[SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

benwis · 2017-05-31 21:38:12

I seem to recall that the nvidia proprietary drivers sometimes wouldn't work with the latest kernel. Is that still an issue, and if so, is there a way to know without having a dedicated testing machine?

Last edited by benwis (2017-06-01 16:35:16)

graysky · 2017-05-31 21:39:48

Look for bug reports or forum posts. Easiest way is to boot into the new kernel and see if the module is loadable. If not, rebuild it. Most times, that is all you need. On major version updates, it is likely that a patch is needed to allow the driver to build.

brebs · 2017-05-31 21:44:14

Yes, it is (and will continue to be) an issue, because the kernel devs continually change APIs in the kernel that nvidia rely on. Thus the breakage is not nvidia's fault.

The best place to look, both for breakage notification and for patches, is nvidia Linux forum.

Edit: Example thread.

Last edited by brebs (2017-05-31 21:47:50)

Ropid · 2017-05-31 21:48:06

If you talk about the latest Arch kernel, you don't have to worry about that. It only ever gets updated together with the nvidia kernel module package. The same is the case for the Xorg packages. Those only get updated if the nvidia driver package works with the updated Xorg server.

This might all be a bit different for the 304xx and 340xx versions of the nvidia drivers for older hardware. I think there were problems with those recently, but not sure if that wasn't only with the kernel in the testing repo.

Last edited by Ropid (2017-05-31 21:48:45)

Lone_Wolf · 2017-05-31 22:14:29

@benwis :

go to the package details for your nvidia package and look under dependencies for it.
nvidia 381.22-2 for example depends on linux >= 4.11 AND linux < 4.12 .
that package shouild work with all 4.11.y kernels .

---------------------------------------------

brebs wrote:

because the kernel devs continually change APIs in the kernel that nvidia rely on. Thus the breakage is not nvidia's fault.

If nvidia wants to influence those API changes (or get help keeping their modules working) all they need to do is publish their modules under a GPL2 compatible license and submit them for inclusion into the kernel.

If you don't want to join the playground, you shouldn't be surprised when the playground rules change without taking into account your needs.

Note : Nvidia has every right to decide which license they publish their code under.

HiImTye · 2017-05-31 22:53:24

a good indicator is whether it loads your DE. if it fails, or it fails to have any acceleration, then nvidia has to be rebuilt.

typically, though, it's released together with the new kernel, but there have been exceptions due to major kernel security patches, so nvidia was released about a day later. if it isn't built against the latest kernel, then you just have to build it yourself, which is actually a fairly trivial thing to do.

benwis · 2017-06-01 16:36:23

Thanks for all the advice. I'll have to look at the nvidia-dkms packages if I decide to switch to the hardened kernel.
Most of the time I just update the regular one, and I wanted to know if 4.11.3 broke nvidia. Seems fine now.

Arch Linux

#1 2017-05-31 21:38:12

[SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

#2 2017-05-31 21:39:48

Re: [SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

#3 2017-05-31 21:44:14

Re: [SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

#4 2017-05-31 21:48:06

Re: [SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

#5 2017-05-31 22:14:29

Re: [SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

#6 2017-05-31 22:53:24

Re: [SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

#7 2017-06-01 16:36:23

Re: [SO]How to know if nvidia proprietary drivers work with latest kernel?

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