NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set README & Installation Guide
Last Updated: $Date: 2003/07/16 $
Most Recent Driver: 1.0-4496
The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set brings both accelerated 2D
functionality and high performance OpenGL support to Linux x86 with the
use of NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs).
These drivers provide optimized hardware acceleration of OpenGL
applications via a direct-rendering X Server and support nearly all
NVIDIA graphics chips (please see APPENDIX A for a complete list of
supported chips). TwinView, TV-Out and flat panel displays are also
supported.
This README describes how to install, configure, and use the NVIDIA
Accelerated Linux Driver Set. This file is posted on NVIDIA's web site
(www.nvidia.com), and is installed in /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/.
__________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS:
(sec-01) CHOOSING THE NVIDIA PACKAGES APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR SYSTEM
(sec-02) INSTALLING THE NVIDIA DRIVER
(sec-03) EDITING YOUR XF86CONFIG FILE
(sec-04) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(sec-05) CONTACTING US
(sec-06) FURTHER RESOURCES
(app-a) APPENDIX A: SUPPORTED NVIDIA GRAPHICS CHIPS
(app-b) APPENDIX B: MINIMUM SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
(app-c) APPENDIX C: INSTALLED COMPONENTS
(app-d) APPENDIX D: XF86CONFIG OPTIONS
(app-e) APPENDIX E: OPENGL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE SETTINGS
(app-f) APPENDIX F: CONFIGURING AGP
(app-g) APPENDIX G: ALI SPECIFIC ISSUES
(app-h) APPENDIX H: TNT SPECIFIC ISSUES
(app-i) APPENDIX I: CONFIGURING TWINVIEW
(app-j) APPENDIX J: CONFIGURING TV-OUT
(app-k) APPENDIX K: CONFIGURING A LAPTOP
(app-l) APPENDIX L: PROGRAMMING MODES
(app-m) APPENDIX M: PAGE FLIPPING, WINDOW FLIPPING, AND UBB
(app-n) APPENDIX N: KNOWN ISSUES
(app-o) APPENDIX O: PROC INTERFACE
(app-p) APPENDIX P: XVMC SUPPORT
(app-q) APPENDIX Q: GLX SUPPORT
(app-r) APPENDIX R: CONFIGURING MULTIPLE X SCREENS ON ONE CARD
(app-s) APPENDIX S: POWER MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
Please note that, in order to keep the instructions more concise, most
caveats and frequently encountered problems are not detailed in the
installation instructions, but rather in the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
section. Therefore, it is recommended that you read this entire README
before proceeding to perform any of the steps described.
__________________________________________________________________________
(sec-01) CHOOSING THE NVIDIA PACKAGES APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR SYSTEM
__________________________________________________________________________
NVIDIA has a unified driver architecture model; this means that one driver
set can be used with all supported NVIDIA graphics chips. Please see
Appendix A for a list of the NVIDIA graphics chips supported by the
current drivers.
Driver release 1.0-4349 introduced a new packaging
and installation mechanism, which greatly simplifies the
installation process. There is only a single file to download:
NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-1.0-4496-pkg1.run. This contains
everything previously contained by the old NVIDIA_kernel and NVIDIA_GLX
packages.
Driver release 1.0-4496 introduces a package suffix ("-pkg#") to
the .run file. This is used to distinguish between packages containing
the same driver, but with different precompiled kernel interfaces.
If there is any confusion, just download the .run file with the largest
pkg number.
__________________________________________________________________________
(sec-02) INSTALLING THE NVIDIA DRIVER
__________________________________________________________________________
BEFORE YOU BEGIN DRIVER INSTALLATION
Before beginning the driver installation, you should exit the X server.
In addition you should set your default run level so you will boot to a
vga console and not boot directly into X (please consult the documentation
that came with your Linux distribution if you are unsure how to do this;
this is normally done by modifying your /etc/inittab file). This will
make it easier to recover if there is a problem during the installation.
After installing the driver you must edit your XF86Config file before
the newly installed driver will be used. See the section below entitled
EDITING YOUR XF86CONFIG FILE.
INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW NVIDIA DRIVER INSTALLER
After you have downloaded NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run,
begin installation by exiting X, cd'ing into the directory containing
the downloaded file, and run:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run
The .run file is a self-extracting archive. When the .run file is
executed, it extracts the contents of the archive, and runs the contained
`nvidia-installer` utility, which will walk you through installation of
the NVIDIA driver.
The .run file accepts many commandline options. Here are a few of the
more common options:
--info
Print embedded info about the .run file and exit.
--check
Check integrity of the archive and exit.
--extract-only
Extract the contents of ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496.run,
but do not run 'nvidia-installer'.
--help
Print usage information for the common commandline options
and exit.
--advanced-options
Print usage information for the common commandline options as
well as the advanced options, and then exit.
Installation will also install the utility `nvidia-installer`, which may
be later used to uninstall drivers, auto-download updated drivers, etc.
KERNEL INTERFACES
The NVIDIA kernel module has a kernel interface layer which must be
compiled specifically for the configuration and version of the kernel
you are running. NVIDIA distributes the source code to this kernel
interface layer, as well as a precompiled version for many of the kernels
distributed by some popular distributions.
When the installer is run, it will determine if it has a precompiled
kernel interface for the kernel you are running. If it does not have
one, it will check if there is one on the NVIDIA ftp site (assuming you
have an internet connection), and download it.
If a precompiled kernel interface is found that matches your kernel,
then that will be linked[1] against the binary portion of the NVIDIA
kernel module. The result of this operation will be a kernel module
appropriate for your kernel.
If no matching precompiled kernel interface is found, then the installer
will compile the kernel interface for you. However, first it will
check that you have the correct kernel headers intalled on your system.
If the installer must compile the kernel interface, then you must install
the kernel-sources package for your kernel.
[1] NOTE: installation requires that you have a linker installed.
The linker, usually '/usr/bin/ld', is part of the binutils package;
please be sure you have this package installed prior to installing the
NVIDIA driver.
