[envy] Possible Nvidia probs upgrading from Edgy to Feisty

[dank277]

Binary package hint: restricted-manager

I am transferring this bug from linux-restricted modules #106906 per request.

If you are are upgrading from Edgy to Feisty, and if in Edgy you installed the NVIDIA propriatary drivers either by using NVIDIA's installer or the 'Envy' package (usually to run Beryl/Compiz), you may run into problems with the Xserver not being able to find the drivers, and crashing. You will get a screen with the error that is cannot find the driver in the /lib/modules/2.6.20-15-generic/volatile folder. The details of this error will not show up in the Xorg.0.log file, only the screen when done.

You need to check the file /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common (with the text editor of your choice, opened with a sudo e.g. sudo gedit /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common) and make sure the line

DISABLED_MODULES="nv" is NOT there.

If it is. you need to change it to DISABLED_MODULES="".

If you reboot, everything should be ok. (It was for me)

This is an artifact from edgy if you installed the nvidia proprietary drivers "manually" in order to use Beryl/Compiz. It seems in Feisty that the copying of the nvidia-glx-legacy.ko and nvidia-glx.ko drivers from /lib/restricted-modules/'uname -r' to the/lib/modules/2.6.20-15-generic/volatile folder (where xorg looks for the driver files) by the /sbin/lrm-manager script is prevented if the "nv" is set. (The nvidia_new driver IS being copied, by accident, due to bug #105756). In edgy, however, it was necessary to have this set when you installed the nvidia drivers manually. Since these actions were done outside of the repositories, it would not be up to the dev's to account for this. I wonder if this is not one cause of a lot of problems that seem to be happening with nvidia drivers and upgrades from Edgy to Feisty not working who installed the NVIDIA drivers for Compiz/Beryl in Edgy.

Hope this helps.

[Sitsofe Wheeler (sitsofe)]

Mildly related to other envy upgrade bugs like Bug #107915 .

[usub399 (no-mind)]

Thanks for this dank277, this fix appears to have solved my xserver not starting problems after upgrading from edgy to feisty. I had been using Envy to install the nvidia drivers on my Edgy installation. Is the disabling of the nv module a "left over" from using Envy?

[Sitsofe Wheeler (sitsofe)]

usub399:
I'm not sure but currently I would guess so.

Subscribing Alberto (the envy developer) so we can get a definitive answer.

[Alberto Milone (albertomilone)]

Sitsofe:
There is nothing I can do about this.

I put these instructions on my website:

C) What happens if I upgrade Ubuntu to a newer release (e.g. from Ubuntu Edgy to Ubuntu Feisty)?

You will only have to follow these steps:

1) Launch Envy and use the "Uninstall" function to uninstall the Nvidia or the ATI driver

2) Uninstall the Envy from Synaptic/Adept or from the command line

3) Set the driver back to either "nv" ( instead of "nvidia", if you use a Nvidia card) or "ati" ( instead of "fglrx", if you use an ATI card) in the Section Device of your /etc/X11/xorg.conf which you can edit by typing:
sudo nano -w /etc/X11/xorg.conf

NOTE: press CTRL+X to exit (save the file)

4) Log out and press CTRL+ALT+Backspace (so as to restart the Xserver)

5) Log in and upgrade your Ubuntu installation

NOTE: if the Xserver crashes you will have to use "vesa" instead of "ati" or "nv"

[Sitsofe Wheeler (sitsofe)]

Thanks for replying Alberto.

There's not a lot restricted-manager can do because it is not allowed to tamper with manual installations...

[Alberto Milone (albertomilone)]

Sitsofe:
a manual installation requires a manual uninstallation.

"Manual installations" will always be there unless Ubuntu's dev decide to provide up-to-date proprietary drivers in Ubuntu's stable releases.

As regards the restricted-manager or update-manager, it wouldn't take much effort to replace the /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common with the one which comes by default with Ubuntu. Envy already does that (if you use the "uninstall" function)

[Matteo Z (matteozandi)]

> a manual installation requires a manual uninstallation.

now r-m handles /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common, so that if for example fglrx is disabled in such file, if you choose to enable Ubuntu shipped 'ATI restricted driver', r-m takes care of removing 'fglrx' from DISABLED_MODULES and launching /sbin/lrm-manager --quick.

This is helpful in case a user installs fglrx manually and then, perhaps after upgrading the kernel, wants to switch to Ubuntu provided version of fglrx and forgets about /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common.

Still, this new feature doesn't help in case the user dist-upgrades and he forgets to switch back to ati driver (either manually or with the help of r-m). It would be a good idea to check if update-manager takes care of this, otherwise to file a bug so that update-manager cooperates with r-m in handling this issue.

[Adam Niedling (krychek)]

Feisty is not supported anymore.