I downloaded various driver installers from the nvidia website and attempted to build .sfs and .pet packages using Shinobar's GetNvidia program.
The only nvidia card I have is a GeForce FX5200 and it would appear that I am unable to build working drivers except for the 173.xx which is the recommended driver for my card. Other drivers previously posted here for testing have now been removed.
Any that are tested and working can be downloaded from here:-
http://smokey01.com/OscarTalks
The nvidia website states that the recommended driver for my card is the 173.xx but also indicates that the 325.xx should work, BUT when I try to run the 325.xx nvidia installer it fails with a message that this driver does NOT work with my card and that I should use the 173.xx instead.
Nvidia Drivers Precise 5.7.1 kernel 3.9.11
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OscarTalks
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Nvidia Drivers Precise 5.7.1 kernel 3.9.11
Last edited by OscarTalks on Fri 17 Jan 2014, 07:11, edited 1 time in total.
Oscar in England
Loaded nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.sfs without any problems. Works fine.
In fact, since I was planning on using this usb stick frugal Puppy install for more than one PC, SFS loading seems the more logical choice.
Doesn't eat storage space either.
Did ran into a bit of snag with unloading. Coming back after rebooting, I found my desktop in a mess. Icons of default apps I had removed had re-appeared, some icons changed position, and some icons had changed their appearance.
In fact, since I was planning on using this usb stick frugal Puppy install for more than one PC, SFS loading seems the more logical choice.
Doesn't eat storage space either.
Did ran into a bit of snag with unloading. Coming back after rebooting, I found my desktop in a mess. Icons of default apps I had removed had re-appeared, some icons changed position, and some icons had changed their appearance.
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OscarTalks
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- Joined: Mon 06 Feb 2012, 00:58
- Location: London, England
I believe this is a long-standing known issue with loading of SFS packages via Boot Manager and I don't know why it has never been resolved. Workaround is to make a backup of your /root/Choices/ROX-Filer/PuppyPin file, restore yours back to that location and restart X server to get back your custom desktop. This problem does not happen if you use SFS Load-On-The-Fly instead.solo wrote:Did run into a bit of snag with unloading. Coming back after rebooting, I found my desktop in a mess. Icons of default apps I had removed had re-appeared, some icons changed position, and some icons had changed their appearance.
Oscar in England
Well I did try to unload the SFS 'on the fly', but of course, since the video drivers were in use at that moment, it was unable to unload.
So I suppose what you would have to do is change video drivers first, then unload on the fly.
In the meantime, I have tried to instal nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet.
It did install, but then my screen went out of allignment immediately after that, slightly to the right. I received the usual message that the engine was unable to run because nouveau was in the way, and that a reboot was necessary. While this issue of nouveau being in the bootloader is resolved by a reboot when nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet and nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.sfs are loaded, this is not the case for nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet.
I did go to the Xorg Wizard to choose the driver there, but the message of being unable to run because of nouveau being in the bootloader persisted. And the screen kept being out of allignment.
Next I will try to install nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet after nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet has been installed.
So I suppose what you would have to do is change video drivers first, then unload on the fly.
In the meantime, I have tried to instal nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet.
It did install, but then my screen went out of allignment immediately after that, slightly to the right. I received the usual message that the engine was unable to run because nouveau was in the way, and that a reboot was necessary. While this issue of nouveau being in the bootloader is resolved by a reboot when nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet and nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.sfs are loaded, this is not the case for nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet.
I did go to the Xorg Wizard to choose the driver there, but the message of being unable to run because of nouveau being in the bootloader persisted. And the screen kept being out of allignment.
Next I will try to install nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet after nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet has been installed.
How has that been managed???? No clues as to the cause then... just for research purposes.I believe this is a long-standing known issue with loading of SFS packages via Boot Manager and I don't know why it has never been resolved.
My nvidia drivers are loaded at boot but via my init which....erm...just loads the sfs.
mike
When nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet is installed after nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet has been installed and running, the same problem occurs as before; the engine does not run because there seems to be an issue with nouveau being in the bootloader.
When nvidia-glx-325.15-k3.9.11.pet is installed on a standard Precise Puppy, the same issue. The screen appears out of allignment as well.
With nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet, or nvidia-glx-325.15-k3.9.11.pet installed, if you go to the Nvidia X Server Settings, you will get a message that the server is not running, and that a solution would be to run nvidia config as root.
Now, I am not going to try that. I am pretty much satisfied that nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet is the package I need for the Nvidia Geforce FX 5500 graphics card. The SFS is too cumbersome when it comes to loading and unloading.
