Usability meet 2024. 2024 meet Linux. This is a fairly interesting article showing a range of issues, problems and inconsistencies related to third-party, proprietary driver management in Kubuntu (and friends), including overview of a broken system situation as a result of a supposedly recommended driver installation, non-searchable driver utility, lack of safety and sanity checks in driver management utilities, lack of integration among different system tools, fragmentation of firmware, driver and application management, wrong branding, outdated software, no focus on end user experience, and more. Have fun, or something. https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/kubuntu-driver-management.html Cheers, Mrk
My couple of thoughts: There is integration quality disparity between Ubuntu and other flavors, even as popular as Kubuntu. Conclusions from Kubuntu may not carry over to Ubuntu. When it comes to the current Nvidia GPUs and forward, driver installation is going to become less risky: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/thr...owards-open-source-gpu-kernel-modules.454594/ Personally I don't need that much performance thus I don't seek high performance hardware nor I do performance optimizations or install the most performant drivers. I don't think I am alone Last but not least: Since a decade and a half people are using other alternatives to PCs frequently, at least outside of workplace: smartphones, video game consoles, Chromebooks, Macbooks. Non of these requires user to install any drivers as part of typical usage of device. I would argue that the "driver" is becoming a nerdy thing in itself. For non-nerdy people wanted state of things is not to have user friendly driver installation. Wanted state of things is to not have to install drivers at all
@Mrkvonic, Thanks very much for the article. It has a lot of good questions. Concerning the Driver Manager in Kubuntu 24.04, it is confusing that there's no longer an entry in Discover. However, the entry in System Settings has been there for quite some time. It is there in Kubuntu 22.04, and to the best of my recollection, it was there in Kubuntu 20.04 and 18.04 as well. I prefer to use the Driver Manager to select and install the NVIDIA driver. However, when I first installed Kubuntu 22.04, in Kubuntu Driver Manager the Nouveau driver was selected and the NVIDIA driver could not be selected, was greyed out, for unknown reason. Because of that, in Kubuntu 22.04, I used the command line to install the NVIDIA driver. I don't know what the source is that says the recommended command to install drivers would be: sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall To list available drivers, I would use: ubuntu-drivers devices (if that still works in Kubuntu 24.04) Or, I would use: ubuntu-drivers list Next, to install the desired driver selectively: sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535 Or: sudo ubuntu-drivers install nvidia:535 (I don't much like the syntax 'nvidia:535', as the driver is 'nvidia-driver-535') The CLI stuff is nerdy, of course. If the user is so lucky to locate the Driver Manager, and if it works to select the desired driver, there is no need for the CLI.
I wasn't sure if I should reply in this thread, or in Kubuntu 24.04 review - Back in 2007. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to install Kubuntu 24.04, a fresh install, but keeping /home. First, I installed Kubuntu 24.04 on my laptop. That went well. Next, I installed Kubuntu 24.04 on my desktop PC. That went not so well. With the Kubuntu 24.04.1 installation, the computer monitor did not get any DVI signal. I tried again, now with HDMI, but the monitor did not get any HDMI signal, either. I had to use an analog D-sub cable. I don't know if the no DVI and no HDMI signal issue would have been corrected later with the installation of additional drivers or firmware updates. I didn't get to the point I could judge that. With the installation setting to automatically install all updates, after installation and after login, there was no progress past the KDE Plasma splash screen. I tried again, redid the installation. This time, I installed with the setting NOT to automatically install all updates. This time, after login, the splash screen was successfully passed. However, after installation of all updates and reboot, again there was no progress past the splash screen. I restored my Kubuntu 22.04 installation. Next time that I want to try to install Kubuntu 24.04, as a workaround for the splash issue, I must edit grub, edit this line: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet" save changes sudo update-grub Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4]. To get the system installed, I must use an analog D-sub cable, next, after first boot, install updates, after second boot, select the NVIDIA driver, and after third boot, I must see if that helps to get HDMI (or DVI) signal. Instead of using an analog D-sub cable, perhaps I could use the "safe graphics" option to get the system installed, and select the installation setting to automatically install all updates, but I'm afraid that after first boot, before selecting the NVIDIA driver, I would still have no HDMI or DVI signal. Therefore, I'd better install using the analog D-sub cable option, and see if there's any HDMI signal, later. If installing the NVIDIA driver does not help, and again there is no HDMI (or DVI) signal, I will restore my Kubuntu 22.04 installation, once again. Edit Or I could choose to use Kubuntu 24.04 with D-sub analog graphics, if analog graphics aren't all too horrible. My desktop PC is old, and I plan to build a new one later this year, but all the same, it's no fun if new Kubuntu versions introduce nasty issues. motherboard: ASUS P5K (2007) CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8600 (2008) RAM: 4 GB DDR2-800 graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 (ZOTAC GeForce GT 640 ZONE Edition ZT-60204-20L) (2012) graphics driver: nvidia-driver-470 monitor: iiyama ProLite E2773HDS (2011) By the way, even with a new Kubuntu 22.04.5 installation, just like with the Kubuntu 24.04.1 installation, the computer monitor got no DVI signal, and I had to use an analog D-sub cable. Two years ago, I did not encounter this problem with the installation of Kubuntu 22.04.1. What changed since two years ago? Two years ago, Kubuntu 22.04.1 was installed. With all the later updates, the kernel version was 5.15.0-130 recently. I read that a new Kubuntu 22.04.5 installation comes with kernel version 6.8. The laptop that had the successful Kubuntu 22.04.5 installation, had kernel version 6.8.0-51. Fortunately, I was able to restore the old 22.04 installation that had the 5.15.0-130 kernel.
