Linux on the ASUS N10 N10J

As luck would have it, the bug reports and forum threads I accidentally happened upon are nowhere to be found when looking for them specifically. I found this article summarizing the problem, but it isn't very specific. What it did say though was that 2.7.1 fixed most of the problems, so I'll just take the leap of faith

 

Hm, well 2.7.99.1 is in the Debian experimental repo, and apparently it's in Ubuntu's Karmic Koala repo too. I'd just save the old .debs so that if you have to revert, you can. Good luck

Edit: Er, my bad you're on Gentoo right... I found this thread but it's a month old...

I also found this bug that claims 2.7.0 is faster than 2.7.99.

 

thanks

wireless seems to be working (little blue light still does not come on, but that's alright).. sound-out seems fine, but sound-in is still not (at least not with skype), and under volume control (using 'HDA Intel (ALSA mixer)'... it that what you mean by gnome-aslamixer?) under 'recording', 'capture' keeps turning itself off/the knobs turn themselves down.. another sound issue, is that when using skype, it does not recognize my sb headset (which the generic kernel did do), not sure why that is.

still no luck with disabling the ambient light sensor... i thought that the first time i did use an underscore (at least that is the way it appears from here)... but tried again, and again i get:

/bin/bash: echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch: No such file or directory

(the light sensor is annoying!... my screen keeps going back and forth between bright and dim with the slightest chang of light)

same problem with disabling bluetooth

finally, is it normal for the fan to constantly be coming on (after just minimal internet activity).. this did not seem to be happening when i was running windows

sorry, that is a lot.. but once again, i appreciate the help

 

gnome-alsamixer is the name of a program, you can run it by hitting Alt+F2 and typing gnome-alsamixer. It should hopefully give you some control over your mic settings.

Which headset are you trying to get to work? I have disabled almost everything that isn't related to common N10 hardware in the kernel config, so it's just a question of figuring out which module it needs. The easy way of doing this would be to post your lsmod with the stock kernel when you have the headset in use.

Sorry about the light switch - that's a typo in my guide. It needs to be an underscore for asus_laptop too:

Code:

sudo -s "echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop/ls_switch"

Edit: For your fan always running, it's probably because you're running Ubuntu which has Desktop Effects (compiz) enabled by default. You can add a startup program entry with this command to disable those effects and save some power:

Code:

metacity --replace

Just go to System->Preferences->Startup Applications or System->Preferences->Session and click Add, then add the above command in. I'm not sure if there's an easier way to disable them in Ubuntu, since I haven't used it in a while.

Edit 2: There is an easier way... System->Preferences->Appearance->Visual Effects and select None

 

still nothing on the ambient light sensor disabling front:

/bin/bash: echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop/ls_switch: No such file or directory

also, when i do alt+F2, then type in 'gnome-alsamixer', it says that there is an error, that there is no such file or directory


"The easy way of doing this would be to post your lsmod with the stock kernel when you have the headset in use."

i don't understand what this means (sorry, i really am new to this)

 

No worries, is it a USB headset? I am trying to figure out if it needs a kernel module for it to work.

I don't know what the problem is with your light sensor, you should be able to run this command and see the contents of the asus_laptop directory:

Code:

ls /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop

If not it means there's a problem.

This is where lsmod comes in. It's the command that lists what kernel modules are loaded, and device drivers are usually implemented as modules. If you run:

Code:

lsmod

You should get a list of all of the modules that are in use.

In order for the light sensor switch to be enabled, you need to have the asus_laptop module loaded, so that should be in the list.

If not, you can load it manually:

Code:

sudo modprobe asus_laptop

Then try switching the light sensor off. If you had to load it manually, you can add a line to /etc/modules by running:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/modules

And adding this line:

Code:

asus_laptop

 

hmm.. typing:

ls /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop

gave me:

ls: cannot access /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop: No such file or directory

typing:

lsmod

shows there to be asus_laptop module (i think):

asus_laptop 15128 0


..so i'm not sure

as for headset, i'm using a logitech pc headset 960 usb

..also, any idea why the gnome-alsamixer couldn't be found before.. and could any of this be because i installed linux over the whole drive? (maybe i should try wipe everything and start afresh?.. or try something other than ubuntu?)

 

You can try restarting the asus_laptop module:

Code:

sudo modprobe -r asus_laptop
sudo modprobe asus_laptop

gnome-alsamixer is just one mixer that you could use. In terms of the volume being lower, just make sure in the mixer either Front or Speaker is all the way up in whatever mixer application you have.

