Nvidia help pls ...
in [Linux Help]
|
Prev: Why do some distros have SH opened by Kwrite? [Install themes not through running SH but through the install themes option in right-click on desktop ...]
Next: arch linux / leafnode - unable to connect (connection refused)
From: RodMcKay on 27 Nov 2009 05:32 --------------------------------------------------- First off, may I beg the group's indulgence. I just know that one or more will be tempted to say, "how stupid are you ... ?", which is not just a Linux geek-to-"stupid"-Linux-newbie problem, it happens everywhere when someone isn't technically strong (yeah, I get this re Window$, too). ---- I'm 47. I sat down at my first computer when I was 25, back in DOS days. Going back, by the early- to mid-70s when I was in junior high, I'd been a Star Trek fan since I was 6 and I'd read most if not all of Asimov's, etc., books by then. No big shakes for most of you, I'm sure. The thing is, though, that I'm not a guy. I sure was interested in computers but I had trouble with relating to the punch cards I saw the guys carrying around and talking excitedly about. The cards perplexed me and I couldn't bridge that to what the visual re computers was. Also, though we weren't discouraged from entering the sciences, there wasn't any active encouragement to do so either (unlike today). So, though I wish I could say otherwise, I'm still very weak in things like hardware and technical issues re computers. So you don't have to say it! I know it!! <g> Linux is making me change that even more, which I'm very happy about, but there are many nebulous areas still to chart! <g>. --------------------------------------------------- So, even after reading a ton of stuff re the Ubuntu-Nvidia driver issue, I'm stumped. I'd like to test out 3 distros, Ubuntu and 2 based on it, just to get a feel for it. I can't install at this point for a number of reasons but I can look at different LiveCDs. Challenge is the resolution in all of them due to lack of Nvidia drivers. I can't see the screen properly, everything is way too big! I'm driven out in 2 minutes or less because I can't even get to a lot of the buttons on any given screen as some of the dialogue boxes extend way beyond what my monitor can display!!! You don't get very far if you can't even press the "GO" buttons <g>. I ran Belarc and Everest, two Window$ diagnostic freewares, so have some info on my Nvidia card. And there's this page here: http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-nvidia-drivers-in-ubuntu-feisty-or-later-versions.html plus I found a page this morning (which I've since lost and can't find again) that listed a ton of different Ubuntu Nvidia items to dl. But I'm hoping that following the above install page is all I need. Challenge is that I'd like to keep the files dl. The only way I seem to be relating to repositories may not be the right way - they seem similar to an Window$ phenomenon called web install -- not in concept, but in action!! Web install is something I _always_ avoid in Window$ like the plague since they install apps directly from the net to your computer with DLLs and tons of other stuff going to various places including the registry without your control. Now I know that Linux can't be like that at all, but instead of scattered stuff all over the place, with repository dl, do you end up with an executable file of some sort or a grouping of files, or code? Or does it vary? I don't know as I haven't had luck dl from repositories even using code particular to what I'm using, i.e., Fedora code when in Fedora. I since have been told that I have to use the repository that I have access to already - which I have to figure out how to do. But I'd like to know hopefully before going much further what to expect. I don't want to have to dl the Nvidia drivers each time I switch between Ubuntu-based LiveCDs (how awful is that! Don't want to use up the bandwidth for either side this way AT ALL!!) and one friend just doesn't have internet access because she can't afford it. It would be nice to have the file on my hdd which I can then carry with me to where I need to go and install. Thanks. Much appreciated. I'm in rather shaky waters here. Cheers. :oD
From: philo on 27 Nov 2009 07:34 RodMcKay wrote: > --------------------------------------------------- > First off, may I beg the group's indulgence. I just know that one or > more will be tempted to say, "how stupid are you ... ?", which is not > just a Linux geek-to-"stupid"-Linux-newbie problem, it happens > everywhere when someone isn't technically strong (yeah, I get this re > Window$, too). ---- I'm 47. You are just a kid...I'm 60 I sat down at my first computer when I > was 25, back in DOS days. Going back, by the early- to mid-70s when I > was in junior high, I'd been a Star Trek fan since I was 6 and I'd > read most if not all of Asimov's, etc., books by then. I grew up reading sci-fi...especially Asimov. No matter how far-fetched it was...as a kid I saw no reason not to