Solved NVIDIA 340 driver install loop, compile from source or use nv? I'm lost.

nicesmeagol

nicesmeagol

device = 'GT216M [GeForce GT 330M]' (laptop)

I'm using FreeBSD version 15.0-RELEASE-p10.

I'm trying to get the NVIDIA 340 drivers working.

I managed to get them installed but they don't work with X. As per the handbook:

docs.freebsd.org

Chapter 5. The X Window System

This chapter describes how to install and configure the X Window System providing a graphical environment
docs.freebsd.org docs.freebsd.org

"If requiring Nvidia drivers prior to 340, note that they do not support kernel modesetting, and thus they must be used with the legacy sc(4) console driver, and a x11/xorg-server version prior to 1.20."

Does this mean I cannot compile them from source?

I went around and around with various AI's trying to get the drivers installed, only to find out I have to compile them from source. I wasted a few hours with this. I'm stuck with a tiny screen and it's difficult to even use a web browser with it, LOL.

But now, I discover they won't work with 15's xorg-server. Do I still have the option to compile or is this binding on both pkg installed and compiled source for NVIDIA 340 drivers?

If I can compile, how do I proceed, ask AI again? If I can't compile, I'm stuck with nv.

$ glxgears
Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0".
Error: couldn't get an RGB, Double-buffered visual

I get GLX errors since it's not working. Some AI said I had to add "glx" into the xorg config file some say it doesn't matter. AI is so confusing!
 
Same old driver:
A

Thread 'Can't get GUI'

Newbie here.

Have been "using" FreeBSD through XigmaNAS fo years,
but now tried to install 15.0 at old desktop. Install goes OK,
(flowed YT "From Zero to Desktop"), but fails after reboot with
black screen (it logs as user I have defined). It doesn't show GUI.
I can go to console with CTRL_ALT_F1 and reboot, but nothing else,
since after reboot it goes BLACK again after logs as my user.

It's OLD AMD Athlon II X4 640 CPU with Nvidia GeForce 8600GT.
I have selected Nvidia drivers 340, as recommended (later tried others)
but nothing changed. Linux works OK on it, but I wanted to try...
  • Thanks

There's a good chance the old 340 NVidia driver doesn't work any more with a recent Xserver. NVidia stopped support for these old cards a long time ago. The older 304 driver has been broken a long time for the same reason. The 390 driver still works (I have a system with a GT520) but it has no OpenGL any more. I suspect it'll stop working altogether some time in the future.
 
Time to drop -304|-340|-390 variants from ports?

We've kept these for anyone need them to allow old GPUs working, but need tricky work to install old version of X server to allow these drivers to work, which requires to track commit logs of x11-servers/xorg-server, determine on which commit the version switched to incompatible version, obtain matching version of ports, fixing up dependencies, ...

And more, there are possibilities that NVIDIA stops providing EoL'ed versions for downloading, and our current target to drop corresponding ports as group maintainers is the timing it happenes or not-to-be-fixed CVEs are released. (Currently, far older versions can be downloaded with i386 versions.)

If this kind of questions arises often, it would be the time to drop these not to confuse new comers.

Note that even -470 variants are EoL'ed upstream (NVIDIA) at Sep.2024 or before depending on GPU series. See linked pages from the link above, too.
Only supported legacy branch of drivers are -580 variants.
 
304 could certainly be removed, that's been entirely broken for a really long time. 390 still works, somewhat, 2D is fine, 3D is not. Don't have anything to test with the 340 version.
 
Could there be a list of the least expensive desktop graphic cards of the -580 variants that FreeBSD users have effortlessly setup and are in use?
www/falkon became unusable here with a -390/Xorg bump, over a year ago IIRC.
 
jb_fvwm2 said:
Could there be a list of the least expensive desktop graphic cards of the -580 variants that FreeBSD users have effortlessly setup and are in use?
www/falkon became unusable here with a -390/Xorg bump, over a year ago IIRC.
Click to expand...
Basically, the older and the slower (smaller in pipelines and VRAMs), the cheaper (with some exceptions).
So choosing from between The 580.xxdriver supports the following set of GPUs: line and The 470.xxdriver supports the following set of GPUs: line in Appendix A. Supported NVIDIA GPU Products part of their README would be your target, regarding expected pricings.

But if GPUs at Turing or Ampere generations of architectures meets your target price, it would be better to choose from them, as these are oldest supported architectures by Production Branch and New Feature Branch of drivers. Ampere would be more preferrable, as it's the oldest generation that its GSP firmware is unified with newer generations. (Turing has its dedicated GSP firmware module, thus, higher risk to be dropped in the future.)
 
Marking thread solved meaning 340 drivers aren't usable, so I'll have to go back to nv.

It may be against the rules, I hope not, since I'm not just making a throw away post, but thank you to everyone for your help.

FreeBSD has a better community than Linux and saying it has extremely knowledgeable people is an understatement! :)
 
nicesmeagol said:
Marking thread solved meaning 340 drivers aren't usable, so I'll have to go back to nv.

It may be against the rules, I hope not, since I'm not just making a throw away post, but thank you to everyone for your help.

FreeBSD has a better community than Linux and saying it has extremely knowledgeable people is an understatement! :)
Click to expand...
It must have changed. I used this in "production" on a HP SFF dual core.
I don't have such PC anymore so I can't test it but I can find my installation code. It depends on:
  • emulators/linux_base-c7
  • x11/linux-c7-xorg-libs
  • x11/nvidia-kmod-340
  • x11/nvidia-settings
  • devel/jansson
This was around FreeBSD 12. Ports may have changed or disappeared.
I also see my own comment saying that the work directory /usr/ports/emulators/linux_base-c7/work may not be a symink for some reason.
 
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