You might want to see the two fixes listed here and try those, since either one is probably needed for Ubuntu.

It looks like your headset uses the usb-audio module. To do this, you need to change your kernel configuration and compile and copy the module. Here is how to do that:

Code:

cd /usr/src/linux-2.6.30/
make menuconfig

Navigate to Device Drivers->Sound Card Support->Advanced Linux Sound Architecture->USB sound devices and type SPACE to select built-in support, then hit ENTER and navigate to USB Audio/MIDI driver and type M for module. Then hit TAB and ENTER repeatedly to exit, and when prompted answer YES to save the new kernel configuration.

Then build the module:

Code:

make sound/

Then:

Code:

make sound/usb/snd-usb-audio.ko

You'll have to make the usb directory which will be the module's destination:

Code:

sudo mkdir /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound/usb

Then copy the module and load it:

Code:

sudo cp sound/usb/snd-usb-audio.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound/usb
sudo cp sound/usb/snd-usb-lib.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound/usb
sudo cp sound/*.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound
sudo cp sound/core/*.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound/core
sudo depmod -r
sudo modprobe snd-usb-audio

Restart ALSA (or reboot), and it should work:

Code:

sudo alsa force-reload

I've just completed all of these steps on my N10J but I have no USB headset to test with, although the module loads, so that's as far as I can go to test it for you.

Edit: Added the following commands above since they are probably necessary:

Code:

sudo cp sound/*.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound
sudo cp sound/core/*.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound/core

 

i tried restarting the asus_laptop module as you said, but alas it seems to have nothing as far as letting me disable the light detector (nor the bluetooth).. so still have to and fro between bright and dim .. (is there some way i can re-install (or whatever the right terminology is) these modules?)

re: the sound... i typed in the stuff before your edit, it seems to have worked...is there some way that i can go back and add the two line now just in case?...(also, after that my wireless light came back on, but then off again when i restarted)

 

Yeah, you do need those two commands, here is how to do them independently:

Code:

sudo cp /usr/src/linux-2.6.30/sound/*.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound
sudo cp /usr/src/linux-2.6.30/sound/core/*.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/sound/core

Then you'll want to reload ALSA:

Code:

sudo alsa force-reload

I'm really not sure about your asus_laptop module problem, is there any asus in this list:

Code:

sudo ls /sys/devices/platform

 

when i type:

sudo ls /sys/devices/platform

i get:

asus-laptop i8042 iTCO_wdt pcspkr power regulatory.0 serial8250 uevent vesafb.0


when i add the two lines (for the headset)and then wrtie:

sudo alsa force-reload

i get:

lsof: WARNING: can't stat() fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon file system /home/jacek/.gvfs
Output information may be incomplete.
Terminating processes: 3659lsof: WARNING: can't stat() fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon file system /home/jacek/.gvfs
Output information may be incomplete.
lsof: WARNING: can't stat() fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon file system /home/jacek/.gvfs
Output information may be incomplete.
.
lsof: WARNING: can't stat() fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon file system /home/jacek/.gvfs
Output information may be incomplete.
Unloading ALSA sound driver modules: snd-hda-codec-realtek snd-hda-intel snd-usb-audio snd-hda-codec snd-pcm-oss snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm snd-usb-lib snd-hwdep snd-seq-dummy snd-seq-oss snd-seq-midi snd-rawmidi snd-seq-midi-event snd-seq snd-timer snd-seq-device snd-page-alloc (failed: modules still loaded: snd-hda-codec-realtek snd-hda-codec snd-pcm snd-hwdep snd-timer snd-page-alloc).
Loading ALSA sound driver modules: snd-hda-codec-realtek snd-hda-intel snd-usb-audio snd-hda-codec snd-pcm-oss snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm snd-usb-lib snd-hwdep snd-seq-dummy snd-seq-oss snd-seq-midi snd-rawmidi snd-seq-midi-event snd-seq snd-timer snd-seq-device snd-page-alloc.

(something similar came up when i did the previous stuff for the headset, but then it reloaded, while here nothing)

 

That's good, your output has snd-usb-audio so that means it has loaded the driver for your logitech headset, it should work

There is some weirdness going on, the directory name of the asus laptop module has changed, yours (2.6.30) is asus-laptop, mine (2.6.31-rc1) is asus_laptop.