think it could not be true some day. Then...maybe 1963 or so he mentioned a *desk top* computer and the sci-fi bubble burst. This time he went too far...there could *never* be a desk-top computer...and I pretty much stopped reading sc-fi as I realized it was nothing but pure fiction! LOL! (BTW: I once sent him a letter and he wrote me back a brief note signed "I. A." ) No big shakes > for most of you, I'm sure. The thing is, though, that I'm not a guy. Well...from what I've seen women seem to do pretty well with computers. The GF I had back in the old days was a programmer who knew 1000 times as much as me. And moving up to the present day...my wife is the one who got me back into computers ten years ago...as I had left the field entirely by 1982 (the year the whole world started moving toward computers) > I sure was interested in computers but I had trouble with relating to > the punch cards I saw the guys carrying around and talking excitedly > about. The cards perplexed me and I couldn't bridge that to what the > visual re computers was. Punch cards how I hated them. Even as late as 1979 I can recall using them! Also, though we weren't discouraged from > entering the sciences, there wasn't any active encouragement to do so > either (unlike today). So, though I wish I could say otherwise, I'm > still very weak in things like hardware and technical issues re > computers. So you don't have to say it! I know it!! <g> Linux is > making me change that even more, which I'm very happy about, but > there are many nebulous areas still to chart! <g>. > --------------------------------------------------- > > > So, even after reading a ton of stuff re the Ubuntu-Nvidia driver > issue, I'm stumped. I'd like to test out 3 distros, Ubuntu and 2 > based on it, just to get a feel for it. I can't install at this point > for a number of reasons but I can look at different LiveCDs. > Challenge is the resolution in all of them due to lack of Nvidia > drivers. I can't see the screen properly, everything is way too big! > I'm driven out in 2 minutes or less because I can't even get to a lot > of the buttons on any given screen as some of the dialogue boxes > extend way beyond what my monitor can display!!! You don't get very > far if you can't even press the "GO" buttons <g>. I found that even without the Nvidia drivers that my resolution was fine. At least for me...all the Nvidia drivers added were some custom settings. Anyway a Live CD (IMHO) is only good for having a glimpse into what Linux is. I suggest you do an actual install...perhaps pop another HD into the machine. An alternative would be to use a virtual machine from within Windows and install there <snipped for brevity...the cat is wanting me to chase her around the house for a while>
From: David W. Hodgins on 27 Nov 2009 13:26 On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:32:24 -0500, RodMcKay <NoJunkMail(a)no.com> wrote: > I'm driven out in 2 minutes or less because I can't even get to a lot > of the buttons on any given screen as some of the dialogue boxes > extend way beyond what my monitor can display!!! You don't get very > far if you can't even press the "GO" buttons <g>. With most dialogs you can move the dialog by holding down the alt key, left clicking on any part of the dialog, and dragging it around. That way to can get to the "GO" button. > Challenge is that I'd like to keep the files dl. The only way I seem > to be relating to repositories may not be the right way - they seem > similar to an Window$ phenomenon called web install -- not in > concept, but in action!! Web install is something I _always_ avoid in > Window$ like the plague since they install apps directly from the net > to your computer with DLLs and tons of other stuff going to various > places including the registry without your control. Now I know that I mostly use Mandrvia, which is a rpm based distro. To find out which files are included in a package that's already installed, you can run "rpm -q -l $packagename". For a package that hasn't been installed yet, but is in one of the repositories, "urpmq -l $packagename". > I don't want to have to dl the Nvidia drivers each time I switch > between Ubuntu-based LiveCDs (how awful is that! Don't want to use up To handle that case, you'd need to create a repository on your hard drive, (copy the .rpm files to a directory, and create the .hdlist index file), and then add that repository after booting the livecd. With Mandriva creating the .hdlist file is done with the command genhdlist2. Adding the repository is done with urpmi.addmedia. I expect Ubuntu has similar commands. The adding of the repository, and the installation of the Nvidia package could be put into a script that you manually run after booting the livecd. You'd have to restart the X server after installing the driver. Regards, Dave Hodgins -- Change nomail.afraid.org to ody.ca to reply by email. (nomail.afraid.org has been set up specifically for use in usenet. Feel free to use it yourself.)
