• Registered: 2009-03-09
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Topic: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

I'm running #! r2011125 on a quad-core desktop with 3GB of RAM and two LCD monitors connected by DVI to an Nvidia 9600GT, using the proprietary drivers. Iceweasel performance is so bad I may as well be running KDE on a 486. I could remove one of the monitors and use the on-board graphics over VGA. That's my last-resort solution. I understand that the Nouveau drivers do not control the fan speed or downscale the GPU correctly, so that it tends to run hot. I don't know if this is the case with my setup, so I'd like to try the Nouveau drivers. Would this be the way to do it:

Restart in a maintenance console and uninstall/purge *nvidia*.
Restart in a maintenance console again and install the Nouveau drivers.
Restart again.

PS: Would the problem with Firefox/Iceweasel and the too-large canvas and slow performance on NVidia cards extend to slow Javascript? I'm testing some pages and in chromium-browser the JavaScript updates input boxes instantly whereas in Iceweasel 10.0 it takes ONE FULL SECOND to update the box...

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 17:38:58)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
  • From: A kingdom in transition
  • Registered: 2011-06-24
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

What kernel are you running now?
Post output of 

uname -a
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log

I do not think the nouveau drivers will be 'faster' than the proprietary drivers.
I know I suggested testing the nouveau drivers, but I thought you were using the 'frame-buffer' driver.

Installing the nvidia drivers has blacklisted the nouveau driver. You will have to remove the blacklist after removing the nVidia driver, or at least check if removing the nvidia driver does that for you.

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
  • Registered: 2009-03-09
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

^ So what is causing Iceweasel 9 and 10 to be so slow -- almost too slow to use in fact. chromium-browser is fast, so it's (obviously) not the quad-core 2GB RAM machine. I have a few add-ons installed in Iceweasel (that's why I'm not moving away from it), but they are standard, well-supported add-ins (Tab Mix Plus, Firemacs, NoScript and Firebug). Firebug is off 99.9% of the time anyway.

Linux sovereign 3.2.0-0.bpo.1-486 #1 Thu Jan 26 00:51:35 UTC 2012 i686 GNU/Linux

Xorg.0.log is here.

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 14:36:51)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
  • From: A kingdom in transition
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Install the -686 kernel.

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
  • Registered: 2009-03-09
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

xaos52 wrote:

Install the -686 kernel.

I'm happy to still run 32-bit (3GB RAM), so I do this with the following, which will presumably remove the previous image...

sudo apt-get install linux-image-3.2.0-0.bpo.1-686-pae

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 15:03:05)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

It won't remove it, but GRUB will boot you into the newer kernel by default.

It has been reported that APT now auto-configures the nVidia proprietary drivers for the newer kernel...

while ( ! ( succeed = try() ) );
  • From: A kingdom in transition
  • Registered: 2011-06-24
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

No, it will not remove the previous one, but add the new one and make that the default in grub.
If there is any problem, you will be able to fall back on the previous kernel, by selecting the previous kernel in the grub menu.

However, the first time you boot into the new kernel, your X server will not start. You will have to re-install the nvidia driver while running the new kernel.
If you want to prevent that, I think it is sufficient to put your xorg.conf file away before you boot into the new kernel.

This is how I would do this:
Install the new kernel

sudo apt-get install 3.2.0-0.bpo.1-686-pae

Log out of the X session via cb-exit (Win+X, Alt+L)
Enter 'exit' in the login panel
You will be dropped in console 1
log in as your user

sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

Reboot into the new kernel here.
Now you should be able to start your X server, because the nvidia config is out of the way
Install the nvidia driver
Restart X

sudo invoke-rc.d slim restart

should restart X with the nvidia driver enabed.

hth

PS: What pvsage said may be true, but it depends on how you installed the nvidia driver in the first place. If you installed by downloading the driver from the nvidia site, it will not happen. If you installed with dkms, it should auto-configure.

Last edited by xaos52 (2012-02-07 15:36:10)

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

While you are at it, install acpid package:

sudo apt-get install acpid

It will enable power-management tools.

Last edited by xaos52 (2012-02-07 15:41:11)

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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

^ Thanks, I'll try that now. Should I do the same on my other machines (another quad-core desktop, a laptop and a netbook)?