So if you do:

Code:

sudo ls /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop

You should see either ls_switch or ls-switch. It's ls_switch for me on 2.6.31-rc1 but it used to be ls-switch. Maybe it's ls_switch with the asus-laptop directory name? So:

Code:

sudo -s "echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch"

Edit: I just tried that on 2.6.30, it works... so I'll change the howto guide to reflect that. Thanks for helping find this quirk

 

when i type:

sudo ls /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop

i get:

bluetooth bus display driver gps infos ledd ls_level ls_switch modalias power subsystem uevent wlan

and then when i type:

sudo -s "echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch"

i still get (and similar with the other two ways you suggested):

/bin/bash: echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch: No such file or directory

so sadly it's still not fixed for me (though glad to hear i'm helping)

 

OK, well at least we have located the switch. It is:
/sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch

There's another way to do it, you could try:

Code:

sudo sh -c "echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch"

 

huzzah!!


(and i did the same with bluetooth, and that works too)

thank you.

 

Wow, must be some difference with Ubuntu, I'll have to change the howto again, to use that way instead, since it works on Debian too. Thanks

 

mkdir ~/intel
cp /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so ~/intel/libglx.so.intel
cp /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.2 ~/intel

I updated the Kernel (still having a few issues with wi-fi but I'll work those out later) and didn't have any problems really until this point. These files either didn't make it to the right place or they never existed. Either way, they don't exist now and I assume I need them back. How does that work?

Thanks for your help.

 

Hi welcome to the forum

First make sure you have the nvidia drivers removed:

Code:

sudo dpkg -P nvidia-glx
sudo ~/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-185.18.14-pkg0.run --uninstall

Then reinstall these packages:

Code:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall libgl1-mesa-glx xserver-xorg-core

Then copy the files to ~intel:

Code:

cp /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so ~/intel/libglx.so.intel
cp /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.2 ~/intel

That should solve it

 

I tried this on a fresh install.. I built the kernel just fine although wi-fi is much worse.. I had to go back to the old kernel just so I could post this. And even then, it keeps cutting out.

I don't think I did anything wrong with the first part. You might want to add that to change the sudoers you must type in the sudo visudo command.. It took me awhile to figure that one out.

My main issues are happening when trying to install the NVIDIA Graphics Drivers. You call to download pkg1 but then install pkg0. In 'tty1'; I tried installing pkg1 using 'sudo ~/NVIDIA*.run' that didn't work even though the .run file is there in my /home/user file... My next step was to reboot to intel graphics and download the pkg0 and try again doing and almost identical process (besides changing the filename of course).. It still gave me the same thing... the file could not be found. I tried typing the shortcut as above to reduce the possibility of typos and even typing out everything carefully. Perhaps I am missing the correct package in order to install .run files by just the sudo command.

Please help!

-Entropates

 

You don't need to run visudo... but... you can.

Anyways, sounds like you need to make the NVIDIA .run file executable:

Code:

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-185.18.14-pkg1.run

That is a glaring error with the pkg0 and pkg1, sorry I'll fix that now.

Edit: BTW you cannot install the NVIDIA drivers using the Intel GPU...

 

Thanks!

I completed everything and it seemed to work great. However, glxgears is not running. It is giving me

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

I know i'm very close, but I haven't got a clue as to what I did wrong. The drivers installed very nicely and both the files saved in /home/user/intel moved fine. I didn't get anything returned when i ran

sudo /etc/init.d/detectgpu
or..
sudo modprobe nvidia

I figured i should get NVIDIA back after running detect gpu and at least an ok with modprobe..

The other thing I'm wondering about is this time,unlike other times i had booted the nvidia gpu), I didn't receive an error.. it went straight to the graphical log in... Which makes me wonder if perhaps my switch isn't (these past few days I have used it quite a bit trying to figure this stuff out!

Another important question.. Is there any reason for my wi-fi to not be working well after the kernel update?

Thanks

-Entropates

 

Is glxgears not working on Intel or NVIDIA?

It should work on NVIDIA, if it doesn't work on Intel that means that the files are either not in the right places or the wrong version.

If it's the intel setting that's the problem, you should be able to copy the files from ~/intel back:

Code:

sudo cp ~/intel/libGL.so.1.2 /usr/lib
sudo cp ~/intel/libglx.so.intel /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions

Then run the detectgpu script to link the right files:

Code:

sudo /etc/init.d/detectgpu

Log out and back in and try glxgears again, should work.

The new kernel should have improved your wireless signal. If not, I'm really at a loss, you'd have to post some more details of the problem.