From: RodMcKay on 28 Nov 2009 04:04 On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:34:50 -0600, philo <philo(a)privacy.net> wrote: >RodMcKay wrote: >> --------------------------------------------------- >> First off, may I beg the group's indulgence. I just know that one or >> more will be tempted to say, "how stupid are you ... ?", which is not >> just a Linux geek-to-"stupid"-Linux-newbie problem, it happens >> everywhere when someone isn't technically strong (yeah, I get this re >> Window$, too). ---- I'm 47. > > >You are just a kid...I'm 60 <g> I sure don't feel like one some days. And I'm starting to feel, unlike before, that keeping up with the younger ones at work is getting a little bit difficult <g>. Doesn't help when they're the young nubile things that look at you as if you're some kind of dinosaur because you're an older lady and you actually work when you go to work <lol>. [snip] >I grew up reading sci-fi...especially Asimov. >No matter how far-fetched it was...as a kid I saw no reason not to think >it could not be true some day. >Then...maybe 1963 or so he mentioned a *desk top* computer and the >sci-fi bubble burst. This time he went too far...there could *never* be >a desk-top computer...and I pretty much stopped reading sc-fi as I >realized it was nothing but pure fiction! LOL! Get out!! Really?! Not for me. My love of sci-fi has never waned. The only troubles are when there's no good series on TV. i.e., Stargate came along for me in 2003 when there was a vacuum in Star Trek. Don't know how I managed during that time <vbg>. In case anyone did know I'm a Stargate fan, my ng name ought to give it away! <g> >(BTW: I once sent him a letter and he wrote me back a brief note >signed "I. A." ) Most kewl! I would keep that always! I have some signed stuff from Star Trek conventions from the early 90s. Nothing comes to my home town anymore, so we're kind of bummed out here lately re that. I've met/seen most of the famous people in real life including the grande dame, Major Barrett-Roddenberry herself in 1993. I'm glad I met and spoke with her briefly while she kindly signed something for me as she passed away fairly recently. I went to my first con in 1990. It was a blast. Sure, it's all about commercialism and money, but what the heck! It's fun, too. > No big shakes >> for most of you, I'm sure. The thing is, though, that I'm not a guy. > >Well...from what I've seen women seem to do pretty well with computers. >The GF I had back in the old days was a programmer who knew 1000 times >as much as me. Yeah, I've done rather well. But it's hard to come up against geeks. The put-downs are difficult, like we're missing some techno-geek gene or something! But I persevere and manage still take the hits after all these years <g>. I wouldn't be where I am today if I just didn't keep going like the little engine that could <g>. >And moving up to the present day...my wife is the one who got me back >into computers ten years ago...as I had left the field entirely by 1982 >(the year the whole world started moving toward computers) Good for her! And good for you. Though what I feel about computers is very much love/hate, and I don't like the way the world is going where it's all about technology and leaving some of the more important things and values behind, but I don't know what I'd do without my computer! I don't foresee a time being without it. [snip] >Punch cards how I hated them. >Even as late as 1979 I can recall using them! If DOS was bad with how you always had to know syntax right down to every single dot and command, I can't even begin to imagine how hard punch cards were! Whenever I think of them, I'm reminded of the Don Knotts movie where he's a computer expert!! <g> He had to punch in a ton of stuff just to get a very simple solution! Hilarious. [snip] >I found that even without the Nvidia drivers that my resolution >was fine. At least for me...all the Nvidia drivers added were some >custom settings. Well, lucky you and I don't know how you did it but I can't fix the resolution. I have two options and none make all the dialogue boxes fit. I can't get very far in Ubuntu with either of the two options available. >Anyway a Live CD (IMHO) is only good