FEATURES OF NVIDIA-INSTALLER
o Uninstall: Driver installation will backup any conflicting files
and record what new files are installed on the system. You may run:
nvidia-installer --uninstall
to uninstall the current driver; this will remove any files that
were installed on the system, and restore any backed up files.
Installing new drivers implicitly uninstalls any previous drivers.
o Auto-Updating: If you run:
nvidia-installer --latest
the utility will connect to NVIDIA's FTP site, and report the latest
driver version and the url to the latest driver file.
If you run:
nvidia-installer --update
the utility will connect to NVIDIA's FTP site, download the most recent
driver file, and install it.
o Multiple user interfaces: The installer will use an ncurses-based
user interface if it can find the correct ncurses library, otherwise,
it will fall back to a simple commandline user interface. To disable
use of the ncurses user interface, use the option '--ui=none'.
o Updated Kernel Interfaces: The installer has the ability to
download updated precompiled kernel interfaces from the NVIDIA
FTP site (for kernels that were released after the NVIDIA driver
release).
NVIDIA-INSTALLER FAQ
Q: How do I extract the contents of the .run file without actually
installing the driver?
A: Run:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run --extract-only
This will create the directory NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1
which contains the uncompressed contents of the .run file.
Q: How can I see the source code to the kernel interface layer?
A: The source files to the kernel interface layer are in the usr/src/nv
directory of the extracted .run file. To get to these sources, run:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run --extract-only
cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1/usr/src/nv/
Q: I just upgraded my kernel, and now the NVIDIA kernel module won't
load. What's wrong?
A: The kernel interface layer of the NVIDIA kernel module must be
compiled specifically for the configuration and version of your kernel.
If you upgrade your kernel, then the simplest solution is to reinstall
the driver.
ADVANCED: You can install the NVIDIA kernel module for a non
running kernel (for example: in the situation where you just built
and installed a new kernel, but haven't rebooted yet) with a command
line such as this:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run --kernel-name='KERNEL_NAME'
Where 'KERNEL_NAME' is what `uname -r` would report if the target
kernel were running.
Q: Why does NVIDIA not provide rpms anymore?
A: Not every Linux distribution uses rpm, and NVIDIA wanted a single
solution that would work across all Linux distributions. As indicated
in the NVIDIA Software License, Linux distributions are welcome to
repackage and redistribute the NVIDIA Linux driver in whatever package
format they wish.
Q: nvidia-installer doesn't work on my computer. How can I install the
driver contained within the .run file?
A: To install the NVIDIA driver contained within the .run file without
using nvidia-installer, you can use the included Makefile:
sh ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run --extract-only
cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1
make install
This method of installation is not recommended, and is only provided
as a last resort, should nvidia-installer not work correctly on
your system.
Q: Can the nvidia-installer use a proxy server?
A: Yes, because the ftp support in nvidia-installer is based on snarf,
it will honor the FTP_PROXY, SNARF_PROXY, and PROXY environment
variables.
Q: What is the significance of the "pkg#" suffix on the .run file?
A: The "pkg#" suffix is used to distinguish between .run files containing
the same driver, but different sets of precompiled kernel interfaces.
If a distribution releases a new kernel after an NVIDIA driver is
released, the current NVIDIA driver can be repackaged to include
a precompiled kernel interface for that newer kernel (in addition
to all the precompiled kernel interfaces that were included in the
previous package of the driver).
.run files with the same version number, but different pkg numbers,
only differ in what precompiled kernel interfaces are included.
Additionally, .run files with higher pkg numbers will contain
everything the .run files with lower .pkg numbers contain.
Q: I have already installed NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run,
but I see that NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg2.run was just
posted on the NVIDIA Linux driver download page. Should I download
and install NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg2.run?
A: This is not necessary. The driver contained within all
1.0-4496 .run files will be identical. There is no need
to reinstall.
Q: Can I add my own precompiled kernel interfaces to a .run file?
A: Yes, the "--add-this-kernel" .run file option will unpack the .run
file, build a precompiled kernel interface for the currently running
kernel, and repackage the .run file, appending "-custom" to the file
name. This may be useful, for example. if you administer multiple
Linux machines, each running the same kernel.
Q: Where can I find the source code for the nvidia-installer utility?
A: The nvidia-installer utility is released under the
GPL. The latest source code for it is available at:
ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/nvidia-installer/
NVIDIA-INSTALLER ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
nvidia-installer was inspired by the loki_update tool:
(http://www.lokigames.com/development/loki_update.php3.)
The ftp and http support in nvidia-installer is based upon snarf 7.0:
(http://www.xach.com/snarf/).
The self-extracting archive (aka ".run file") is generated using
makeself.sh: (http://www.megastep.org/makeself/)
__________________________________________________________________________
(sec-03) EDITING YOUR XF86CONFIG FILE
__________________________________________________________________________
When XFree86 4.0 was released, it used a slightly different XF86Config
file syntax than the 3.x series did, and so to allow both 3.x and 4.x
versions of XFree86 to co-exist on the same system, it was decided that
XFree86 4.x was to use the configuration file "/etc/X11/XF86Config-4"
if it existed, and only if that file did not exist would the file
"/etc/X11/XF86Config" be used (actually, that is an over-simplification
of the search criteria; please see the XF86Config man page for a complete
description of the search path). Please make sure you know what
configuration file XFree86 is using. If you are in doubt, look for a
line beginning with "(==) Using config file:" in your XFree86 log file
("/var/log/XFree86.0.log"). This README will use "XF86Config" to refer
to your configuration file, whatever it is named.
If you do not have a working XF86Config file, there are several ways
to start: there is a sample config file that comes with XFree86,
and there is a sample config file included with the NVIDIA driver
package (it gets installed in /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/).
You could also use a program like 'xf86config'; some distributions
provide their own tool for generating an XF86Config file. For more
on XF86Config file syntax, please refer to the man page.
