Arch Linux

rajababu

Member

Registered: 2025-11-22

Posts: 1

[Help] NVIDIA GT 730 (Fermi) Login Loop on GNOME/Xorg with nvidia-390x

Hardware:

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F (12th Gen) (Requires ibt=off)

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 (Fermi Architecture, GF108)

OS: Arch Linux (Rolling)

Kernel: Tested on both linux (6.17) and linux-lts (6.12)

DE: GNOME 46 / LightDM

The Goal:
To install the legacy nvidia-390xx-dkms drivers to get hardware acceleration instead of using nouveau.

The Current State:

Nouveau: Works, but performance is poor (no re-clocking support).

Proprietary (390xx): Installs correctly (modules load), but results in a Login Loop on Xorg sessions and llvmpipe (Software Rendering) on Wayland sessions.

Detailed Troubleshooting History

We have attempted the following steps. I am looking for a solution to get the Xorg session running with the NVIDIA driver.

1. Kernel & Boot Arguments

Due to the 12th Gen Intel CPU, I added ibt=off to kernel parameters. This solved the initial Kernel Panic (IBT mismatch).

I have tried both nvidia-drm.modeset=1 and 0.

modeset=1 is required for GDM/GNOME but seems to hang the boot process on the Standard Kernel.

On LTS Kernel, modeset=1 boots but results in the Xorg errors below.

2. Installation Method

Used yay to install nvidia-390xx-dkms, nvidia-390xx-utils, and lib32-nvidia-390xx-utils.

Verified installation with dkms status (Shows installed).

Verified modules loaded with lsmod | grep nvidia (Shows nvidia, nvidia_modeset, nvidia_drm loaded).

3. The Core Error (Xorg)

When attempting to use "GNOME on Xorg" (since 390xx doesn't support Wayland), Xorg crashes or fails to attach the driver.
Error from /var/log/Xorg.0.log:

(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the GLX module; please check in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): log file that the GLX module has been loaded in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): server, and that the module is the NVIDIA GLX module.

I verified that /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so was often pointing to the generic implementation rather than the NVIDIA symlink.

4. Attempted Fixes (None worked)

Switching Kernels: Switched to linux-lts to avoid ABI mismatch. Driver builds fine, same Xorg error.

Switching Display Managers: Switched from GDM to LightDM to avoid Wayland defaults.

LightDM starts, but logging into "GNOME on Xorg" loops back to login.

Logging into "GNOME" works but uses Wayland + llvmpipe.

Manual Config (xorg.conf):

Tried sudo nvidia-xconfig. Result: Login Loop.

Tried manual config specifying ModulePath "/usr/lib/nvidia/xorg" to force loading the correct GLX module. Result: Login Loop.

Tried adding Option "IgnoreABI" "1". Result: Login Loop.

Tried specifying BusID "PCI:1:0:0". Result: Login Loop.

Symlinking: Tried manually forcing the link: ln -s /usr/lib/nvidia/xorg/libglx.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so.

Removing Conflicts: Removed xf86-video-intel to force modesetting.

Diagnostic Outputs

lspci -k | grep -A 2 -E "(VGA|3D)"

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF108 [GeForce GT 730] (rev a1)
Subsystem: NVIDIA Corporation Device 0000
Kernel driver in use: nvidia (or nouveau, currently reverted to nouveau for usability)

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer" (When NVIDIA driver installed)

OpenGL renderer string: llvmpipe (LLVM 21.1.5, 256 bits)
(This confirms Xorg fails to load NVIDIA, falling back to SW rendering)

Questions:

Is it possible to run GNOME 46 + Nvidia 390xx on the current Xorg version (21.1), or is the ABI mismatch unfixable even with patches?

Is there a specific xorg.conf configuration required for Fermi cards on modern Arch that handles the libglx.so path correctly?

Any help getting off nouveau and back to the proprietary driver would be appreciated.

seth

Member

From: Won't reply 2 private help req

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 75,004

Re: [Help] NVIDIA GT 730 (Fermi) Login Loop on GNOME/Xorg with nvidia-390x

DE: GNOME 46 / LightDM

How are you running gnome 46 on an updated arch?
If you though of the other part of 69, gnome 49 will exclusively run on wayland and that's something 390xx won't do.

Wrt

(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the GLX module; please check in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): log file that the GLX module has been loaded in your X
(EE) NVIDIA(0): server, and that the module is the NVIDIA GLX module.

please post your complete Xorg log, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg#General and in doubt see https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=309874

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