I've been struggling with Nvidia drivers on various Linux distributions. No matter what I do, they make my system crash so hard that I can't even boot back into the OS without reinstalling everything. I've spent a couple of days trying to troubleshoot this without finding a solution. Here are my specs: GTX 1080, Intel H270 Chipset, Intel i5-7700, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB HDD, and a 240 GB SSD. The distros I've tested include Linux Mint (which froze), Cachyos (same issue), Bazzite (bricked after installing drivers), Pop OS (similar problem), and EndeavourOS (also faced the same fate). Can anyone help me figure out what's going wrong?
5 Answers
If you're looking to stick with these cards, Debian might actually be worth a shot. It has good driver support for older Nvidia cards, like the GTX 10xx series, and it's not as tough to set up as it used to be. You just need a few terminal commands to get started. Plus, turning off Secure Boot in your BIOS could help!
One thing to check is if you're trying to use Nvidia's open-source drivers. Those typically don't support GTX 1080 properly and could be the source of the crashing. Maybe switch to the proprietary drivers instead?
Oh, maybe that’s the issue!
You might want to consider distros like MXlinux or AntiX since they are based on the Debian LTS kernel, which should have the required drivers pre-installed. That could save you some headache!
Are you installing the drivers directly from Nvidia's site? That's usually not necessary. Most distros have the drivers bundled in their package manager. For instance, in Ubuntu, you can check 'Additional Drivers' in the 'Software Sources' program to install the right ones easily.
I've tried both the Nvidia site and commands like Nvidia-inst on EndeavourOS, so I'm unsure if the package manager method will work for me.
Linux Mint usually handles Nvidia drivers quite well. It even has a built-in option for setting your graphics driver. If it's not working for you, older or incompatible drivers might be a problem. But avoid installing directly from Nvidia's site; Linux support is different than Windows.
Yeah, I’ve also had a smooth experience with Mint and Nvidia. Definitely a good choice.
Thanks, I'll give that a try if nothing else works.