If you already have an XF86Config file working with a different driver
(such as the 'nv' or 'vesa' driver), then all you need to do is find
the relevant Device section and replace the line:
Driver "nv"
(or Driver "vesa")
with
Driver "nvidia"
In the Module section, make sure you have:
Load "glx"
You should also remove the following lines:
Load "dri"
Load "GLcore"
if they exist. There are also numerous options that can be added to
the XF86Config file to fine-tune the NVIDIA XFree86 driver. Please see
Appendix D for a complete list of these options.
Once you have configured your XF86Config file, you are ready to restart
X and begin using the accelerated OpenGL libraries. After you restart X,
you should be able to run any OpenGL application and it will automatically
use the new NVIDIA libraries. If you encounter any problems, please
see the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section below.
__________________________________________________________________________
(sec-04) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
__________________________________________________________________________
Q: Where should I start when diagnosing display problems?
A: One of the most useful tools for diagnosing problems is the XFree86
log file in /var/log (the file is named: "/var/log/XFree86.<#>.log",
where "<#>" is the server number -- usually 0). Lines that begin with
"(II)" are information, "(WW)" are warnings, and "(EE)" are errors.
You should make sure that the correct config file (ie the config file
you are editing) is being used; look for the line that begins with:
"(==) Using config file:". Also check that the NVIDIA driver is being
used, rather than the 'nv' or 'vesa' driver; you can look for: "(II)
LoadModule: "nvidia"", and lines from the driver should begin with:
"(II) NVIDIA(0)".
Q: How can I increase the amount of data printed in the XFree86 log file?
A: By default, the NVIDIA X driver prints relatively few messages to
stderr and the XFree86 log file. If you need to troubleshoot, then
it may be helpful to enable more verbose output by using the XFree86
command line options "-verbose" and "-logverbose" which can be used
to set the verbosity level for the stderr and log file messages,
respectively. The NVIDIA X driver will output more messages when the
verbosity level is at or above 5 (XFree86 defaults to verbosity level
1 for stderr and level 3 for the log file). So, to enable verbose
messaging from the NVIDIA X driver to both the log file and stderr,
you could start X by doing the following: 'startx -- -verbose 5
-logverbose 5'.
Q: My X server fails to start, and my XFree86 log file contains the error:
"(EE) NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module!"
A: Nothing will work if the NVIDIA kernel module doesn't function
properly. If you see anything in the X log file like "(EE)
NVIDIA(0): Failed to initialize the NVIDIA kernel module!" then
there is most likely a problem with the NVIDIA kernel module.
First, you should verify that if you installed from rpm that
the rpm was built specifically for the kernel you are using.
You should also check that the module is loaded ('/sbin/lsmod');
if it is not loaded try loading it explicitly with 'insmod' or
'modprobe' (be sure to exit the X server before installing a new
kernel module). If you receive errors about unresolved symbols,
then the kernel module has most likely been built using header files
for a different kernel revision than what you are running. You can
explicitly control what kernel header files are used when building
the NVIDIA kernel module with the --kernel-include-dir option (see
`sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run --advanced-options`
for details).
Please note that the convention for the location of kernel header
files changed approximately at the time of the 2.4.0 kernel release,
as did the location of kernel modules. If the kernel module fails to
load properly, modprobe/insmod may be trying to load an older kernel
module (assuming you've upgraded). cd'ing into the directory with
the new kernel module and doing 'insmod ./nvidia.o' may help.
Another cause may be that the /dev/nvidia* device files may be missing.
Finally, the NVIDIA kernel module may print error messages indicating
a problem -- to view these messages please check /var/log/messages, or
wherever syslog is directed to place kernel messages. These messages
are prepended with "NVRM".
Q: X starts for me, but OpenGL applications terminate immediately.
A: If X starts, but OpenGL causes problems, you most likely have a
problem with other libraries in the way, or there are stale symlinks.
See Appendix C for details. Sometimes, all it takes is to rerun
'ldconfig'.
You should also check that the correct extensions are present;
'xdpyinfo' should show the "GLX", "NV-GLX" and "NVIDIA-GLX" extensions
present. If these three extensions are not present, then there is
most likely a problem with the glx module getting loaded or it is
unable to implicitly load GLcore. Check your XF86Config file and make
sure that you are loading glx (see "Editing Your XF86Config File"
above). If your XF86Config file is correct, then check the XFree86
log file for warnings/errors pertaining to GLX. Also check that all
of the necessary symlinks are in place (refer to Appendix C).
Q: Installing the NVIDIA kernel module gives an error message like:
#error Modules should never use kernel-headers system headers
#error but headers from an appropriate kernel-source
A: You need to install the source for the Linux kernel. In most
situations you can fix this problem by installing the kernel-source
package for your distribution
Q: OpenGL applications exit with the following error message:
Error: Could not open /dev/nvidiactl because the permissions
are too restrictive. Please see the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
section of /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/README for steps
to correct.
A: It is likely that a security module for the PAM system may be
changing the permissions on the NVIDIA device files. In most cases
this security system works, but it can get confused. To correct this
problem it is recommended that you disable this security feature.
Different Linux distributions have different files to control this;
please consult with your distributor for the correct method of
disabling this security feature. As an example, if your system has
the file
/etc/security/console.perms
then you should edit the file and remove the line that starts with
"<dri>" (we have also received reports that additional references to
<dri> in console.perms must be removed, but this has not been verified
by NVIDIA). If instead your system has the file
/etc/logindevperms
then you should edit the file and remove the line that lists
/dev/nvidiactl. The above steps will prevent the PAM security system
from modifying the permissions on the NVIDIA device files. Next,
you will need to reset the permissions on the device files back
to their original permissions and owner. You can do that with the
following commands:
chmod 0666 /dev/nvidia* chown root /dev/nvidia*
Q: OpenGL applications crash and print out the following warning:
WARNING: Your system is running with a buggy dynamic loader.
