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Asked: 2024-09-25T22:35:11+05:30 In:

How can I turn off the Nouveau driver in the Linux kernel?

I’ve been tinkering with my Linux setup lately, trying to get my NVIDIA graphics card to work properly. Here’s the situation: I’ve got this super annoying Nouveau driver that keeps loading, and it’s causing all sorts of conflicts with my NVIDIA drivers. Honestly, it feels like I’m in a never-ending loop of frustration. I’ve read that Nouveau can sometimes be good for open-source support, but right now, I just need it to stop so I can get my proprietary driver running without issues.

I’ve searched around a bit and found a couple of suggestions, but I’m still a little lost on the best way to actually disable Nouveau. Some folks suggested adding a parameter to the Grub config file, but I’m not exactly sure how that whole process works. I mean, do I just add “nouveau.modeset=0” to the existing line? Do I need to do anything else after that, like updating the Grub or rebooting?

Then there’s this whole deal about blacklisting the Nouveau driver. That sounds more involved, but I’ve seen people recommend it too. I want to make sure I’m doing this right, though, and I really don’t want to mess anything up in my system. Would blacklisting Nouveau via a conf file be a safer approach? Like, if I throw a file in the modprobe.d directory, will that permanently disable it, or will I have to keep doing it every time I boot up?

I’ve also heard some people say that if I do it wrong, I might end up with a black screen and no way to fix it without booting into recovery mode, which sounds super scary! So, if anyone has experience with this, could you walk me through the steps? I’d really appreciate it! Just want to get my system running smoothly without the Nouveau drama.

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    2 Answers



    1. Disabling Nouveau Driver in Linux

      To disable the Nouveau driver and ensure that your NVIDIA proprietary driver works without conflicts, you can follow a two-step process. First, you need to add a boot parameter to the GRUB configuration. Open a terminal and edit the GRUB configuration file with a command like `sudo nano /etc/default/grub`. Look for the line that starts with `GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT` and append `nouveau.modeset=0` to the existing parameters within the quotes. It should look something like this: `GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash nouveau.modeset=0″`. After making this change, save the file and run `sudo update-grub` to apply the changes. Finally, reboot your system for the changes to take effect.

      The second approach involves blacklisting the Nouveau driver, which is a more permanent method. To do this, create a new configuration file by running `sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf`. Within this file, add the following lines:

      blacklist nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0

      Save the file and then run `sudo update-initramfs -u` to update the initial RAM filesystem. This will prevent the Nouveau driver from loading at all on boot. This method is generally safe; if everything is done correctly, you shouldn’t encounter issues like a black screen. However, if something goes wrong, you can boot into recovery mode to rectify the issue.




    2. Disable Nouveau on Linux

      Here’s What You Can Do!

      Totally get your frustration with Nouveau messing things up. Here’s a simple guide to help you disable it:

      1. Adding a Parameter to GRUB

      You can indeed add nouveau.modeset=0 to your GRUB config. Here’s how:

      1. Open a terminal.
      2. Type sudo nano /etc/default/grub and hit Enter. This opens the GRUB config file in a text editor.
      3. Look for the line that starts with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT. It usually looks something like this:
        4. GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
      4. Add nouveau.modeset=0 inside the quotes. Like this:
        5. GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nouveau.modeset=0"
      5. Save the file (in Nano, that’s CTRL + O and then Enter, followed by CTRL + X to exit).
      6. Update GRUB by running sudo update-grub in the terminal.
      7. Finally, reboot your system with sudo reboot.

      2. Blacklisting Nouveau

      If you want to take an extra step, you can blacklist Nouveau. It’s safer and will stop it from loading every time:

      1. In the terminal, run sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf.
      2. Add the following lines:
        3. blacklist nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0
      3. Save and exit like before.
      4. Run sudo update-initramfs -u to make the changes take effect.
      5. Reboot your machine again.

      3. What to Watch Out For

      Yes, doing this wrong might lead to a black screen, but as long as you follow these steps, you should be safe. If anything goes wrong, you can boot into recovery mode and reverse your changes.

      Final Thoughts

      Once you’ve done this, you should be able to install the NVIDIA drivers without issues. Just make sure to check if they’re correctly installed afterwards!

      Good luck, and may your graphics run smoothly!


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