Comment 2 for bug 431131

After a number of mystical reinstalls, I finally got the Nvidia driver working again. Along the way, I reinstalled nvidia-glx-new and nvidia-kernel-common, which did not seem to help the problem. I also let some nitwit talk me into "m-a a-i nvidia", which installs obsolete drivers in the kernel, but I managed to back that out after hours of painful hair-pulling.

In the end, I think it was the reinstall of linux-restricted-modules that made it work, but I had thrashed the machine so much that I seriously doubt I could come close to duplicating the process. Anyway, if your Nvidia drivers are hammered like mine were, try reinstalling linux-restricted-modules, then nvidia-glx-new, then nvidia-kernel-common. Maybe the elves will make shoes for you.