This may cause crashes in certain applications. If you
experience crashes you can try setting the environment
variable __GL_SINGLE_THREADED to 1. For more information
please consult the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section in
the file /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/README.
A: The dynamic loader on your system has a bug which will cause
applications linked with pthreads, and that dlopen() libGL multiple
times, to crash. This bug is present in older versions of the dynamic
loader. Distributions that shipped with this loader include but
are not limited to Red Hat Linux 6.2 and Mandrake Linux 7.1. Version
2.2 and later of the dynamic loader are known to work properly. If
the crashing application is single threaded then setting the environment
variable __GL_SINGLE_THREADED to 1 will prevent the crash.
In the bash shell you would enter:
export __GL_SINGLE_THREADED=1
and in csh and derivatives use:
setenv __GL_SINGLE_THREADED 1
Previous releases of the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set attempted
to work around this problem, however the workaround caused problems with
other applications and was removed after version 1.0-1541.
Q: When I run Quake3, it crashes when changing video modes; what's wrong?
A: You are probably experiencing the problem described above. Please
check the text output for the "WARNING" message describe in the
previous hint. Setting __GL_SINGLE_THREADED to 1 as described
above, before running Quake3 will fix the problem.
Q: My system runs, but seems unstable. What's wrong?
A: Your stability problems may be AGP-related. See Appendix F for
details.
Q: The kernel module doesn't get loaded dynamically when X starts;
I always have to do 'modprobe nvidia' first. What's wrong?
A: Make sure the line "alias char-major-195 nvidia" appears in
your module configuration file, generally one of "/etc/conf.modules",
"/etc/modules.conf" or "/etc/modutils/alias"; consult the documentation
that came with your distribution for details.
Q: I can't build the NVIDIA kernel module, or I can build the NVIDIA
kernel module, but modprobe/insmod fails to load the module into
my kernel. What's wrong?
A: These problems are generally caused by the build using the wrong kernel
header files (ie header files for a different kernel version than
the one you are running). The convention used to be that kernel
header files should be stored in "/usr/include/linux/", but that
is deprecated in favor of "/lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/include".
The nvidia-installer should be able to determine the location on your
system; however, if you encounter a problem you can force the build
to use certain header files by using the --kernel-include-dir option.
Obviously, for this to work, you need the appropriate kernel header
files installed on your system. Consult the documentation that came
with your distribution; some distributions don't install the kernel
header files by default, or they install headers that don't coincide
properly with the kernel you are running.
Q: Why do OpenGL applications run so slow?
A: The application is probably using a different library still on your
system, rather than the NVIDIA supplied OpenGL library. Please see
APPENDIX C for details.
Q: There are problems running Quake2.
A: Quake2 requires some minor setup to get it going. First, in the Quake2
directory, the install creates a symlink called libGL.so that points
at libMesaGL.so. This symlink should be removed or renamed. Then,
to run Quake2 in OpenGL mode, you would type: 'quake2 +set vid_ref glx
+set gl_driver libGL.so'. Quake2 does not seem to support any kind of
full-screen mode, but you can run your X server at whatever resolution
Quake2 runs at to emulate full-screen mode.
Q: There are problems running Heretic II.
A: Heretic II also installs, by default, a symlink called libGL.so in
the application directory. You can remove or rename this symlink, since
the system will then find the default libGL.so (which our
drivers install in /usr/lib). From within Heretic II you
can then set your render mode to OpenGL in the video menu.
There is also a patch available to Heretic II from lokigames at:
http://www.lokigames.com/products/heretic2/updates.php3
Q: Where can I get gl.h or glx.h so I can compile OpenGL programs?
A: Most systems come with these header files preinstalled. However,
NVIDIA provides its own gl.h and glx.h files which get installed
in /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/include/GL/. To use these
files, either manually copy them into /usr/include/GL/,
or instruct the installer to install these files in
/usr/include/GL/ by passing the '--opengl-headers' option to the
NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run file during installation.
Q: Can I receive email notification of new NVIDIA Accelerated Linux
Driver Set releases?
A: Yes. Fill out the form at:
http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?FO=driver_update
Q: My system hangs when vt-switching if I have rivafb enabled.
A: Using both rivafb and the NVIDIA kernel module at the same time is
currently broken. In general, using two independent software drivers
to drive the same piece of hardware is a bad idea.
Q: Compiling the NVIDIA kernel module gives this error:
You appear to be compiling the NVIDIA kernel module with
a compiler different from the one that was used to compile
the running kernel. This may be perfectly fine, but there
are cases where this can lead to unexpected behaviour and
system crashes.
If you know what you are doing and want to override this
check, you can do so by setting IGNORE_CC_MISMATCH.
In any other case, set the CC environment variable to the
name of the compiler that was used to compile the kernel.
A: You should compile the NVIDIA kernel module with the same compiler
version that was used to compile your kernel. Some Linux kernel data
structures are dependent on the version of gcc used to compile it;
for example, in include/linux/spinlock.h:
...
* Most gcc versions have a nasty bug with empty initializers.
*/
#if (__GNUC__ > 2)
typedef struct { } rwlock_t;
#define RW_LOCK_UNLOCKED (rwlock_t) { }
#else
typedef struct { int gcc_is_buggy; } rwlock_t;
#define RW_LOCK_UNLOCKED (rwlock_t) { 0 }
#endif
If the kernel is compiled with gcc 2.x, but gcc 3.x is used when the
kernel interface is compiled (or vice versa), the size of rwlock_t
will vary, and things like ioremap will fail.
To check what version of gcc was used to compile your kernel, you
can examine the output of:
cat /proc/version
To check what version of gcc is currently in your $PATH, you can
examine the output of:
gcc -v
Q: X fails with error "Failed to allocate LUT context DMA"
A: This is one of the possible consequences of compiling the NVIDIA
kernel interface with a different gcc version than used to compile
the Linux kernel (see above).
Q: What is NVIDIA's policy towards development series Linux kernels?
A: NVIDIA does not officially support development series kernels.