Nvidia driver series 470 is end of life since 5 months, and there weren't active support since more than 3 years https://endoflife.date/nvidia Since driver is properietary then Canonical, nor anyone else in Linux community, can't update it. Only Nvidia can do this and they won't
Thanks, reasonablePrivacy. After first boot, I noticed nvidia-driver-470 was actually offered in Driver Manager. (System Settings\ Hardware\ Driver Manager\ Software Sources\ Additional Drivers) But first, updates must be installed. Selecting nvidia-driver-470 is for after the next reboot. If I change "quiet splash" to "quiet" as mentioned, I hope to get to the point to be able to select and install nvidia-driver-470. (Another option would be: sudo apt install nvidia-driver-470) I hope going through those steps to install nvidia-driver-470 will resolve the no HDMI (or DVI) issue. But in case nvidia-driver-470 won't work with kernel version 6.8 (even though nvidia-driver-470 is actually offered in Driver Manager), then my old graphics card is EOL, I suppose. In that case, I will restore my Kubuntu 22.04 installation, once again, and use that until I build a new PC later this year. Edit Or I could choose to use Kubuntu 24.04 with D-sub analog graphics, if analog graphics aren't all too horrible.
In addition to what I already wrote, I noticed nvidia-graphics-drivers-470 is still mentioned as supported for Noble Numbat, Ubuntu 24.04.1: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/ source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-470 Together with the fact that it was actually offered in Driver Manager, this gives me some hope that installing this driver might resolve my graphics issues with Kubuntu 24.04. That is, if nvidia-driver-470 really works with kernel version 6.8, and if there are no other niggles. Otherwise, perhaps the situation might be somewhat similar to what was described in the Dedoimedo article My 10-year-old HP Pavilion doesn't boot modern distros anymore. I'll try it in a little while, maybe in a few weeks.
If it works then it is by pure luck. There is no support from Nvidia and Canonical does not have source vodě for Nvidia properietary driver
Today, I had another go at installing Kubuntu 24.04 on my old desktop PC (fresh install, keep /home). To get the system installed, I used an analog D-sub cable, because of the no-HDMI and no-DVI signal issue. Next, as a workaround for the 'no progress past the Plasma splash screen' issue, I edited grub: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT='quiet splash' to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT='quiet' save changes sudo update-grub Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4]. N.B. I noticed single quotation marks were used ('quiet splash'), not double quotation marks as I used in previous posts. I don't know what made me think it was double quotation marks. Not the mentioned sources. It's too late to correct my previous posts. After more than a week, the Edit option is no longer available. Next, in Discover software center, I installed all available updates and next rebooted. After reboot and login, there was no longer the 'no progress past the Plasma splash screen' issue. So, I guess the workaround for the splash issue worked as intended. Next, in Driver Manager, I selected nvidia-driver-470. The first time I tried, I got an error message saying there were unmet dependencies for libnvidia-gl-470; it depended on libnvidia-egl-wayland1 (>= 1:1.1.7), but it was not installable (268). Err, yeah, this is X11, not Wayland. I was smart enough to try again. This time, nvidia-driver-470 installed without any issues. Rebooted to complete the driver installation. Next, shutdown to change the analog D-sub cable for HDMI. After boot and login, all was perfectly well, with HDMI. Very nice! So, nvidia-driver-470 is still available for my old GeForce GT 640, and it works, it resolved the no-HDMI signal issue. (I haven't tried DVI, life is too short.) It took some jumping through hoops, but not burning hoops, luckily. Now back to enjoy my old desktop with Kubuntu 24.04.
Huh?? I don't know where my mind was at. In retrospect, I don't think the workaround ever could have worked for the problem I was dealing with. The workaround editing that line in grub was about the issue of no progress past the boot splash, after BIOS/UEFI and before the login screen (SDDM). The issue I was facing was different: no progress past the Plasma splash, past the login screen (SDDM) and before the Plasma desktop. My issue must have had to do with something else: perhaps the graphics driver issue, or some old setting in /home, or something else entirely. So I don't think the workaround that I used could have worked. I think I was lucky to get past the Plasma splash screen issue.