 

i'm having a bit of an issue with my flash drive.. basically, i plug it into the usb and nothing... looking around i found out that this is a fault of the paticular flash drive i'm using (corsair flash voyager 8gb).. as i understand it, the flash drive takes longer than normal to 'wake-up' and things time out before then....

there is a site where they say there is a fix (by increasing the time out):

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/261710

... though i don't quite understand what it is i am supposed to do (or whether things are differnet given your kernel)

do i just type:

$ echo 6 > /sys/module/scsi_mod/parameters/inq_timeout

i realise this is not directly on the n10 issues of this thread (so feel free to ignore), but help/advice would be much appreciated.

 

Yeah, I see that fix they're listing there. You can run it like this:

Code:

sudo sh -c "echo 6 > /sys/module/scsi_mod/parameters/inq_timeout"

A more permanent solution seems to be to create a config file in /etc/modprobe.d, something like this:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/scsi_mod.conf &

In that new file paste this in:

Code:

options scsi_mod inq_timeout=20

On that bug ticket they say to reinstall the kernel to force a new initrd, but that is a roundabout way to get it done. Here is the right way to create a new initrd:

Code:

sudo mkinitramfs -o /boot/initrd.img-2.6.30 2.6.30

Then run update-grub:

Code:

sudo update-grub

If you reboot the setting should stick, hopefully the fix works.

 

I'm working on the config and tweaks for 2.6.30.1 right now, so I've been roaming around trying to get the wireless to choke. With my tweaked mlme.c file, the connection *stays*, in other words, it very rarely disassociates from the access point, even if there is very little response. This will cause it to seem like a connection is hanging when there is extremely low signal. When I walk about 100 feet away from my AP I start getting this. Without the tweak, it will drop much much earlier, and keep dropping even with good signal, but connections don't hang, since they will just drop instead of timing out.

Long story short, I'm trying to find the best middle-ground. This is a different setting you could test if you wanted. I'll hopefully have this better tuned in a few hours.

First edit the mlme.c file:

Code:

gksudo gedit /usr/src/linux-2.6.30/net/mac80211/mlme.c

Replace this entire block of text starting at line 30 with the following:

Code:

#define IEEE80211_ASSOC_SCANS_MAX_TRIES 2
#define IEEE80211_AUTH_TIMEOUT (HZ / 5)
#define IEEE80211_AUTH_MAX_TRIES 3
#define IEEE80211_ASSOC_TIMEOUT (HZ / 5)
#define IEEE80211_ASSOC_MAX_TRIES 3
#define IEEE80211_MONITORING_INTERVAL (100 * HZ)
#define IEEE80211_PROBE_IDLE_TIME (60 * HZ)
#define IEEE80211_RETRY_AUTH_INTERVAL (1 * HZ)

Then rebuild mac80211:

Code:

cd /usr/src/linux-2.6.30
make net/mac80211/mac80211.ko
sudo cp net/mac80211/mac80211.ko /lib/modules/2.6.30/kernel/net/mac80211/
sudo modprobe -r ath9k
sudo modprobe -r mac80211
sudo modprobe ath9k

This should force your wireless card to reassociate, let me know if it performs any better. As I said I'm trying to find the best settings for 2.6.30.1 which I'm working on right now

 

thank you... it worked (though curiously, at first, it refused to mount the drive until i unplugged the flash drive, plugged in my usb headphones, unplugged them, and plugged the flash drive back in.. though shut down, and swithced on again, and it all works fine now)

i don't suppose there is some similar long-term fix for switching off the light sensor? (i can't imagine ever wanting to switch it on again (nor bluetooth for that matter), and it would be nice to not have to manually switch it off every time (perhaps i'm just being overly lazy)?

(it also seems that the light sensor, and or bluetooth, were the cause of my computer getting real hot real fast (or at least there is a correlation between switching them both off and my computer not needing to fan itself constantly))

 

Yes, just add a startup item under System->Preferences->Startup Applications

Name: disable light sensor
Command: sudo sh -c "echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch"
Comment: whatever

That'll disable the light sensor whenever you log in. You could make the same for bluetooth, etc.

For the computer running hot, it's probably not due to bluetooth but CPU usage. First make sure you have disabled desktop effects (I posted that earlier), since that will absolutely devour the poor Intel GPU.

 

brilliant, thanks

oh, and i did disable desktop effects (as you suggested), but it was only later after i disabled the light sensor and bluetooth that it stopped running hot (as i say, perhaps mere correlation)... but all is working well now.. so thanks for all your help.

