec 30 21:53:37 PST 2005

# File generated by xorgconfig.
#
# Copyright 2004 The X.Org Foundation
#
# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
#
# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
#
# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
# The X.Org Foundation BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
# WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF
# OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
# SOFTWARE.
#
# Except as contained in this notice, the name of The X.Org Foundation shall
# not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other
# dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from
# The X.Org Foundation.
#
# **********************************************************************
# Refer to the xorg.conf(5x) man page for details about the format of
# this file.
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Module section -- this section is used to specify
# which dynamically loadable modules to load.
# **********************************************************************
#
# **********************************************************************
# Files section. This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Server flags section.
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Input devices
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************
# **********************************************************************
# Other input device sections
# this is optional and is required only if you
# are using extended input devices. This is for example only. Refer
# to the xorg.conf man page for a description of the options.
# **********************************************************************
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "Mouse2"
# Driver "mouse"
# Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/mouse2"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball"
# Driver "magellan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball2"
# Driver "spaceorb"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen0"
# Driver "microtouch"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "1412"
# Option "MaxX" "15184"
# Option "MinY" "15372"
# Option "MaxY" "1230"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen1"
# Driver "elo2300"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "231"
# Option "MaxX" "3868"
# Option "MinY" "3858"
# Option "MaxY" "272"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonThreshold" "17"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
# **********************************************************************
# Monitor section
# **********************************************************************
# Any number of monitor sections may be present
# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************
# Any number of graphics device sections may be present
# Standard VGA Device:
# Device configured manually
# **********************************************************************
# Screen sections
# **********************************************************************
# Any number of screen sections may be present. Each describes
# the configuration of a single screen. A single specific screen section
# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"
# option.
# **********************************************************************
# ServerLayout sections.
# **********************************************************************
# Any number of ServerLayout sections may be present. Each describes
# the way multiple screens are organised. A specific ServerLayout
# section may be specified from the X server command line with the
# "-layout" option. In the absence of this, the first section is used.
# When now ServerLayout section is present, the first Screen section
# is used alone.
# Section "DRI"
# Mode 0666
# EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"

# The Identifier line must be present
# Each Screen line specifies a Screen section name, and optionally
# the relative position of other screens. The four names after
# primary screen name are the screens to the top, bottom, left and right
# of the primary screen. In this example, screen 2 is located to the
# right of screen 1.
# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used. Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".
Identifier "Simple Layout"
Screen "Screen 1" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"

# The location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.
# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (which are concatenated together),
# as well as specifying multiple comma-separated entries in one FontPath
# command (or a combination of both methods)
#
#
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType/"
# FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/freefont/"
# The module search path. The default path is shown here.
# ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
EndSection

Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.
# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
# This loads the font modules
# This loads the GLX module
# Load "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
# Load "dri"
Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension
SubSection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubSection
Load "type1"
# Load "speedo"
Load "freetype"
# Load "xtt"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# For most OSs the protocol can be omitted (it defaults to "Standard").
# When using XQUEUE (only for SVR3 and SVR4, but not Solaris),
# uncomment the following line.
# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"
# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"
# Option "RightAlt" "ModeShift"
# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
# These are the default XKB settings for Xorg
# Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
# Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
# Option "XkbLayout" "us"
# Option "XkbVariant" ""
# Option "XkbOptions" ""
# Option "XkbDisable"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "kbd"
Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "fr"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver
# the following line.
# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"
# Mouse-speed setting for PS/2 mouse.
# Option "Resolution" "256"
# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In
# almost every case these lines should be omitted.
# Option "BaudRate" "9600"
# Option "SampleRate" "150"
# Mouse wheel mapping. Default is to map vertical wheel to buttons 4 & 5,
# horizontal wheel to buttons 6 & 7. Change if your mouse has more than
# 3 buttons and you need to map the wheel to different button ids to avoid
# conflicts.
# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)
# Option "Emulate3Buttons"
# Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice
# Option "ChordMiddle"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto" # Auto detect
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
# When using XQUEUE, comment out the above two lines, and uncomment
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button mice
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
# HorizSync 30-64 # multisync
# HorizSync 31.5, 35.2 # multiple fixed sync frequencies
# HorizSync 15-25, 30-50 # multiple ranges of sync frequencies
# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
Identifier "Acer 77e"
HorizSync 31.5 - 72.0
VertRefresh 50.0 - 120.0
EndSection

Section "Device"

# The chipset line is optional in most cases. It can be used to override
# the driver's chipset detection, and should not normally be specified.
# Chipset "generic"
# The Driver line must be present. When using run-time loadable driver
# modules, this line instructs the server to load the specified driver
# module. Even when not using loadable driver modules, this line
# indicates which driver should interpret the information in this section.
# The BusID line is used to specify which of possibly multiple devices
# this section is intended for. When this line isn't present, a device
# section can only match up with the primary video device. For PCI
# devices a line like the following could be used. This line should not
# normally be included unless there is more than one video device
# intalled.
# BusID "PCI:0:10:0"
# VideoRam 256
# Clocks 25.2 28.3
Identifier "Standard VGA"
Driver "vga"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"
EndSection

Section "Device"

#VideoRam 16384
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
Identifier "Guillemot Phoenix 2"
Driver "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "Guillemot Phoenix 2"
Monitor "Acer 77e"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Try changing this

to this


Peace V

This works, of course. That's what I am currently using to go here
But "nv" is the free driver from the community. It has no 3D acceleration at all, and a little 2D acceleration (thanks to nvidia for not delivering any info about their cards!!)
"nvidia" is the non-free closed source driver provided by nvidia. Not that I am in a hurry to play videogames, but I use blender sometimes, and even a old 3D card is really really better than no 3D-software!

Well, you can try change it the "nv" driver to the "nvidia" driver

Or reinstall the nvidia-kernel using module-assistant


Reegards

Bye

How many monitors do you have? I notice that it says Screen 1 instead of Screen 0

Also try commenting out the load glx under the "modules" section. This is just to see if you can get X to load with the "nvidia" listing instead of "nv".

You can also see if anything in this post helps.
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-75074.html

While it may be for Ubuntu there may be some suggestions that will help since ubuntu is based on Debian.


Peace V

But....if you comment "glx" wont try to use nvidia driver instead of nv driver if you have set it up "nv" in xorg.conf

The only way to get the Xorg using the nvidia driver is putting that in section device:
Also, there's no need to comment the Glx module....


Reegards


Bye

Success!
Finally I've succeeded in getting back 3D acceleration.
I've reinstalled completely debian pacakages nvidia-legacy.
I guess I didn't take care during upgrades, and xorg have been upgrade.
I suppose there is a conflict between xorg packages and nvidia specific ones, but I've not found what exactly, so the bug report is going to wait a little bit.
Acron_248: if you look carefully, you'll see that there is another line further away that load glx, but this is rather my fault, nvidia-xconfig comments almost all of previous xorg.conf and add its own configuration, I should have cleaned it a little bit before posting.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for having helped me! Long live this forum!