Why does my NVIDIA laptop fall back to llvmpipe on KDE Wayland after updates?
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VelvetMango42
I'm using a Clevo laptop with an NVIDIA RTX 2050 and integrated Intel graphics, running Arch Linux with KDE on Wayland. The system initially appeared to be configured in NVIDIA-only mode, and system information showed the RTX 2050 twice instead of showing the Intel GPU. After running a full system update with pacman, including Mesa and the open NVIDIA DKMS driver, rebooting sometimes leaves the desktop rendering through llvmpipe. The NVIDIA driver also starts failing with "No devices found" when checked with nvidia-smi. I'm confused about why the system seems to be using NVIDIA-only mode, why the driver stops working after updates, and what the best way is to configure Optimus/PRIME on Wayland.
Answers
For switching between the Intel and NVIDIA GPUs, you can look into an Optimus management utility such as optimus-manager, but first get the normal NVIDIA driver working again. On Wayland, support depends on the desktop environment, session type, kernel modesetting, and the driver version, so blindly switching profiles can make troubleshooting harder. Confirm which GPU is connected to the laptop display and whether you want hybrid graphics or NVIDIA-only mode; in hybrid mode, the Intel GPU generally handles the desktop while applications can be launched on the NVIDIA GPU when needed.
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This sounds less like a PRIME configuration problem and more like the NVIDIA kernel module failing to load after the update. Check nvidia-smi first, then inspect the kernel and system logs for module, DKMS, Secure Boot, or version-mismatch errors. If nvidia-smi reports “No devices found,” the desktop may fall back to llvmpipe because no usable GPU driver is available. Verify that the DKMS module rebuilt successfully for the kernel you are currently booting, and make sure the installed NVIDIA, kernel, and user-space packages are compatible.
VelvetMango42: That makes sense. nvidia-smi worked before the update, but after rebooting it returned “No devices found,” so I’ll check the DKMS build and boot logs rather than changing PRIME settings immediately.
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MapleOrbit6: Also check that NVIDIA DRM kernel modesetting is enabled and that the initramfs was rebuilt after installing or updating the driver. A mismatched DKMS module or missing modesetting setup can cause Wayland to start with llvmpipe even though the NVIDIA packages are installed.