 

Hopefully it stays cool now, if not just let me know. I usually don't have a problem with heat using the Intel graphics card unless I'm trying to play HD video or doing something extremely CPU-bound (like compiling the kernel).

If you were using the NVIDIA card in the N10J, there's a power setting that clocks down the GPU, that thing can get to be a hairdryer without it

There aren't any power settings (at least that are documented) for the Intel driver, so basically the only way to get it to use less power is to make it do less stuff (especially 3D, which desktop effects force it to do all the time if enabled).

Edit: Updated howto guide for kernel 2.6.30.1

 

two basic questions:

to update my kernel to the 2.6.30.1, do i have to build the kernel again (i.e. going through all the steps in part 1 of howto guide)?

also, am i supposed to delete previous kernels? (if so, how?)

thanks

 

Yes, you do need to build it all over again, since it's a new kernel.

To remove the old kernels, you can find out which kernel packages you have installed with:

Code:

dpkg --get-selections | grep linux-

Then to remove them just do:

Code:

sudo dpkg -P linux-image-2.6.x linux-headers-2.6.x

Where x is a version number.

You'll always want to leave at least one known-working kernel installed as a backup.

Edit: Update howto guide for 2.6.31-rc2

 

Hi All,

I wonder if you can help me.

I reinstalled my asus n10J from scratch using Linux mint Gloria based on Ubuntu 9.04.

I followed the tutorial with the kernel 2.6.30 and the NVIDIA driver 185.18.14.
Everthing works fine until I configure the graphic part. The Nvidia installation ran fine but when I reboot on the Intel chip, the gdm login screen appears correclty but after entering my password, the screen will stay black with the mouse pointer only; I can then see the desktop less than one second and the black screen comes back forever.

I doubel checked the steps, I followed them correctly, Is it an issue if I installed the kernel 2.6.30 ?(I can see that the tuto has been updated with the kernel 2.6.30.1).

I also noticed that sometimes, even if I put the hardware switch on the Nvidia chip, the detectgpu script will detect the intel card, not the nvidia. I have to restart the notebook to make it work.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have.
matha68

 

hey

so the long-term fix for disabling the light switch and bluetooth (via startup applications) does not seem to be working for me.. any suggestions?

 

It works for me... try the command in the terminal and make sure it works there.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AddingProgramToSessionStartup

This is could be a version mismatch. I haven't ever had this problem exactly, but a version mismatch will cause odd behavior like this. Try starting with nvidia uninstalled and reinstall the intel packages.

The detectgpu script determines which GPU is in use with lspci. lspci simply shows what PCI hardware is in the system - in the script it sees if there is an nvidia card present:

Code:

lspci | grep nVidia

If it's not detecting the card, check that the above command has output. If it returns nothing when set to NVIDIA, there is a problem or you are on the wrong GPU setting.

 

Another couple of things...

Does the setting work when you first log on? If not double-check the command to make sure it's exactly the same as the one that works from the command line.

Are you using the resume script? The asus_laptop module gets reset each time it goes to standby/resume if you use that script. So in that case if you open the lid from standby the light sensor will be on (since it's on by default). If you add that echo line to the bottom of resume.sh that should disable the light sensor on standby/resume.

 

If i 'shut down' the computer, then switch it back on, the light switch an bluetooth are not disabled.

If i set it to 'hibernate' (after having disabled light switch and bluetooth through terminal) and then switch it on and log in, the light switch and bluetooth remain disabled.

If i 'restart' (with light switch and bluetooth disabled), then light switch stays disabled, but bluetooth is on (or at least the little blue light that says bluetooth is on is switched on).

If i 'log out' (with light switch and bluetooth disabled), and then log back in (well, it seems to just log me back in after 10 sec), then light switch and bluetooth are disabled.

If i 'suspend' (with light switch and bluetooth disabled), when i switch on again and log in, the light switch and bluetooth remain disabled.

so i guess the only times things are not woking is when i either 'shut down' or 'restart'

I 'shut down'/'hibernate'/'restart'/'log out' through the menu on the top right of the screen (so not through terminal).. i think that probably means i don't use the resume script (though i'm not sure exactly what you mean here).

as for command in startup applications, i have:
sudo sh -c "echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch" (and then bluetooth in place of 'ls_switch' for the bluetooth option).. which works for switching off the light switch (/bluetooth) manually via terminal.