However, all the kernel module source code that interfaces with the
Linux kernel is available in the usr/src/nv/ directory of the .run file.
NVIDIA encourages members of the Linux community to develop patches
to these source files to support development series kernels. A google
search will most likely yield several community supported patches.
Q: I recently updated various libraries on my system using my Linux
distributor's update utility, and the NVIDIA graphics driver no
longer works. What's wrong?
A: Conflicting libraries may have been installed by your
distribution's update utility; please see APPENDIX C: INSTALLED
COMPONENTS for details on how to diagnose this.
Q: `rpm --rebuild` gives an error "unknown option".
A: Recent versions of rpm no longer support the "--rebuild" option;
if you have such a version of rpm, you should instead use the command
`rpmbuild --rebuild`. The `rpmbuild` executable is provided by the
rpm-build package.
Q: I'm using either nForce of nForce2 internal graphics, and I see
warnings like this in my XFree86.0.log file:
Not using mode "1600x1200" (exceeds valid memory bandwidth usage)
A: Integrated graphics have stricter memory bandwidth limitations
that restrict the resolution and refresh rate of the modes you
request. To work around this, you can reduce the maximum refresh
rate by lowering the upper value of the "VertRefresh" range in the
Monitor section of your XF86Config file. Though not recommended,
you can disable the memory bandwidth test with the "NoBandWidthTest"
XF86Config file option.
Q: I've rebuilt the NVIDIA kernel module, but when I try to insert
it, I get a message telling me I have unresolved symbols.
A. Unresolved symbols are most often caused by a mismatch between your
kernel sources and your running kernel. They must match for the
NVIDIA kernel module to build correctly. Please make sure your kernel
sources are installed and configured to match your running kernel.
Q: How do I tell if I have my kernel sources installed?
A: If you're running on a distro that uses RPM (Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE,
etc), then you can use RPM to tell you. At a shell prompt, type:
`rpm -qa | grep kernel`
and look at the output. You should see a package that corresponds
to your kernel (often named something like kernel-2.4.18-3)
and a kernel source package with the same version (often named
something like kernel-source-2.4.18-3). If none of the lines seem
to correspond to a source package, then you'll probably need to
install it. If the versions listed mismatch (ex: kernel-2.4.18-10 vs.
kernel-source-2.4.18-3), then you'll need to update the kernel-source
package to match the installed kernel. If you have multiple kernels
installed, you need to install the kernel-source package that
corresponds to your *running* kernel (or make sure your installed
source package matches the running kernel). You can do this by
looking at the output of 'uname -r' and matching versions.
Q: Why am I unable to load the NVIDIA kernel module that I compiled
for the Red Hat Linux 7.3 2.4.18-3bigmem kernel?
A: The kernel header files Red Hat Linux distributes for Red Hat Linux 7.3
2.4.18-3bigmem kernel are misconfigured. NVIDIA's precompiled kernel
module for this kernel can be loaded, but if you wish to compile the
NVIDIA kernel interface files yourself for this kernel, then you'll
need to perform the following:
cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build/
cp configs/kernel-2.4.18-i686-bigmem.config .config
make mrproper oldconfig dep
Note: Red Hat Linux ships kernel header files that are simultaneously
configured for ALL of their kernels for a particular distribution
version. A header file generated at boot time sets up a few parameters
that select the correct configuration. Rebuilding the kernel headers
with the above commands will create header files suitable for the
Red Hat Linux 7.3 2.4.18-3bigmem kernel configuration only, thus trashing
the header files for the other configurations.
Q: X takes a long time to start (possibly several minutes). What can
I do?
A: Most of the startx delay problems we have found are caused by incorrect
data in video BIOSes about what display devices are possibly connected
or what i2c port should be used for detection. You can work around
these problems with the XF86Config option "IgnoreDisplayDevices"
(please see the description in (app-d) APPENDIX D: XF86CONFIG OPTIONS).
Q: Why does X use so much memory?
A: When measuring any application's memory usage, you must be
careful to distinguish between physical system RAM used and virtual
mappings of shared resources. For example, most shared libraries exist
only once in physical memory but are mapped into multiple processes.
This memory should only be counted once when computing total memory
usage. In the same way, the video memory on a graphics card or
register memory on any device can be mapped into multiple processes.
These mappings do not consume normal system RAM.
This has been a frequently discussed topic on XFree86 mailing
lists; see, for example:
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=xfree-xpert&m=96835767116567&w=2
The `pmap` utility described in the above thread and available here:
http://web.hexapodia.org/~adi/pmap.c
is a useful tool in distinguishing between types of memory mappings.
For example, while `top` may indicate that X is using several hundred
MB of memory, the last line of output from pmap:
mapped: 287020 KB writable/private: 9932 KB shared: 264656 KB
reveals that X is really only using roughly 10MB of system RAM
(the "writable/private" value).
Note, also, that X must allocate resources on behalf of X clients (the
window manager, your web browser, etc); X's memory usage will increase
as more clients request resources such as pixmaps, and decrease as
you close X applications.
Q: OpenGL applications leak significant amounts of memory on my system!
A: If your kernel is making use of the -rmap VM, the system may be leaking
memory due to a memory management optimization introduced in -rmap14a.
The -rmap VM has been adopted by several popular distributions, the
memory leak is known to be present in some of the distribution kernels;
it has been fixed in -rmap15e.
If you suspect that your system is affected, please try upgrading your
kernel or contact the distribution's vendor for assistance.
Q: Some OpenGL applications (like Quake3 Arena) crash when I start them
on Red Hat Linux 9.0.
A: Some versions of the glibc package shipped by Red Hat that support
TLS do not properly handle using dlopen() to access shared libraries
which utilize some TLS models. This problem is exhibited, for example,
when Quake3 Area dlopen()'s NVIDIA's libGL library. Please obtain
at least glibc-2.3.2-11.9 which is available as an update from Red Hat.
Q: I've installed the driver, but my Enable 3D Acceleration checkbox is still
greyed out! What did I do wrong?
