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Ubuntu Nvidia driver update
Drak Jan 30, 2017
Hey guys,

I am trying to switch to a newer version of the official Nvidia drivers.
I'm on 367 (and ubuntu 16.4), and try to get on 375 (via this PPA: https://launchpad.net/~graphics-drivers/+archive/ubuntu/ppa).

However, I always end up with no xserver and the syslog message:
NVRM: API mismatch: the client has the version 375.26, but
NVRM: this kernel module has the version 367.57. Please
NVRM: make sure that this kernel module and all NVIDIA driver
NVRM: components have the same version.

But, when I check with "dkms status" it says:
bbswitch, 0.8, 4.4.0-59-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-375, 375.26, 4.4.0-59-generic, x86_64: installed

Which seems right to me...

I did the following:
$ sudo apt purge nvidia-*
$ sudo apt autoremove
$ reboot
$ sudo apt install nvidia-375
$ reboot

I was hoping for a better performance in DXMD, so any Help is greatly appreciated :)

Another thing I find strange is that X won't run after the first reboot (without the offical driver). Shouldn't nouveau or at last vesa take over in that case?
Xorg Log showed:
(EE) [drm] Failed to open DRM device for (null): -22
(EE) [drm] Failed to open DRM device for pci:0000:01:00.0: -22
(EE) Screen 0 deleted because of no matching config section.
(EE) Device(s) detected, but none match those in the config file.

Ah, almost forgot: It's about an GeForce GTX 970.

$ lspci
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM204 [GeForce GTX 970] (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GM204 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
Xpander Jan 31, 2017
have you ever installed the driver from nvidia website directly? it sounds like you have something from there..

it should have uninstall script somewhere also to remove it
tuubi Jan 31, 2017
Like Xpander said, if you've previously used the official installer, just run the same installer with the --uninstall parameter. sudo NVIDIA-something.run --uninstall
Drak Feb 9, 2017
Sry for the late reply.

No, I don't recall doing that.
Doing it now was btw worse than from the distros. I had to chroot back in my system to revert to the old drivers :-/
I also had some hope that the latest kernel update would clean out things. But it's still the same.
riusma Feb 9, 2017
I think that I would try to remove & purge completely the "graphics drivers" ppa, switch back to Nouveau with "Drivers and update" GUI (here you can check that you have no longer the "graphics drivers" enabled), reboot and then bring back the "graphics drivers" ppa (perhaps reinstall kernel before, in order to try to fix the problem with the kernel module). :)
Guppy Feb 9, 2017
QuoteNVRM: API mismatch: the client has the version 375.26, but
NVRM: this kernel module has the version 367.57.

for the gtx 970 you need the 367 or later, once you've installed the ppa do 'sudo apt update' and open the 'driver' program in the ubuntu menu, from here you can switch between various version. as I recall the latest one was 378.

Once you click apply it will take quite a while, wait patiently for it to finish ( takes a little while - it fixes kernel modules and settings ) and then reboot.
Xpander Feb 9, 2017
Quoting: DrakSry for the late reply.

No, I don't recall doing that.
Doing it now was btw worse than from the distros. I had to chroot back in my system to revert to the old drivers :-/
I also had some hope that the latest kernel update would clean out things. But it's still the same.

doing what?

sudo NVIDIA-something.run --uninstall ??

if that fucked all up, then you surely have those drivers installed outside from repos

the thing is.. if you uninstall those, you install drivers from repositories right after that and then run nvidia-xconfig to get rid of your maybe old xorg.conf files that might give you blackscreens
Drak Feb 10, 2017
Quoting: riusmaI think that I would try to remove & purge completely the "graphics drivers" ppa, switch back to Nouveau with "Drivers and update" GUI (here you can check that you have no longer the "graphics drivers" enabled), reboot and then bring back the "graphics drivers" ppa (perhaps reinstall kernel before, in order to try to fix the problem with the kernel module). :)

Just tried. Removed PPA, update, clean, reinstalld nouveau and then switched via the dialog.
After the reboot, I get no screens found(EE) in Xorg.0.log (and no gui).
As stupid as it sounds, I can't find a way to reset my Xorg config.
"Xorg -configure" gives me "number of screens does not match ..." I can't remember -.-

I also tried
apt install xserver-xorg-video-nouveau-hwe-16.04 xserver-xorg-core-hwe-16.04
No Idea what it is (replaces xserver-xorg-video-nouveau), but I end up the same way.
In my syslog I found:
lightdm[1391]: /etc/modprobe.d is not a file
lightdm[1391]: message repeated 4 times: [ /etc/modprobe.d is not a file]
lightdm[1391]: update-alternatives: error: no alternatives for x86_64-linux-gnu_gfxcore_conf
"gpu-manager[1459]" makes the same entrys

Quoting: Guppy
QuoteNVRM: API mismatch: the client has the version 375.26, but
NVRM: this kernel module has the version 367.57.

for the gtx 970 you need the 367 or later, once you've installed the ppa do 'sudo apt update' and open the 'driver' program in the ubuntu menu, from here you can switch between various version. as I recall the latest one was 378.

Once you click apply it will take quite a while, wait patiently for it to finish ( takes a little while - it fixes kernel modules and settings ) and then reboot.
i did try that way, too. results just as the terminal way...

Quoting: Xpander
Quoting: DrakSry for the late reply.

No, I don't recall doing that.
Doing it now was btw worse than from the distros. I had to chroot back in my system to revert to the old drivers :-/
I also had some hope that the latest kernel update would clean out things. But it's still the same.

doing what?

sudo NVIDIA-something.run --uninstall ??

if that fucked all up, then you surely have those drivers installed outside from repos

the thing is.. if you uninstall those, you install drivers from repositories right after that and then run nvidia-xconfig to get rid of your maybe old xorg.conf files that might give you blackscreens
No, I meant I installed the new driver via Download (and later removed it via chroot action)

So I run nvidia-xconfig now, upgrade afterwards and hope for the best?
riusma Feb 11, 2017
Quoting: DrakI also tried
apt install xserver-xorg-video-nouveau-hwe-16.04 xserver-xorg-core-hwe-16.04
No Idea what it is (replaces xserver-xorg-video-nouveau), but I end up the same way.

"HWE" stands for "HardWare Enablement [Stack]"... it's for 16.04.2 LTS which is not yet available (but should be soon). :)

If you want to remove that you will have to:

sudo apt purge xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04

and:

sudo apt autoremove

and probably after that, if needed (or not, you are on Cinnamon, that should change your situation):

apt install ubuntu-desktop
Drak Feb 18, 2017
Hm good timing for my question then.
I moved to HWE and it fixed it! (I guess the new Kernel is not tainted by the old driver or whatever)

Just in case someone is interested:
apt install --install-recommends xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04
apt purge nvidia-*
apt install --install-recommends nvidia-378
reboot

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