 

I don't run Ubuntu, so I'm not aware of all of its quirks, but it sounds like it's not letting you run a startup program with sudo. There is yet another way...

Make a startup script:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/init.d/lightsensor

Paste this in and save it:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/ls_switch

You can also make another line for bluetooth if you'd like.

Make it executable:

Code:

sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/lightsensor

Now finally add it as a startup script:

Code:

sudo update-rc.d lightsensor start 98 2 .

I just tried this and it works for me on Debian.

 

that worked, thank you.

 

Alright, so I figured out the wi-fi problem.. now I am just having trouble installing the nvidia drivers.. When I do, it gives me an error that I am still running the x server.. However, I am following your instructions and have tried not only sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop but other ways of stopping the gnome display manager.

I am using ubuntu 9.04 btw. If you or anyone else has any ideas as to what is going on please help!

Once again, thanks for all of your assistance!

 

Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to get you to tty1 and login at the console there. Then run sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop and the installer should run.

Edit: When you run /etc/init.d/gdm stop your output should be:

Code:

Stopping GNOME Display Manager: gdm.

You can also stop gdm the dirty way if all else fails:

Code:

sudo pkill gdm

or

Code:

sudo killall gdm

 

I had tried all three of those and I still get the same error. Anything code I can give you in order to try and figure this one out?

 

This will give you a list in the left-hand column of the process ID of gdm:

Code:

ps -C gdm

You can then kill gdm in a very crude manner:

Code:

sudo kill 12345

Where 12345 is the PID of gdm. If there are multiple gdm processes running just separate their PIDs with a space in the kill command line.

Then run ps -C gdm again to make sure there are no more instances of gdm running and try the installer again.

If the regular kill (which sends a TERM signal to tell the app nicely that it needs to close) doesn't work, you can send it a KILL signal but this is very dirty and not the kind of thing you should do unless you have no choice:

Code:

sudo kill -9 12345

If gdm is not running at all, and the NVIDIA installer still says it is, that is something else entirely.

 

ok.. so even sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop is stopping the two occurrences of gdm.

The problem must be that the nvidia installer is saying it is,

 

Well... not really sure, if you say you've stopped gdm and the nvidia installer still says this I don't know what is going on:

Code:

You appear to be running an X server; please exit X before installing.

However, that shouldn't stop you, because you can build the NVIDIA driver module manually. You should read the README but here is how to do it:

Code:

./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-185.18.14-pkg1.run -x
cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86-185.18.14-pkg1/usr/src/nv
make module
sudo make install
sudo modprobe nvidia

You should then run the detectgpu script and be able to start gdm.

 

detect gpu shows nvidia but also says that it can't find /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.??? and /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so.???

I copied the actual libGL.so.1.2 and libglx.so.intel files to the correct location but it doesn't seem to be looking at the files. and the readme doesn't really explain this one as far as i can see.

also if it helps, when i try to start gdm again it is saying:

(ee) failed to load module "freetype" (module doesn't exist)
(ee) failed to load module "NVIDIA" (modules doesn't exist)
(ee) no Driver available


thanks

 

Since you manually built the module, you need to manually copy and build everything that goes with it too. That is sort of what I meant by you should read the README. It is really not fun to do it this way...

It's possible that the reason your NVIDIA installer won't run is that xorg is leaving a lock file behind. If you are sure that gdm has stopped, try this:

Code:

sudo rm /tmp/.X0-lock

Edit: Also maybe compiz is still running after stopping gdm, try:

Code:

sudo pkill compiz

 

Are you guys running any "hardware" sensors (like lm-sensors) to get CPU, RAM, HDD temperature readings (for example for conky)? I tried installing lm-sensors, but somehow it wasn't able to find anything to measure and my ACPI has only /proc/acpi/thermal_zone/THRM, i.e. no THM0 or THM1 ...

 

I have one sensor for the CPU and one for the hard disk (using hddtemp).

 

Don't you think that

Code:

sudo mkinitramfs -o /boot/initrd.img-2.6.30.1 2.6.30.1
sudo update-grub

is a little redundant when you compile 2.6.30.1 with --initrd? I mean it's not like initrd doesn't work with it

also for
argyll 1.0.4-1
you need libicc2:
http://packages.debian.org/sid/libicc2 [not avail in normal ubuntu]

 

Yes it is redundant for Ubuntu... --initrd stopped working a while ago for me on Debian. That's why mkinitramfs is there.

Edit: I added libicc2 to the directions, thanks.