for having a glimpse into what >Linux is. I suggest you do an actual install...perhaps pop another HD >into the machine. An alternative would be to use a virtual machine from >within Windows and install there Yeah, everybody says that and I thank everyone for the advice. It's just that my circumstances don't permit it as yet. My hdd is full. And when I mean it's full, it's full <g>. I can't afford a new external drive yet, either. I want to transfer all my files to the external drive, wipe everything off the hdd, raze the partitions, reformat, and start completely afresh with Linux anyway. I don't want a dual boot system. When I finally install Linux, that'll be pretty much it for WinOS!! Virtualbox and Wine might be options once there, granted, but _no_ Window$ OS will be installed on my system ever again, if I have anything to say about it. I was past the point of "fed up" by the time Windows 2000 came along. Adapting at work to all the upgrading had become old long before then. Win7 and Office 2007 were the absolute final straw!! ><snipped for brevity...the cat is wanting me to chase her around the >house for a while> How did the play time with kitty-cat go? <g>
From: RodMcKay on 28 Nov 2009 04:09
On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:26:25 -0500, "David W. Hodgins" <dwhodgins(a)nomail.afraid.org> wrote: >On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:32:24 -0500, RodMcKay <NoJunkMail(a)no.com> wrote: > > >> I'm driven out in 2 minutes or less because I can't even get to a lot >> of the buttons on any given screen as some of the dialogue boxes >> extend way beyond what my monitor can display!!! You don't get very >> far if you can't even press the "GO" buttons <g>. > >With most dialogs you can move the dialog by holding down the alt key, >left clicking on any part of the dialog, and dragging it around. That >way to can get to the "GO" button. > >> Challenge is that I'd like to keep the files dl. The only way I seem >> to be relating to repositories may not be the right way - they seem >> similar to an Window$ phenomenon called web install -- not in >> concept, but in action!! Web install is something I _always_ avoid in >> Window$ like the plague since they install apps directly from the net >> to your computer with DLLs and tons of other stuff going to various >> places including the registry without your control. Now I know that > >I mostly use Mandrvia, which is a rpm based distro. To find out which >files are included in a package that's already installed, you can run >"rpm -q -l $packagename". For a package that hasn't been installed yet, >but is in one of the repositories, "urpmq -l $packagename". > >> I don't want to have to dl the Nvidia drivers each time I switch >> between Ubuntu-based LiveCDs (how awful is that! Don't want to use up > >To handle that case, you'd need to create a repository on your hard >drive, (copy the .rpm files to a directory, and create the .hdlist >index file), and then add that repository after booting the livecd. >With Mandriva creating the .hdlist file is done with the command >genhdlist2. Adding the repository is done with urpmi.addmedia. >I expect Ubuntu has similar commands. The adding of the repository, >and the installation of the Nvidia package could be put into a script >that you manually run after booting the livecd. You'd have to restart >the X server after installing the driver. > >Regards, Dave Hodgins Thanks so much! I really appreciate the help. I'll have to try that control thingie. The windows are way too big. Though I'm no spring chicken, my eyes are perfectly fine and it feels like having binoculars on while viewing the screen, all the individual elements are _huge_. Not only that but I have to scroll to different parts of boxes that are usually waaaay smaller <g>! But I'd like to give Ubuntu a try. See, that's just what's going to make my day! I have to run a small utility in Window$ to fix some of the default boxes that aren't scalable. Linux has it built-in. And if it didn't, if I'm understanding what Linux is all about, I bet I could eventually figure out how to do that myself. (Yes? Even to this degree is Linux customizable?) Will see how it goes re the Nvidia driver issue <g>. |