[Solved] Using a UEFI boot and the NVIDIA NVS 5400M in Lenovo T530

simon_sjw · 2015-12-10 23:50:40

Hi All,

I have an Arch installation running on a Lenovo ThinkPad T530 using the internal Ivybridge graphics card. I would like to make use of the NVIDIA NVS 5400M discrete graphics card currently disabled in my BIOS.

My set up uses UEFI.

Looking at the Arch Wiki for Lenovo ThinkPad T530, - I see the following comment:

"See Nouveau for open-source driver or NVIDIA for the proprietary driver.
When in discrete graphics mode, The backlight does not work while in UEFI Mode. This limitation does not exist in Legacy Mode."

This seems to me to say basically, if I use UEFI and try also using the discrete graphics card, I will just get a blank screen on my laptop.

Is the a reasonable interpretation? I would have thought that since we are talking about a set up which renders a stand alone laptop unusable, the wording would be slightly less neutral (eg. "Do not use UEFI and NVIDIA NVS 5400M unless you have external monitors as the combination of a UEFI boot and the use of the NVIDIA NVS 5400M card switches off the backlight on the laptop screen . This results in blanking out the laptop screen.").

Please advise and if all is as appears, I'll edit the wiki to emphasise the issue.

Regards,

Simon

Last edited by simon_sjw (2015-12-16 11:54:41)

jasonwryan · 2015-12-11 00:16:08

Before editiing the wiki, why not just test the assertion?

simon_sjw · 2015-12-11 04:43:01

Hi Jason - to answer your question;
fear.
Whenever I've had a crack at using the discrete card previously, it has ended in little understood edits to the display manager files and at least a couple of rebuilds - granted that was on my Ubuntu days but the scars remain. If I'm going to give it a crack (and I'm keen), I would at least prefer to know that it is possible in principle.

Simon

jasonwryan · 2015-12-11 04:56:51

Worst case scenario, you just disable the nvidia card.

Much of what is in the wiki is spurious; best to find out for yourself.

simon_sjw · 2015-12-16 11:54:16

Hi All,
I now have my graphics card in hand using bumblebee.

Key points to notice:

First time I did this, I followed the Arch Wiki but accidentally reinstalled the mesa package after doing going though it all. However, I it didn't work so I followed instructions on this page:
Linux Monk3ys
It advises switching off Optimus detection and the discrete graphics card for the install (switching the graphics card on on the first bootup after install) whereas the Wiki asks you to install with the discrete graphics card and Optimus detection working the whole time.
I recognise it's a fail on my part that I didn't identify whether the mesa reinstall or the active graphics card state resulted in the fail.
primusrun works better than optirun but when you test it, you will see optirun runs faster. This will probably be because primusrun has a built in default to not refresh your graphics faster than your monitor. Most LCDs thats around 60Hz. The reason it does this is to avoid you seeing 'screen tears' as one refresh gets two separate graphic updates resulting in a 'tear' in the middle. This is not guaranteed to happen though and you disable the limit as follows:
instead of
```
primusrun someapp
```
use
```
vblank_mode=0 primusrun someapp
```
to launch your graphic rendering intensive application 'someapp' from the command line.
You can set up an alias to get this default behaviour if you don't get screen tearing on the application in question. There is also a load of stuff on the web about other novel ways of remediating the issue without crimping your update speed.
All this is written on the glorious page
Arch Wiki: Bumblebee
but if you are like me, you read the instructions as a last resort.

One weekend I'll try uninstalling it all and testing whether it's the mesa reinstall or the attempt to install with discrete card turned on the whole time that screwed up my first attempt. Obviously if it's the latter, I will update the wiki.

Thanks for the help with this Jason. I feel good about my step into Arch world!

Simon

Arch Linux

#1 2015-12-10 23:50:40

[Solved] Using a UEFI boot and the NVIDIA NVS 5400M in Lenovo T530

#2 2015-12-11 00:16:08

Re: [Solved] Using a UEFI boot and the NVIDIA NVS 5400M in Lenovo T530

#3 2015-12-11 04:43:01

Re: [Solved] Using a UEFI boot and the NVIDIA NVS 5400M in Lenovo T530

#4 2015-12-11 04:56:51

Re: [Solved] Using a UEFI boot and the NVIDIA NVS 5400M in Lenovo T530

#5 2015-12-16 11:54:16

Re: [Solved] Using a UEFI boot and the NVIDIA NVS 5400M in Lenovo T530

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