A: Most distribution-provided configuration applets aren't aware of the NVIDIA
accelerated driver, and consequently won't update themselves when you install
the driver. Your driver, if it has been installed properly, should function
fine.
Q: Where can I find the tarballs?
A: Please visit ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/1.0-4496/.
Q: Where can I find older driver versions?
A: Please visit ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/.
Q: X does not restore the vga console when run on a TV. I get this
error message in my XFree86 log file:
Unable to initialize the XFree86 int10 module; the console may not
be restored correctly on your TV.
A: The NVIDIA XFree86 driver uses the XFree86 Int10 module to save
and restore console state on TV out, and will not be able to
restore the console correctly if it cannot use the Int10 module.
If you have built XFree86 yourself, please be sure you have
built the Int10 module. If you are using a build of XFree86
provided by a Linux distribution, and are missing the Int10
module, please contact your distributor,
__________________________________________________________________________
(sec-05) CONTACTING US
__________________________________________________________________________
There is an NVIDIA Linux Driver web forum. You can access it by going
to www.nvnews.net and following the "Forum" and "Linux Discussion Area"
links. This is the preferable tool for seeking help; users can post
questions, answer other users' questions, and search the archives of
previous postings.
If all else fails, you can contact NVIDIA for support at:
linux-bugs@nvidia.com. But please, only send email to this address
after you've followed the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section in this
README and asked for help on the nvnews.net web forum.
__________________________________________________________________________
(sec-06) FURTHER RESOURCES
__________________________________________________________________________
Linux OpenGL ABI
http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/ABI/
NVIDIA Linux HowTo
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree86-Video-Timings-HOWTO/index.html
OpenGL
www.opengl.org
The XFree86 Project
www.xfree86.org
#nvidia (irc.openprojects.net)
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-a) APPENDIX A: SUPPORTED NVIDIA GRAPHICS CHIPS
__________________________________________________________________________
NVIDIA CHIP NAME DEVICE PCI ID
o RIVA TNT 0x0020
o RIVA TNT2 0x0028
o RIVA TNT2 Ultra 0x0029
o Vanta 0x002C
o RIVA TNT2 Model 64 0x002D
o Aladdin TNT2 0x00A0
o GeForce 256 0x0100
o GeForce DDR 0x0101
o Quadro 0x0103
o GeForce2 MX/MX 400 0x0110
o GeForce2 MX 100/200 0x0111
o GeForce2 Go 0x0112
o Quadro2 MXR/EX/Go 0x0113
o GeForce2 GTS 0x0150
o GeForce2 Ti 0x0151
o GeForce2 Ultra 0x0152
o Quadro2 Pro 0x0153
o GeForce4 MX 460 0x0170
o GeForce4 MX 440 0x0171
o GeForce4 MX 420 0x0172
o GeForce4 MX 440-SE 0x0173
o GeForce4 440 Go 0x0174
o GeForce4 420 Go 0x0175
o GeForce4 420 Go 32M 0x0176
o GeForce4 460 Go 0x0177
o Quadro4 550 XGL 0x0178
o GeForce4 440 Go 64M 0x0179
o Quadro4 NVS 0x017A
o Quadro4 500 GoGL 0x017C
o GeForce4 410 Go 16M 0x017D
o GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X 0x0181
o GeForce4 MX 440SE with AGP8X 0x0182
o GeForce4 MX 420 with AGP8X 0x0183
o Quadro4 580 XGL 0x0188
o Quadro4 280 NVS 0x018A
o Quadro4 380 XGL 0x018B
o GeForce4 448 Go 0x0186
o GeForce4 488 Go 0x0187
o GeForce2 Integrated GPU 0x01A0
o GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU 0x01F0
o GeForce3 0x0200
o GeForce3 Ti 200 0x0201
o GeForce3 Ti 500 0x0202
o Quadro DCC 0x0203
o GeForce4 Ti 4600 0x0250
o GeForce4 Ti 4400 0x0251
o GeForce4 Ti 4200 0x0253
o Quadro4 900 XGL 0x0258
o Quadro4 750 XGL 0x0259
o Quadro4 700 XGL 0x025B
o GeForce4 Ti 4800 0x0280
o GeForce4 Ti 4200 with AGP8X 0x0281
o GeForce4 Ti 4800 SE 0x0282
o GeForce4 4200 Go 0x0286
o Quadro4 980 XGL 0x0288
o Quadro4 780 XGL 0x0289
o Quadro4 700 GoGL 0x028C
o GeForce FX 5800 Ultra 0x0301
o GeForce FX 5800 0x0302
o GeForce FX 5600 Ultra 0x0311
o GeForce FX 5600 0x0312
o GeForce FX 5200 Ultra 0x0321
o GeForce FX 5200 0x0322
o Quadro FX 2000 0x0308
o Quadro FX 1000 0x0309
o Quadro FX 500 0x032B
Please note that the RIVA 128/128ZX chips are supported by the open
source 'nv' driver for XFree86, but not by the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux
Driver Set.
If you want to check your Device PCI IDs for comparison with the table
above, you can use either `cat /proc/pci` or `lspci -n`; in the later
case, look for the device with vendor id "10de", eg:
02:00.0 Class 0300:10de:0100 (rev 10)
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-b) APPENDIX B: MINIMUM SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
__________________________________________________________________________
o linux kernel 2.2.12 # cat /proc/version
o XFree86 4.0.1 # XFree86 -version
o Kernel modutils 2.1.121 # insmod -V
If you need to build the NVIDIA kernel module:
o binutils 2.9.5 # size --version
o GNU make 3.77 # make --version
o gcc 2.91.66 # gcc --version
If you build from source rpms:
o spec-helper rpm # rpm -qi spec-helper
All official stable kernel releases from 2.2.12 and up are supported;
"prerelease" versions such as "2.4.3-pre2" are not supported, nor are
development series kernels such as 2.3.x or 2.5.x. The linux kernel
can be downloaded from www.kernel.org or one of its mirrors.
binutils and gcc can be retrieved from www.gnu.org or one of its mirrors.
