I'm running Linux Mint, and I noticed that it defaults to the basic Nouveau Nvidia driver. However, whenever I attempt to install the proprietary Nvidia driver, my PC crashes at boot, which ends up bricking my system. Has anyone else faced this issue? What steps should I take to successfully install the proper drivers without crashing?
5 Answers
For Linux Mint, I strongly recommend using the Driver Manager to install the proprietary Nvidia driver. Avoid any drivers from other sources. If the drivers available don't support your hardware, you might have a bit of a challenge on your hands, especially if you have a combination of integrated Intel graphics and a dedicated Nvidia GPU.
It might help to share what GPU you have and which version of the driver you're trying to install. Are you using the Driver Manager in Mint, or downloading directly from Nvidia's website? This info can really help narrow things down.
If you're having persistent issues, consider trying distributions that handle Nvidia drivers a bit better, like PopOS or Zorin. They often come with better support for proprietary drivers. And keep in mind that Mint typically uses the Nouveau driver until you can get it working correctly.
If you’re comfortable, you could try installing Debian without a GUI and setting up a separate home partition. This way, if it crashes, you can access a text interface to troubleshoot without the GUI interfering. Also, don't forget to check the logs in /var/logs after a failure; they can provide useful error messages!
On Fedora, the driver installation takes a bit of time because the kernel module needs to build after installation. Maybe this is also true for Mint? Try waiting around 5 minutes after installing the driver before rebooting to see if that helps.
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