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From: Richard Asbridge 
Subject: Re: nvidia woes again
Newsgroups: alt.os.linux.ubuntu
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Date: 24 Feb 2007 22:26:32 GMT
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> My question - what bloody module? And how do I update it?
> 
> I'm running kernel 2.6.17.11 generic.
> 
> Tearing my hair out on this one....

The nvidia driver comes in two parts; an open source "wrapper" and a closed
source "driver" the wrapper is compiled for a particular kernel version
and needs to be kept in step with any kernel updates you perform.

My advice with nvidia drivers is to use one packaged by your distro if you
can, unless you are happy to reinstall the nvidia driver every time you do
a kernel update. Personally I like having things as easy as possible so I
tend to take my own advice here unless something is very wrong.

Firstly you need to install these packages using synaptic or apt-get (or
whatever you normally use): 

nvidia-glx
nvidia-kernel-common
linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17

once installed you should run...

sudo nvidia-glx-config enable

....in a terminal to enable your nvidia driver. Once this is done, restart
your system and you should be working without problems. If you can't find
the packages, make sure you have universe repositories enabled.

If you have further problems post specific errors you see and details of
your exact graphics card model. Things to look out for are frame buffer
errors (I've had these in the past with Geforce FX 5800/5900 cards) they
can be easilly resolved however by simply disabling frame buffer support
during boot. Also don't get hung up on driver version numbers, latest does
not mean best especially if you have an older card, trust your
distribution packagers to package a driver that is stable with your OS and
only go for the latest one if you have to.
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