If you are using XFree86, but do not have a file /var/log/XFree86.0.log,
then you probably have a 3.x version of XFree86 and must upgrade.
If you are setting up XFree86 4.x for the first time, it is often easier
to begin with one of the open source drivers that ships with XFree86
(either 'nv', 'vga' or 'vesa'). Once XFree86 is operating properly with
the open source driver, then it is easier to switch to the nvidia driver.
Note that newer NVIDIA GPUs may not work with older versions of the "nv"
driver shipped with XFree86. For example, the "nv" driver that shipped
with XFree86 version 4.0.1 did not recognize the GeForce2 family and
the Quadro2 MXR GPUs. However, this was fixed in XFree86 version 4.0.2
(XFree86 can be retrieved from www.xfree86.org).
These software packages may also be available through your linux
distributor.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-c) APPENDIX C: INSTALLED COMPONENTS
__________________________________________________________________________
The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set consists of the following
components (the file in parenthesis is the full name of the component
after installation; "x.y.z" denotes the current version -- in these
cases appropriate symlinks are created during installation):
o An XFree86 driver (/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o);
this driver is needed by XFree86 to use your NVIDIA hardware.
The nvidia_drv.o driver is binary compatible with XFree86 4.0.1
and greater.
o A GLX extension module for XFree86
(/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so.x.y.z); this module is
used by XFree86 to provide server-side glx support.
o An OpenGL library (/usr/lib/libGL.so.x.y.z); this library
provides the API entry points for all OpenGL and GLX function calls.
It is linked to at run-time by OpenGL applications.
o An OpenGL core library (/usr/lib/libGLcore.so.x.y.z); this
library is implicitly used by libGL and by libglx. It contains the
core accelerated 3D functionality. You should not explicitly load
it in your XF86Config file -- that is taken care of by libglx.
o Two XvMC (X-Video Motion Compensation) libraries: a static library
and a shared library (/usr/X11R6/lib/libXvMCNVIDIA.a,
/usr/X11R6/lib/libXvMCNVIDIA.so.x.y.z); please see (app-p) APPENDIX P:
XVMC SUPPORT for details.
o A kernel module (/lib/modules/`uname -r`/video/nvidia.o
or /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o). This
kernel module provides low-level access to your NVIDIA hardware
for all of the above components. It is generally loaded into the
kernel when the X server is started, and is used by the XFree86
driver and OpenGL. nvidia.o consists of two pieces: the binary-only
core, and a kernel interface that must be compiled specifically
for your kernel version. Note that the linux kernel does not have
a consistent binary interface like XFree86, so it is important that
this kernel interface be matched with the version of the kernel that
you are using. This can either be accomplished by compiling yourself,
or using precompiled binaries provided for the kernels shipped with
some of the more common linux distributions.
o OpenGL and GLX header files
(/usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/include/GL/gl.h, and
/usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/include/GL/glx.h). These files can also
be installed in /usr/include/GL/ by passing the "--opengl-headers"
option to the .run file during installation.
o ELF TLS OpenGL and OpenGL core libraries
(/usr/lib/tls/libGL.so.x.y.z and /usr/lib/tls/libGLcore.so.x.y.z).
Linux systems that utilize glibc 2.3 or greater with tls support
enabled, use a new mechanism for thread local storage (TLS).
This mechanism is incompatible with NVIDIA's previous thread
local storage support; therefore, special ELF TLS libraries are
provided, and installed in /usr/lib/tls/ on systems that support it.
The runtime loader will select between the OpenGL libraries installed
in /usr/lib/, and those installed in /usr/lib/tls/.
It should also be noted that this new TLS mechanism also affects
the GLX extension module (libglx.so.x.y.z). However, because the
XFree86 loader does not know how to select between tls and non-tls
libraries, the correct libglx library is automatically installed
in /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/.
You can determine if your glibc uses the new thread local
storage mechanism by executing the command:
/lib/libc.so.6 | grep "Thread-local storage support included."
The above command will print "Thread-local storage support
included." on systems that support the new thread local storage.
o The application nvidia-installer (/usr/bin/nvidia-installer) is
NVIDIA's tool for installing and updating NVIDIA drivers. Please see
(sec-03) EDITING YOUR XF86CONFIG FILE for a more thorough description.
Problems will arise if applications use the wrong version of a library.
This can be the case if there are either old libGL libraries or stale
symlinks left lying around. If you think there may be something awry
in your installation, check that the following files are in place
(these are all the files of the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set,
plus their symlinks):
/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o
/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so.x.y.z
/usr/X11R6/lib/modules/extensions/libglx.so -> libglx.so.x.y.z
/usr/lib/libGL.so.x.y.z
/usr/lib/libGL.so.x -> libGL.so.x.y.z
/usr/lib/libGL.so -> libGL.so.x
/usr/lib/libGLcore.so.x.y.z
/usr/lib/libGLcore.so.x -> libGLcore.so.x.y.z
/lib/modules/`uname -r`/video/nvidia.o, or
/lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.o
Installation will also create the /dev files:
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 0 Feb 15 17:21 nvidia0
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 1 Feb 15 17:21 nvidia1
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 2 Feb 15 17:21 nvidia2
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 3 Feb 15 17:21 nvidia3
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 195, 255 Feb 15 17:21 nvidiactl
If there are other libraries whose "soname" conflicts with that of
the NVIDIA libraries, ldconfig may create the wrong symlinks. It is
recommended that you manually remove or rename conflicting libraries (be
sure to rename clashing libraries to something that ldconfig won't look at
-- we've found that prepending "XXX" to a library name generally does the
trick), rerun 'ldconfig', and check that the correct symlinks were made.
Some libraries that often create conflicts are "/usr/X11R6/lib/libGL.so*"
and "/usr/X11R6/lib/libGLcore.so*".
