Simplifying NVIDIA driver installation on Ubuntu
NVIDIA Drivers Made Easy
A terminal-based solution helps ease the frustration of installing NVIDIA drivers.
Proprietary NVIDIA [1] drivers on Linux are an evil so necessary that even the staunchest of open source advocates will find a use case for them from time to time. Whether for gaming, mining, or some other hardware-accelerated task, the green giant is here to stay, for better or for worse, and sadly seems to be wholeheartedly opposed to going all in with open source. Unlike AMD [2] driver support – which is simply fantastic on Linux, as I am sure most of you know already – NVIDIA doesn't seem to be willing to play nicely. One has to wonder if they feel that they simply don't need to, that their sway over the market sets them apart from others and absolves them of the responsibility that the other players feel to their customers. Who knows. What I do know is that NVIDIA Linux driver support is worse for the wear despite the hard work of many folks in the community. The worst part about this is the effect that it has on beginners to Linux who have heard all of the wonderful things about it and give it a try, only to have their system either hobbled with Nouveau drivers or who have to go through what I am about to discuss below. It is a sad state with a clear and obvious solution that I am afraid we won't see come to fruition any time soon.
All may not be well, but not all is bad either. At least we have some kind of (albeit proprietary) solution to rely upon.
I will focus on Ubuntu [3] here as that is what I typically use nowadays as a simple, Linux-based install for whatever I need to do, but also because this is statistically likely to be what a beginner would first try out. While I started with Red Hat [4] (pre-Fedora [5]), today most folks tend towards Ubuntu, a derivative of it, or perhaps another Debian derivative their first time out.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
News
-
Kali Linux 2022.3 Released
From the creators of the most popular penetration testing distributions on the planet, comes a new release with some new tools and a community, real-time chat option.
-
The 14" Pinebook Pro Linux Laptop is Shipping
After a considerable delay, the 14" version of the Pinebook Pro laptop is, once again, available for purchase.
-
OpenMandriva Lx ROME Technical Preview Released
OpenMandriva’s rolling release distribution technical preview has been released for testing purposes and adds some of the latest/greatest software into the mix.
-
Linux Mint 21 is Now Available
The latest iteration of Linux Mint, codenamed Vanessa, has been released with a new upgrade tool and other fantastic features.
-
Firefox Adds Long-Anticipated Feature
Firefox 103 has arrived and it now includes a feature users have long awaited…sort of.
-
System76 Refreshes Their Popular Oryx Pro Laptop with a New CPU
The System76 Oryx Pro laptop has been relaunched with a 12th Gen CPU and more powerful graphics options.
-
Elive Has Released a New Beta
The Elive team is proud to announce the latest beta version (3.8.30) of its Enlightenment-centric Linux distribution.
-
Rocky Linux 9 Has Arrived
The latest iteration of Rocky Linux is now available and includes a host of new features and support for new architecture.
-
Slimbook Executive Linux Ultrabook Upgrading Their CPUs
The Spanish-based company, Slimbook, has made available their next generation Slimbook Executive Linux ultrabooks with a 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake CPU.
-
Fedora Linux is Coming to the Raspberry Pi 4
Thanks to significant work in the upstream, the upcoming release of Fedora 37 will introduce support for the Raspberry Pi 4.