Question from a new user

[NewUser07]

Hi there

I'm looking to start using linux so im still very new to this so excuse me.

My question is do i need to download seperate nvidia drivers to run linux operating systems or certain linux stuff, btw i have a geforce2 graphics card.
I ask this question because i was on the nvidia website and they seem to have drivers specially for linux. I already have the latest forceware drivers for the geforce2 card and so was thinking do i need to get a new set of drivers for linux.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_32667.html

Im in a bit of a confusion over this so if anyone can clear this up for me it is much appreciated. Thanks.

[lrmccain]

Yes you need the linux versions, however you should be able to install linux first and then get the drivers in any number of ways depending on your distro. Many older cards are supported by default but nvidia's proprietary drivers are better in many cases


Luke

[tuxv]

You'll only need a driver after you install linux (maybe you won't need a driver).

cheers

[techieMoe]

If you're going to want to run 3D games, you'll want to install the Nvidia official Linux driver. You don't have to do this immediately; your card should work fine with the default "vesa" generic driver that most distributions of Linux use. If you're not going to do much gaming, it's not really necessary.

With a Geforce 2, I'd make sure you read the side note on the download page for the latest Nvidia driver and make sure your card is still supported. Every couple of versions they move up the list and stop supporting older cards with the newest driver. However, there's still a "legacy" version of the driver available for those.

According to the latest (1.0-9746) supported list here, the Geforce 2 is still officially supported with the latest driver. If you need help installing it, try my tutorial here:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...d-drivers.html

There may also be an easier way if you tell us what specific distribution you're using. Some distros offer Nvidia drivers in a precompiled package.

[NewUser07]

Thanks for the reply guys as you have answered my question. Thanks also techieMoe for your installation help, it will come in handy.

As for my distro i've just finished downloading the latest Ubuntu 6.10 and to be more specific my graphics card is a Geforce2 GTS.

Just to give a bit more information on what i want to do, is dual boot Linux and Windows so i can use both when i want to.

Thank you again

[techieMoe]

As for my distro i've just finished downloading the latest Ubuntu 6.10 and to be more specific my graphics card is a Geforce2 GTS.

If you don't have luck with my tutorial in Ubuntu, you can also try this section of the Ubuntu Guide:

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_E...r_.28NVIDIA.29

[devils casper]

Just to give a bit more information on what i want to do, is dual boot Linux and Windows so i can use both when i want to.

Dual boot is default in all Linux distros. create free/Unpartitioned space and install Ubuntu in that space. installer will create/format partitions and setup dual boot for you.







Casper

[NewUser07]

thanks for the tip Casper.

I have another question when i install Ubuntu and everything is ok and then i want to uninstall Ubuntu sometime later will there be any problems, like the disk space i partitioned, will i be able to partition it back to the way it was before with only windows running and the disk space will show up and be able to use it like there was nothing changed. I have two hard drives, one is already partitioned and a second one i just brought recently is a 300gb hard drive which has plenty of space still available so i plan to install it on that. Basically what I'm asking is if i partition the 300gb hard drive and then later uninstall Ubuntu will i able to partition it back as 300gb hard disk with no complications

One more small question since you already know i have a 32MB Geforce2 GTS graphics card, i was hoping if anyone can tell me whether i will be able to run Beryl without any problems and if so does that mean it would be good idea to install the Linux drivers for the Geforce2 GTS

Thanks for your time

[techieMoe]

I have another question when i install Ubuntu and everything is ok and then i want to uninstall Ubuntu sometime later will there be any problems, like the disk space i partitioned, will i be able to partition it back to the way it was before with only windows running and the disk space will show up and be able to use it like there was nothing changed.

Yes, you should be able to expand your existing XP partition to fill the space left when and if you decide to delete your Ubuntu partitions. I believe (though I can't confirm this) that Partition Magic offers this feature.

The more important thing you'll need to fix if you remove Linux is to reset the Master Boot Record to load the MS Windows bootloader instead of GRUB or LILO. You can do this by booting with an XP install disc, going to a Recovery Console, and typing FIXMBR.

One more small question since you already know i have a 32MB Geforce2 GTS graphics card, i was hoping if anyone can tell me whether i will be able to run Beryl without any problems and if so does that mean it would be good idea to install the Linux drivers for the Geforce2 GTS

Thanks for your time

If you're looking to run any kind of 3D desktop or games, you'll need to install the Nvidia drivers. As for how the performance will be, I honestly don't know. Any kind of 3D is going to cause some overhead on your system, and an older processor will have more trouble than a newer one, obviously.

[NewUser07]

Thanks for the reply

btw I wanted to say that i have not got the xp install disc as others may not have also because i was not given one with my computer.

I don't know if anyone has already given a solution to this but i have been researching and looking around and found that a Recovery Console iso can be found which then if you burn it on a disc and run it will work apparently however i'm not sure as i have only come across this.

Here are is a link on this http://www.tweakxp.com/article36941.aspx and
http://www.thecomputerparamedic.com/files/rc.iso is the place where the download link works. So anyway i'm not saying this is the solution and that everybody should do this but asking to explore this area to see whether this is true.

I've never used the Recovery Console myself as i have not needed it; but i have downloaded this file and will use it when needed as techieMoe suggested to load the Windows bootloader, although i am still seeking confirmation that this solution can be taken up; and if there is already some other way then apologies.