Salix OS

Hi all,


I am having trouble after IU upgraded the systems kernel.
I was on kernel 4.4.14 (or already another newer version) and upgraded the kernel via slapt-get.
I upgraded
kernel-huge
kernel-headers
kernel-source
kernel-firmware
to 4.4.190 resp. firmware-20190821_....

lilo -v was run as well

Now after a restart, X wont start.

I assumed the Nvidia driver was not happy with the newer kernel so I rerun the NVIDIA-Installer. However, no success.
I then "wgetted" the latest NVIDIA-driver but no better result with the new driver.

The error occures when the NVIDIA driver wants to create his modules and exits the procedure.
The internal check routine from NVIDIA exits as well with an error.

Hence I have no graphical frontend now and even the command prompt is instable as it complains about libudev.so.0 when trying to start X11 session manager in the background.

So I am lost...

What wemt wrong and how to fix?

Thanks in advance.

You don't provide information about your Nvidia card so I am not sure if the following would be useful to you, but if I were to bet, I'd say your problem is related to some changes on recent Linux kernels.

Specifically, recent Linux kernels actually changed the number of arguments in some functions, so Nvidia driver won't compile the modules needed, exiting with a syntax error. Nvidia upgraded their proprietary driver according to the recent Linux changes. If you own a "legacy" Nvidia card (such as my Quadro 2000), the updated driver (which will compile and install properly on systems with newer kernel 4.4.190) is version 390.129 and you will find it here for Salix 32-bit and there for Salix 64-bit.
For some reason, you won't find that updated driver if you use Nvidia drivers' front page (it still points you to driver version 390.67 and the updated driver 390.129 is somewhere "hidden" in their website). I assume this is because most GNU/Linux systems still use an older kernel, so by default they still provide the driver that will compile kernel modules properly on such systems.

If you own a more recent Nvidia card, I guess you should find the updated driver in a similar way but I cannot provide a link because I don't own a recent Nvidia graphics card. Last but not least, you should think twice before upgrading the kernel...

Hi Papasot,


your guess was right!

I had the latest official built for my geforce GT430, which is 390.87.
I now downloaded the 390.129 from the beta and older drivers section, which installed flawless!

Thanks for the hint!

Yep, so far upgrading the kernel never caused trouble (no real trouble), so I was a bit too optimistic

Thanks and have a nice Sunday!

jpg153 wrote: ↑6. Oct 2019, 08:42 Thanks for the hint!

Glad I could help.

jpg153 wrote: ↑6. Oct 2019, 08:42 Yep, so far upgrading the kernel never caused trouble (no real trouble), so I was a bit too optimistic

Upgrading the kernel might cause problems (although it usually doesn't). Recently I had weird problems with graphics rendering on an old netbook after I upgraded the kernel, and upgrading the graphics driver didn't work either; in the end, I had to "downgrade" the kernel.
Lesson learned: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

jpg153 wrote: ↑5. Oct 2019, 19:30 I upgraded
kernel-huge
kernel-headers
kernel-source
kernel-firmware
to 4.4.190 resp. firmware-20190821_....

The list is missing "kernel-modules". This file must be installed in any case and before the Nvidia driver is generated.

It is easier to use a command such as:

The list is missing "kernel-modules". This file must be installed in any case and before the Nvidia driver is generated.

I just missed it in my list, but all was properly installed.

I used a command line similar to your proposal.

Thanks.

Ain't fix if ain't broken - yes. It reminds me of my "old" OS/2-times, however, with Salix things are so easy...