[Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

Jimbo_G · 2017-05-21 16:49:04

My only issue with a fresh Deuterium install was the graphics driver - same as in the past, the system would freeze after a few minutes, especially with a browser open, thanks to my GeForce 210 card.

I followed the instructions on https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers to install the legacy 304 driver package and so far (fingers crossed) everything is working perfectly.

I'm not sure if this is the best fix though? I'm not worried about graphics performance.

Last edited by Jimbo_G (2017-05-22 07:49:05)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2017-05-21 16:50:55

Jimbo_G wrote:

I'm not worried about graphics performance.

I would strongly recommend removing the NVIDIA binary blobs and instead switching to the open-source nouveau driver.

The Debian wiki also advises this:

As of jessie, if you only need basic functionality and don't care about performances, the need for the proprietary drivers is pretty much over - nouveau now works quite well and works with dual-headed displays by simple and easy configuring from within your desktop (for KDE Plasma see System_Settings/Hardware/Display_and_Monitor/Display_Configuration). The proprietary drivers don't provide normal logging and can be a hidden source of problems. If you are doing a distribution upgrade, you should at the very least remove all the nvidia packages from wheezy, get your desktop working with nouveau, then reinstall the nvidia packages if there is a pressing reason.

(From the link in your OP)

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-05-21 16:52:23)

ohnonot · 2017-05-21 17:02:42

i've been using the same model, and i'm pretty sure it does not require the legacy drivers, but the normal nvidia driver.
http://http.download.nvidia.com/XFree86 … chips.html

Sector11 · 2017-05-21 18:12:06

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

Jimbo_G wrote:
I'm not worried about graphics performance.
I would strongly recommend removing the NVIDIA binary blobs and instead switching to the open-source nouveau driver.

Unless of course you want the "sensors" that NIVIDA drivers provide for conky.
One doesn't get them with the nouveau driver.

conky v1.9 (above TEXT) and conky v1.10 (above: conky.text = [[ )

       nvidia_display
              The display that the nvidia variable will use (defaults to the value of the display variable)

conky v1.9 (below TEXT) and conky v1.10 (below: conky.text = [[ )

       nvidia threshold temp ambient gpufreq memfreq imagequality
              Nvidia graficcard support for the XNVCtrl library. Each option can be shortened  to  the  least
              significant part. Temperatures are printed as float, all other values as integer.

              threshold The thresholdtemperature at which the gpu slows down
              temp Gives the gpu current temperature
              ambient Gives current air temperature near GPU case
              gpufreq Gives the current gpu frequency
              memfreq Gives the current mem frequency
              imagequality Which imagequality should be chosen by OpenGL applications

My GeForce 210 card doesn't get the "ambient" temp but it gets all the rest.

Last edited by Sector11 (2017-05-21 18:13:33)

Jimbo_G · 2017-05-21 18:29:18

Thanks for the info, however with the nouveau driver my PC is unusable - it hangs after a few minutes and keyboard and mouse become unresponsive.

The 210 card is also listed on http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/L … chips.html

I know it's not ideal, but it does seem to have solved a problem that has caused me a lot of headaches in the past...

ohnonot · 2017-05-22 06:46:36

^ so did you switch to the default nvidia driver, instead of legacy?
is it [Solved] now?

Jimbo_G · 2017-05-22 07:57:12

I've marked the thread as solved, I am using the legacy 304 driver mainly because that's what nvidia-detect told me to install... If I get time I will try the default nvidia driver, but wouldn't that still be one of those "binary blobs" that Head-on-a-Stick mentioned?

Anyway, still no crashes since yesterday so I am now a happy BL user smile

damo · 2017-05-22 08:47:22

Although the nouveau drivers are supposed to be pretty good now, if you need the extra capabilities of nvidia, the official drivers are still necessary. CUDA rendering for example.

ohnonot · 2017-05-23 04:20:31

the proprietary drivers definitely gave me performance benefits for my geforce 210, but
- that was definitely more than a year ago, and it seems nouveau has evolved
- the machine was otherwise very weak and old

edit:
damo: geforce 210 is a bottom line model from a few years back, i don't think CUDA is relevant or even applies...

Last edited by ohnonot (2017-05-23 04:22:33)

damo · 2017-05-23 12:25:05

ohnonot wrote:

...
damo: geforce 210 is a bottom line model from a few years back, i don't think CUDA is relevant or even applies...

Yes, I was just pointing out that the proprietry drivers may have more capabilities than nouveau.

#1 2017-05-21 16:49:04

[Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#2 2017-05-21 16:50:55

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#3 2017-05-21 17:02:42

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#4 2017-05-21 18:12:06

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#5 2017-05-21 18:29:18

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#6 2017-05-22 06:46:36

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#7 2017-05-22 07:57:12

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#8 2017-05-22 08:47:22

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#9 2017-05-23 04:20:31

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

#10 2017-05-23 12:25:05

Re: [Solved] Nvidia drivers - GeForce 210

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