Another aspect I should mention is size. Both the nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet and nvidia-glx-325.15-k3.9.11.pet pack a whallup once they are installed, and with that I mean roundabout a hefty 75 MB if not more.
The nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet package is quite lighter compared, with a size of around 25 MB.
When nvidia-glx-325.15-k3.9.11.pet is installed on a standard Precise Puppy, the same issue. The screen appears out of allignment as well.
With nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet, or nvidia-glx-325.15-k3.9.11.pet installed, if you go to the Nvidia X Server Settings, you will get a message that the server is not running, and that a solution would be to run nvidia config as root.
Now, I am not going to try that. I am pretty much satisfied that nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet is the package I need for the Nvidia Geforce FX 5500 graphics card. The SFS is too cumbersome when it comes to loading and unloading.
Another aspect I should mention is size. Both the nvidia-glx-304.116-k3.9.11.pet and nvidia-glx-325.15-k3.9.11.pet pack a whallup once they are installed, and with that I mean roundabout a hefty 75 MB if not more.
The nvidia-glx-173.14.38-k3.9.11.pet package is quite lighter compared, with a size of around 25 MB.
Thats because their drivers are accumulative.
The each version adds a driver ...not only for new cards but also for new Xorg releases. So the later release simply has a ton of drivers that you don't need. I tend to go for a release that includes the wanted driver and new enough xorg and maybe one or 2 after that for possible bug fixes. Anything newer becomes a little pointless.
As I mentioned I can and do run a 6200 using the 94 release although the 173 is supposed to be the one or even newer.
On windows its similar but the installer picks out the wanted driver... So on there the installer get bigger but the driver does not....on linux it remains a large blob....
At least Nvidia do take linux support seriously and once you get sorted they perform very nicely
mike
The each version adds a driver ...not only for new cards but also for new Xorg releases. So the later release simply has a ton of drivers that you don't need. I tend to go for a release that includes the wanted driver and new enough xorg and maybe one or 2 after that for possible bug fixes. Anything newer becomes a little pointless.
As I mentioned I can and do run a 6200 using the 94 release although the 173 is supposed to be the one or even newer.
On windows its similar but the installer picks out the wanted driver... So on there the installer get bigger but the driver does not....on linux it remains a large blob....
At least Nvidia do take linux support seriously and once you get sorted they perform very nicely
mike
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OscarTalks
- Posts: 2196
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- Location: London, England
I don't know the cause but I know that if you set up a custom arrangement of desktop icons and then load an SFS via Boot Manager (not just a video driver SFS), what happens is the original cluster of icons get mingled back in and create a jumbled mess. Have you not come across this before? Maybe it is something for the new woof fork team to take a look at.mikeb wrote:How has that been managed???? No clues as to the cause then... just for research purposes.
Oscar in England
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OscarTalks
- Posts: 2196
- Joined: Mon 06 Feb 2012, 00:58
- Location: London, England
solo,
Thanks for trying them out anyway. I know it can be a tricky process testing these things. They may not all work with your card and it is easy to end up with no working driver. Hopefully you are doing this in a test save-file as I suggested.
I suggest you blacklist nouveau via boot manager to get it out of the way (still doesn't always prevent it from loading but...) and switch to vesa via xorgwizard. Hopefully then you will either be using an nvidia driver or vesa. Typing report-video in terminal will tell you which driver is in use.
Glad the 173.14.38 is working for you and won't blame you if you want to leave it at that.
Cheers
Thanks for trying them out anyway. I know it can be a tricky process testing these things. They may not all work with your card and it is easy to end up with no working driver. Hopefully you are doing this in a test save-file as I suggested.
I suggest you blacklist nouveau via boot manager to get it out of the way (still doesn't always prevent it from loading but...) and switch to vesa via xorgwizard. Hopefully then you will either be using an nvidia driver or vesa. Typing report-video in terminal will tell you which driver is in use.
Glad the 173.14.38 is working for you and won't blame you if you want to leave it at that.
Cheers
Oscar in England
I had nouveau not going away problems in slax 7 but turned out it (slax) was written to delete a xorg.conf that did not use nouveau...slight erm... whats the word...lack of choice ...going on there. Not seen that in puppy though.
Makes usage of sfs on puppy not as comfy as it could be....but info like this might help make that change.
mike
No, I rewrote the init to load the sfs files in the correct layer order to avoid such problems but its a bit odd that it affects the pinboard in this way...I assume its a cludge script doing it. You may have seen the head scratching over getting files to appear in the beginners section...same cause.Have you not come across this before?
Makes usage of sfs on puppy not as comfy as it could be....but info like this might help make that change.
mike