recent nvidia driver update...

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:10:07

After a recent nvidia driver update, my video card wouldn't work properly anymore (GeFroce 660). Resolution and refresh rate no longer have any correct options. It's un-usably small. I tried purging and re-installing the driver, no good. It's just borked and can't be fixed.

I uninstalled the drivers and went with the generic stuff, which runs at proper resolution and refresh rate... But, it freezes up my display frequently. I can still ctrl-alt-F1 and see the prompt, login, reboot, etc. The machine hasn't locked up, it's just this video mess...

Where do I start trying to sort this out? It's hard to get diagnostic output when the thing you see with is gone...

V1del · 2021-04-12 17:26:22

There's a potential race condition issue that can happen with every kind of driver and on every boot, you should rule that out if you haven't. Install the nvidia drivers again and set up https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NV … de_setting

Also make sure you are actually booting into the correct kernel nvidia 460.67-7 is only valid for the 5.11.13.arch1 kernel

Should any of this fail, post a

sudo journalctl -b

as well as a /var/log/Xorg.0.log https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Li … in_clients

Last edited by V1del (2021-04-12 17:28:53)

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:29:44

I used this: https://archive.archlinux.org/packages/n/nvidia/

to jump back a few versions, no good. I jumped back several months, no good...

This suggests the recent driver update changed something other than the driver, because older versions which did work and I had previously used, no longer work either.

I'm guessing soemthing about the x config has been altered, but I have no idea where to look.

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:30:32

Didn't see your reply yet, will give that a shot.

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:44:45

The only thing that changed is that the monitor now stretches the incorrect resolution to fit (1024x768 stretched to 1920x1080)... Selecting the correct resolution is not an option. In fact, nothing is an option...

The only options in the XFCE Display Configuration are the ones already selected. Which are very, very wrong.

Of note; the stated refresh rate is obviously fake, because the monitor does not support it; 76hz

All was working well until a few days ago when an nvidia driver update came in...

I'm going to throw in the January 7th driver and give it a shot again...

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:47:14

uh oh, pacman is now getting caught in a monkey trap...

$ sudo pacman -U https://archive.archlinux.org/packages/n/nvidia/nvidia-455.45.01-13-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
loading packages...
resolving dependencies...
warning: cannot resolve "nvidia-utils=455.45.01", a dependency of "nvidia"
:: The following package cannot be upgraded due to unresolvable dependencies:
      nvidia

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:49:33

too many things going wrong... standby...

pacman now refuses to install anything but the latest version, see above error.

Last edited by camosoul (2021-04-12 17:51:31)

camosoul · 2021-04-12 17:55:52

Yup. pacman causality paradox.

$ sudo pacman -U https://archive.archlinux.org/packages/n/nvidia/nvidia-460.32.03-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
loading packages...
warning: downgrading package nvidia (460.67-6 => 460.32.03-1)
resolving dependencies...
warning: cannot resolve "nvidia-utils=460.32.03", a dependency of "nvidia"
:: The following package cannot be upgraded due to unresolvable dependencies:
      nvidia

:: Do you want to skip the above package for this upgrade? [y/N] 
error: failed to prepare transaction (could not satisfy dependencies)
:: unable to satisfy dependency 'nvidia-utils=460.32.03' required by nvidia
$

I can remove the nvidia package and I get the same error. It is now impossible to install anything but the current version.

Last edited by camosoul (2021-04-12 18:00:29)

Fixxer · 2021-04-12 19:29:39

First of all post logs requested by V1del and show more accurate info about your hardware:

lspci -nn | grep VGA

If you are using any other display manager than Lxdm, show also ~/.xsession-errors file. If you are using partially / custom /etc/X11/xorg.conf.g/*nvidia*.conf - show it.
Show also result of command:

xrandr -q

I'm using similar VGA card (GTX650Ti on GK107 chipset) and have had similar error/bugs with Fedora 33 Xfce stable release. All have gone after upgrade to branched pre-release Fedora34. On Arch Linux there are no errors.

As for now you can try to revert all changes/system state to - for example one day before nvidia package has been upgraded. As you see, it's not sufficient to mark one package, but dependencies as well. Look here:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ar … cific_date .

Proposal:
1. Make copy of your mirrorlist file:

# cp -vf /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.backup

2. Point mirror server to specific date, before nvidia package upgrade:

Server=https://archive.archlinux.org/repos/2021/MM/DD/$repo/os/$arch

Perform system downgrade to date:

pacman -Syy

pacman -Syu

Slithery · 2021-04-12 20:13:23

There's nothing wrong with pacman, you just always need to up/downgrade nvidia and nvidia-utils in the same transaction because of the versioned dependency.

seth · 2021-04-12 20:24:18

You likely also need to downgrade the kernel w/ the nvidia package… otherwise you're now either on nouveau (unlikely as it's still blacklisted) or the vesa driver.
Revert and abort those efforts and post the information V1del asked for.

olfranco · 2021-04-20 14:11:24

Hi, I had similar issues with exactly the same Nvidia card (GTX 660), also after a pacman upgrade.
I was using nvidia package, and recently i saw that Nvidia version drivers jump from 460 series to 465, and that seems to be the problem (at least for me).

According to Nvidia site, the most recent driver for the GTX 660 is the 460.73.01 (and not 465.xx.xx). Using this specific driver version did the trick for me.

loqs · 2021-04-20 14:21:28

@olfranco see https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverR … 2836/en-us -> Supported Products tab, which lists GeForce GTX 660 as compatible. So the nvidia site is providing contradictory information.

Last edited by loqs (2021-04-20 14:22:12)

olfranco · 2021-04-21 07:40:58

@loqs indeed, the GTX 660 is flagged as compatible with the last drivers. Also, if you search for the appropriate driver for a GTX 660, you land on the 460.xx.xx driver page...
Very ambiguous from Nvidia, also didn't found not much information about Nvidia eventually dropping support for at least this card (almost 10 years old now).

I don't known if we could hope for a fix with future releases, or if we will be stuck with this 460 branch driver version.

V1del · 2021-04-21 08:38:40

Depends on how you "search". The driver page on the nvidia site has a dropbox to differentiate between long lived branches and short lived feature branches. If you don't toggle that you'll land on the long lived one by default, while Arch tracks and packages the short-lived feature versions.

This appears to be an issue that affects a large variety of different GPUs it's quite likely this will be fixed properly in a subsequent release for still supported hardware

Last edited by V1del (2021-04-21 08:41:49)

peeves · 2021-04-30 15:25:44

There is a way to fix it for some setups while still running on the newer drivers, but it does have security implications so fair warning

If you set the setuid bit of /usr/lib/Xorg by running

chmod +s /usr/lib/Xorg

Xorg will run as root (like it used to, and still does for some display managers I believe) and nvidia-settings stuff (like fan speed and overclock control) will work properly again

Last edited by peeves (2021-04-30 15:29:10)

Arch Linux

#1 2021-04-12 17:10:07

recent nvidia driver update...

#2 2021-04-12 17:26:22

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#3 2021-04-12 17:29:44

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#4 2021-04-12 17:30:32

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#5 2021-04-12 17:44:45

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#6 2021-04-12 17:47:14

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#7 2021-04-12 17:49:33

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#8 2021-04-12 17:55:52

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#9 2021-04-12 19:29:39

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#10 2021-04-12 20:13:23

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#11 2021-04-12 20:24:18

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#12 2021-04-20 14:11:24

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#13 2021-04-20 14:21:28

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#14 2021-04-21 07:40:58

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#15 2021-04-21 08:38:40

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

#16 2021-04-30 15:25:44

Re: recent nvidia driver update...

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