Failed to initialize the nvidia-173 kernel module in Maverick

[Sam Azer]

Binary package hint: nvidia-173

* After upgrading from kubuntu 10.04 to 10.10 (beta at the time,) the nvidia drivers were not working due to "dlopen: /usr/lib/xorg/extra-modules/nvidia_drv.so: undefined symbol: miEmptyData"

* The above bug was quickly fixed and an updated package was released through various PPA's and, eventually, through the main updates repo. The above error message no longer appears. However, the Nvidia-173 package is still not working on my system.

* The new problem is that the kernel module fails to initialize (see 59.171 below:)

[ 59.170] (**) NVIDIA(0): Depth 24, (--) framebuffer bpp 32
[ 59.170] (==) NVIDIA(0): RGB weight 888
[ 59.170] (==) NVIDIA(0): Default visual is TrueColor
[ 59.170] (==) NVIDIA(0): Using gamma correction (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
[ 59.170] (**) NVIDIA(0): Enabling RENDER acceleration
[ 59.170] (II) NVIDIA(0): Support for GLX with the Damage and Composite X extensions is
[ 59.170] (II) NVIDIA(0): enabled.
[ 59.171] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module! Please ensure
[ 59.171] (EE) NVIDIA(0): that there is a supported NVIDIA GPU in this system, and
[ 59.171] (EE) NVIDIA(0): that the NVIDIA device files have been created properly.
[ 59.171] (EE) NVIDIA(0): Please consult the NVIDIA README for details.
[ 59.172] (EE) NVIDIA(0): *** Aborting ***
[ 59.172] (II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"
[ 59.172] (II) UnloadModule: "wfb"
[ 59.172] (II) UnloadModule: "fb"
[ 59.172] (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

* lspci returns: "01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV36 [GeForce FX Go5700] (rev a1)"

* Top few lines from the Xorg.0.log file:

[ 59.120]
X.Org X Server 1.9.0.902 (1.9.1 RC 2)
Release Date: 2010-10-15
[ 59.120] X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[ 59.120] Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.24-28-xen i686 Ubuntu
[ 59.120] Current Operating System: Linux mpc 2.6.35-22-generic #35-Ubuntu SMP Sat Oct 16 20:36:48 UTC 201
0 i686
[ 59.120] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=44dde583-c058-4348-ab2e-49e
3f455a0eb ro quiet splash
[ 59.120] Build Date: 20 October 2010 06:42:38PM
[ 59.120] xorg-server 2:1.9.0.902+git20101020+server-1.9-branch.4dd316f2-0ubuntu0sarvatt (For technical su
pport please see http://www.ubuntu.com/support)
[ 59.120] Current version of pixman: 0.19.5

* This problem has been mentioned in a few other launchpad bugs but I can't find one specifically for this issue so I've created this one. Any help, links, debugging instructions or related information would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for your excellent service!

[Andrea Amoroso (heiko81)]

the same here..nvidia 8600 gt..can't load the nvidia module..

[Sam Azer (samazer)]

FYI

- installed kubuntu 10.10 from scratch on the same notebook
- Used Jockey to activate the nvidia-173 driver.
- (Got a few delays and strange messages along the way, but...)
- found that nvidia 173 works fine.

The problem is therefore most likely to be an incompatibility or a setting that does not exist in a vanilla 10.10 environment.

For everybody who is experiencing this bug I suggest a full set of backups and a fresh installation is less time consuming than tinkering with the 173 driver. Nouveau (from the beta PPA's) has improved considerably over the past few weeks - it's really not bad at all - but I missed some of the advanced 3d desktop effects. They're surprisingly helpful.

[bugbot (bugbot)]

Hey Sam,

Hi, have you had a chance to test if this bug is still present in natty?

If it does (and if you're the original reporter), please boot into natty
and run the command:

  apport-collect <bug-number>

which will update the bug with fresh logs and tag the bug as affecting
natty. (It is best to run this right after reproducing the problem.)

[bugbot (bugbot)]

We're closing this bug since it is has been some time with no response from the original reporter. However, if the issue still exists please feel free to reopen with the requested information. Also, if you could, please test against the latest development version of Ubuntu, since this confirms the bug is one we may be able to pass upstream for help.

[Sam Azer (samazer)]

Sorry guys - didn't see the above notes until now.

In fact the problem was fixed some weeks ago. I saw that an updated version of the driver was available and tried it in 10.10 and it was working again. I have been using it in Natty since beta 2.

Thanks again for your excellent service!