Gentoo nVidia problems

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10-24-2005
miceless

Gentoo nVidia problems

Hi all.

I'm new to Gentoo (and in fact to Linux in general). I decided to install it on an old machine of mine to learn more about it. I managed to get through the installation in the end, but I'm now stuck and would appreciate some assistance.

I've been following the Gentoo Linux nVidia Guide (here) and the X Server Configuration HowTo (here) but when I get to the point when I run X I get the following errors:

Code:

NVIDI(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module! NVIDI(0): *** Aborting *** Screen(s) found, but none have a useable configuration.

Can anyone offer any help? I've looked around and seen that a lot of people have problems with the nvidia drivers, but I'm not sure where to go from here.

I can provide more info about things, if you tell me what might be useful...
10-26-2005
xiphias

miceless,

I'd ask you for more info if you were in a GUI enviroment and could copy/paste stuff, but I'm going to take a pot-shot and say you probably didn't reemerge nvidia-kernel after compiling your kernel, and probably have a version mismatch. To check this out, do a

Code:

modinfo nvidia

At the end of this will be a line for version-magic, make sure it matches your kernel version (see uname -a). If this is all good, it most likely a typo/error in your xorg.conf that you've overlooked. Make sure you're using the "nvidia" driver NOT "nv." If you still have a problem, post the following:

uname -a
xorg.conf
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log
dmesg (if you feel the need)

P.S. Do not be fooled with the straightforwardness of Xorg guides. I've had to change my xorg.conf MANY times before getting things to work optimally (or at all in the beginning). In particular, you may be interested in some of the following options under the Section "Device." Here's mine:

Code:

Section "Device" Identifier "Card0" Driver "nvidia" VendorName "nVidia Corporation" BoardName "Unknown Board" BusID "PCI:5:0:0" VideoRam 131072 Option "NvAGP" "1" # use nvidias agp - 1 , agpgart -2, agpgart,nvagp -3 Option "NoLogo" "true" Option "NoRenderExtension" "false" Option "RenderAccel" "true" Option "AllowGLXWithComposit" "true" Option "CursorShadow" "true" Option "CursorShadowAlpha" "32" Option "BackingStore" "true" Option "NoBandWidthTest" "1" Option "NoPowerConnectorCheck" "1" Option "XvmcUsesTextures" "1" # Option "IgnoreEDID" "1" EndSection
11-20-2005
btrzcinski

Device node not created

I believe this is a bug in the current 2005.1 state of affairs, but running this for me solved hte problem:

Code:

# /sbin/NVmakedevices.sh

Hope that helps.
11-20-2005
dylunio

Yes this has been a recent bug, and if one runs

Code:

/sbin/NVmakedevices.sh

it should fix it's self. You should add this command to the boot process by puting it in /etc/conf.d/local.start

Code:

if [ i -e /dev/nvidia0 ]; then /sbin/NVmakedevices.sh fi
11-20-2005
Dachnaz

I'd recommend going to the command line and downloading the latest official nVidia drivers from their website through Links. This solved the same problem for me. Follow nVidia's instructions instead of Gentoo's; they both work the same with X Server's instructions.
11-22-2005
RiverRat

The best solution is to file a bug report at bugs.gentoo.org and try to CC the maintainer of the package. As it stands now the best way is to do it is the Gentoo way (with emerge) and then run the script in question: /sbin/NVmkdevices
11-22-2005
Dachnaz

You can always unmask the nVidia drivers so when you emerge them, you will have the latest version (which does not give this error when I tried it).

Code:

# echo "media-video/nvidia-kernel ~x86" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords # echo "media-video/nvidia-glx ~x86" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords # echo ">media-video/nvidia-glx-1.0.7676-r1" >> /etc/portage/package.mask # emerge nvidia-kernel nvidia-glx

That should be it. Start X and enjoy! ^^
12-02-2005
Samoth

i had this problem when i set up my nvidia TNT2. The problem was that i compiled agpgart directly into the kernel instead of as a module...I got the exact same error message too. Try compiling agpgart as a module.
12-23-2005
mluschas

I had that, and I can solve it

Hey,
I just had that problem the other day. I just decided to finally make the switch. I spent countless hours online, then I emerged nirc and went into the chat. Luckilly emorphix was in #gentoo. He helped me out, And i had to learn a little bit more to (I screwed a few things up cuz it wasnt step by step) so now i will pass the knowledge onto you.
Heres my config. I have an nvidia GeforceFX5200 Agp, with 256MB VRAM. Ok. KDE 3.4, kernel 2.6.

commands to type to update your kernel as well as your xorg:

first remove the old stuff
su - // I would assume your root already if your updating like this, but for good measure
enter password
rmmod nvidia // remove nvidia from memory
emerge unmerge nvidia-glx // get rid of the current
emerge unmerge nivia-kernel //see above
lsmod // this makes sure that the module is gone from memory
ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" emerge nvidia-glx // this is so u get the masked packages
it should give u a message about running something like eselect opengl set nvida or something, RUN IT.
then run modules-update
reboot

login
startx and it will work.