Hello all. I run Ubuntu Linux 10.04/10.10 with an Nvidia Vanta 8 MB graphics card. I need help installing the driver from the Nvidia website.

I've tried installing it myself but it failed.
I disabled X (/etc/init.d/gdm stop) and the opened a VirtualConsole. In the VC I ran the chmod +x command and then ran the installation. Halfway through it said something about Ubuntu not having a distribution-provided pre-install script (or something similar to that) and asked me if I would like to continue. I chose yes and the installation failed.

I would really like to get this driver installed, could someone help me?

Often the problem when installing a Nvidia driver manually is that you need to install the development package for your kernel first. Look for a package name with something like this: (YourKernel#-devel).

BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia - Community Ubuntu Documentation
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Bi...erHowto/Nvidia

The Vanta 8MB is a card with a TNT2 LT-chip. There is no proprietary Nvidia-driver in Ubuntu supporting this chip. You have either to download the version 71.86.14 from the NVidia-website and install it manually, or use the nv-driver (2D only) or the nouveau-driver (basic 2D and video-acceleration), which should already be part of Ubuntu.

This what I've been trying to do but install fails.

To install this drivers I think you have to install build-essential and your kernel-headers first. Then try it again.

Okay, what are my kernel headers? Is it the dev package that Davno mentioned earlier or is it different?

So how do I find my kernel headers in synaptic?

Search for "Linux-headers". There will be a kernel version such as 2.6.35; the dev version should have "-devel" after it or something similar.

Sorry for the quick overview, I'm not on my Ubuntu machine at the moment.