Will dist-upgrade now update the pae kernel in future? Why am I doing this if none of the machines have > 3GB RAM. Only one has 3GB and the rest have less.

Why am I sticking with the proprietary NVidia drivers when FF/IW are known not to perform well with them?

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 15:45:46)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
  • From: A kingdom in transition
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Yes, but serially. First make sure it works on one before you start with the other.

I do not think that the kernel will auto-upgrade. It will require manual intervention (apt-get or aptitude) - but I am not sure.

Correct - strictly speaking you do not need pae, but it will become the default for i686 anyway, so it does not hurt either.

Last edited by xaos52 (2012-02-07 15:46:49)

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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

^ Sorry -- please see my previous post again -- I made some edits -- about the 3GB RAM and the FF/IW issue.

So what I'm doing is manually moving to a different kernel so each time the kernel is updated I'll now have to download the updated 686-pae one and redo the NVidia drivers. That's a lot of frustrating PT and manual intervention in the year 2012 when cell-phones have dual-cores and Ubuntu has HUD, but I'm sitting manually fiddling around with my kernel ... sad

I also needed to install linux-headers-3.2.0-0.bpo.1-686-pae.

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 15:48:39)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Well,you will not see many new kernels dropped in backports, you know. smile
Hell the 3.2 we got in backports is something entirely new. Ben (Hutchins) must have been in a good mood when he did this.

The dkms thingy tries to make that smoother, but it is not quite there yet, last I heard.

Plus: you will hear it,when a new kernel makes it to backports... from the noise in these fora. big_smile

We are hoping (and keeping our fingers crossed) that the work you are doing now will solve the FF/IW problem.

Last edited by xaos52 (2012-02-07 16:01:09)

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Posting this from non-KVM mode huge font no-X elinks sad Followed instuctions. NVidia drivers did not have to be reinstalled, so I just did dpkg-reconfigure nvidia-kernel-dkms. Restarted after that but still don't have X. Tried the invoke.rc-d slim thing but that didn't work either, so now I'm stuck without X for now ... sad

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Post

/var/log/Xorg.0.log

please

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Restored xorg.conf file and then the invoke slim line worked and X launched.

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

OK. Safety belt worked.

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

(Installed Google Chrome which has now taken over the Win-W shortcut in OB ... Grrr).

Here is the Xorg log file. I haven't get install acpid.

So the older 486 kernel was making FF/IW slow?

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 16:10:37)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Ok I need to understand what this upgrade did to decide if I should apply it onto my other machines. I'm using an image now which can address >3GB of RAM but none of my machines have >3GB RAM. Sorry if I'm being really slow here smile

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

IW feels faster than it was -- nowhere near Chrome -- but faster. I'm still puzzled that when I switch to one tab, there is a half-second delay before it appears. That doesn't seem right. Same tabs open in Chrome and it flies between the tabs, etc.

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

I'm rebooting into that other commercial operating system -- the transparent one -- to see how slow FF is there on the page in question.

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
  • From: A kingdom in transition
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Would you mind posting the complete output of 

dmesg
cat /proc/cpuinfo
If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.
  • From: A kingdom in transition
  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 2,138

Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

I think this explains it nicely: http://drbl.sourceforge.net/faq/fine-pr … a_live.faq
Compare: number of cpu's detected

Last edited by xaos52 (2012-02-07 16:36:03)

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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

Same tabs open in FF 10 in Windows XP  and everything is flying super-fast. Switching between tabs is instant. Updating the values in the input boxes (from a drop-down box) on the page I am making are instant too. Everything is snappy.

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

xaos52 wrote:

I think this explains it nicely: http://drbl.sourceforge.net/faq/fine-pr … a_live.faq
Compare: number of cpu's detected

Ah, thanks. Multi-core CPU/SMP support.

Last edited by SabreWolfy (2012-02-07 16:38:31)

• #! Waldorf • Support #! •
  • From: A kingdom in transition
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Re: [Solved] Return to Nouveau drivers

OK. So, it seems more can be done.
But it is not an easy exercise.
Lets start with providing the info I asked for. smile

If you poke the bear it is going to come after you.