Nvidia install advice

General system Newbie
41

:crystal_ball:

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42

xorg log or journal could hint what goes mad.
if user is on GNOME:

If you are running Gnome with GDM you need to install gdm-prime.

43

The black screen is coming right after installing nvidia-dkms even though the test run was successful. I thought gdm-prime was only required when you go to install optimus-manager after?

44

More help needed please…
I took matters into my own hands and installed gdm-prime from inside tty1… still black screen.
I then removed nividia-installer-dkms and gdm-prime also from tty1
Now the machine boots direct into tty1.
I can fresh install but would like to fix this install if possible.

45

I’m far from anyone who knows anything , but … Do you have any Xorg config

/Etc/X11

Also what happens when you login from tty , and what is your display manager

46

I decided to reinstall.
Figured to start with a clean sheet
I’m installing Gnome again.
I choose the non Nvidia install option.
So what’s the best option from a fresh install.

47

I just install the nvidia-dkms package and then switch using asus-nb-ctrl haha .

For you maybe Optimus manager . So just follow

note the IMPORTANT section re gdm-prime, gdm/custom.conf and xorg confs.

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48

Progress!!
I’ve installed the nvidia driver, gdm-prime and optimus-manager and disabled wayland.
The system now reboots, I suspect wayland was causing the black screen.
The optimus-manager daemon is running…

[user@user-fx503vd ~]$ systemctl status optimus-manager.service
● optimus-manager.service - Optimus Manager Commands Daemon
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/optimus-manager.service; enabled; >
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2020-10-11 12:36:04 BST; 8min ago
    Process: 640 ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/python3 -u -m optimus_manager.hooks.pre_>
    Process: 649 ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/python3 -u -m optimus_manager.hooks.pre_>
   Main PID: 849 (python3)
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 9390)
     Memory: 36.6M
     CGroup: /system.slice/optimus-manager.service
             └─849 /usr/bin/python3 -u -m optimus_manager.daemon

Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[649]: [1029] INFO: Unloading modules ['nvi>
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[649]: [1044] INFO: Loaded extra Intel Xorg>
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[649]: [1045] INFO: Loaded extra Intel Xorg>
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[649]: [1045] INFO: Writing to /etc/X11/xor>
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[649]: [1045] INFO: Writing state {'type': >
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[649]: [1045] INFO: Xorg pre-start hook com>
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd systemd[1]: Started Optimus Manager Commands Daemo>
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[849]: [1] INFO: # Commands daemon
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[849]: [1] INFO: Opening UNIX socket
Oct 11 12:36:04 user-fx503vd python3[849]: [1] INFO: Awaiting commands

When I run `optimus-manager --switch nvidia I get this error…

`ERROR: a GPU setup was initiated but Xorg post-start hook did not run.
Log at /var/log/optimus-manager/switch/switch-20201011T123603.log
If your login manager is GDM, make sure to follow those instructions:

If your display manager is neither GDM, SDDM nor LightDM, or if you don’t use one, read the wiki:

Cannot execute command because of previous errors.
``

49

Check you don’t have any other xorg files .

And make sure you have rebooted haha

You could also try running prime-offload before switching

See https://github.com/Askannz/optimus-manager/issues/253

50

xorg has only the one correct file and rebooted.
upon rebooting it gives a notification that gdm-prime isn’t installed, it actually is installed.

51

hmmm gdm-prime should have replaced gdm nicely …
Honestly not sure , as I don’t use optimus manager myself … although when I did test it, it seemed to work fine (it did continously dump me to TTY and I would have to switch back and forth though …)

Maybe someone more versed in optimus manager may know the direction … I would just reinstall gdm-prime to make sure everything is OK

52

@treeeasy
Did you do this?

IMPORTANT : Gnome and GDM users

If you use Gnome or the Gnome Display Manager (GDM), there are a couple extra requirements to be able to use optimus-manager :

  • The default gdm package from the Archlinux and Manjaro repositories is not compatible with optimus-manager, so you must replace it with this patched version : gdm-prime (also replaces libgdm). The patch was written by Canonical for Ubuntu and simply adds two script entry points specifically for Prime switching. The package is otherwise identical to the official one.
  • Gnome launches Wayland sessions by default, which are incompatible with optimus-manager. To force Xorg sessions, You need to edit the file /etc/gdm/custom.conf and remove the # before the line #WaylandEnable=false.

Another quirk of GDM is that the X server may not automatically restart after a GPU switch. If you see an empty black screen or a black screen with a blinking cursor, try switching back to an empty TTY (with Ctrl+Alt+F5 for instance), then back to TTY1 with Ctrl+Alt+F1.

53

Yes Installed gdm-prime 3.36.3-1 and disabled wayland.
Upon reboot Gnome notify’s you are not using gdm-prime

54

Is it working or not? You can boot without black screen? I’m not a Gnome user and prefer Xfce, Cinnamon and Kde.

55

I have the latest nvidia driver and gdm-prime installed.
my machine boots fine albeit with the you are not using gdm-prime notification
I’m scratching my head.
I will come back to this again tomorrow now.
Definite progress at least I have a usable system now.

56

Well if you were on KDE you wouldn’t have that problem i don’t think. optimus-manager-qt is used on KDE Plasma and i have it working on a number of hybrid graphics. Gnome is odd for me. Although i like it to some extent i just don’t have as much knowledge on certain aspects of the Gnome Desktop.

57

Wayland is not compatible with nvidia non free at this moment in time Gnome defaults to wayland but gives the option to boot to gnome or gnome on xorg some older cards boot and run fine on the free drivers

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