If the libraries checks out, then verify that the application is using
the correct libraries. For example, to check that the application
/usr/X11R6/bin/gears is using the NVIDIA libraries, you would do:
$ ldd /usr/X11R6/bin/gears
libglut.so.3 => /usr/lib/libglut.so.3 (0x40014000)
libGLU.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGLU.so.1 (0x40046000)
libGL.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGL.so.1 (0x40062000)
libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x4009f000)
libSM.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libSM.so.6 (0x4018d000)
libICE.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libICE.so.6 (0x40196000)
libXmu.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libXmu.so.6 (0x401ac000)
libXext.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libXext.so.6 (0x401c0000)
libXi.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libXi.so.6 (0x401cd000)
libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x401d6000)
libGLcore.so.1 => /usr/lib/libGLcore.so.1 (0x402ab000)
libm.so.6 => /lib/libm.so.6 (0x4048d000)
libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x404a9000)
/lib/ld-linux.so.2 => /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0x40000000)
libXt.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libXt.so.6 (0x404ac000)
Note the files being used for libGL and libGLcore -- if they are something
other than the NVIDIA libraries, then you will need to either remove the
libraries that are getting in the way, or adjust your ld search path.
If any of this seems foreign to you, then you may want to read the man
pages for "ldconfig" and "ldd" for pointers.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-d) APPENDIX D: XF86CONFIG OPTIONS
__________________________________________________________________________
The following driver options are supported by the NVIDIA XFree86 driver:
Option "NvAGP" "integer"
Configure AGP support. Integer argument can be one of:
0 : disable agp
1 : use NVIDIA's internal AGP support, if possible
2 : use AGPGART, if possible
3 : use any agp support (try AGPGART, then NVIDIA's AGP)
Please note that NVIDIA's internal AGP support cannot
work if AGPGART is either statically compiled into your
kernel or is built as a module, but loaded into your
kernel (some distributions load AGPGART into the kernel
at boot up). Default: 3 (the default was 1 until after
1.0-1251).
Option "NoLogo" "boolean"
Disable drawing of the NVIDIA logo splash screen at
X startup. Default: the logo is drawn.
Option "RenderAccel" "boolean"
Enable or disable hardware acceleration of the RENDER
extension. THIS OPTION IS EXPERIMENTAL. ENABLE IT AT YOUR
OWN RISK. There is no correctness test suite for the
RENDER extension so NVIDIA can not verify that RENDER
acceleration works correctly. Default: hardware
acceleration of the RENDER extension is disabled.
Option "NoRenderExtension" "boolean"
Disable the RENDER extension. Other than recompiling
the X-server, XFree86 doesn't seem to have another way of
disabling this. Fortunatly, we can control this from the
driver so we export this option. This is useful in depth
8 where RENDER would normally steal most of the default
colormap. Default: RENDER is offered when possible.
Option "UBB" "boolean"
Enable or disable Unified Back Buffer on any Quadro
based GPUs (Quadro4 NVS excluded); please see
Appendix M for a description of UBB. This option has
no affect on non-Quadro chipsets. Default: UBB is on
for Quadro chipsets.
Option "WindowFlip" "boolean"
Enable or disable window flipping when UBB is enabled;
please see Appendix M for a description. This has no
affect when UBB is off. This may improve performance
for 3D applications. Default: Window flipping is off
by default even when UBB is enabled.
Option "PageFlip" "boolean"
Enable or disable page flipping; please see Appendix M
for a description. Default: page flipping is enabled.
Option "DigitalVibrance" "integer"
Enables Digital Vibrance Control. The range of valid
values are 0 through 255. This feature is not available
on products older than GeForce2. Default: 0.
Option "Dac8Bit" "boolean"
Most Quadro parts by default use a 10 bit color look
up table (LUT) by default; setting this option to TRUE forces
these graphics chips to use an 8 bit (LUT). Default:
a 10 bit LUT is used, when available.
Option "Overlay" "boolean"
Enables RGB workstation overlay visuals. This is only
supported on Quadro4 and Quadro FX chips (Quadro4 NVS
excluded) in depth 24. This option causes the server to
advertise the SERVER_OVERLAY_VISUALS root window property
and GLX will report single and double buffered, Z-buffered
16 bit overlay visuals. The transparency key is pixel
0x0000 (hex). There is no gamma correction support in
the overlay plane. This feature requires XFree86 version
4.1.0 or newer. NV17/18 based Quadros (ie. 500/550 XGL)
have additional restrictions, namely, overlays are not
supported in TwinView mode or with virtual desktops
larger than 2046x2047 in any dimension (eg. it will not
work in 2048x1536 modes). Quadro 7xx/9xx and Quadro FX
will offer overlay visuals in these modes (TwinView, or
virtual desktops larger than 2046x2047), but the overlay
will be emulated with a substantial performance penalty.
Default: off.
Option "CIOverlay" "boolean"
Enables Color Index workstation overlay visuals with
identical restrictions to Option "Overlay" above.
The server will offer visuals both with and without a
transparency key. These are depth 8 PseudoColor visuals.
Enabling Color Index overlays on X servers older than
XFree86 4.3 will force the RENDER extension to be disabled
due to bugs in the RENDER extension in older X servers.
Default: off.
Option "TransparentIndex" "integer"
When color index overlays are enabled, this option allows
the user to choose which pixel is used for the transparent
pixel in visuals featuring transparent pixels. This value
is clamped between 0 and 255 (Note: some applications
such as Alias/Wavefront's Maya require this to be zero
in order to work correctly). Default: 0.
Option "OverlayDefaultVisual" "boolean"
When overlays are used, this option sets the default
visual to an overlay visual thereby putting the root
window in the overlay. This option is not recommended
for RGB overlays. Default: off.
Option "SWCursor" "boolean"
Enable or disable software rendering of the X cursor.
Default: off.
Option "HWCursor" "boolean"
Enable or disable hardware rendering of the X cursor.
Default: on.
Option "CursorShadow" "boolean" Enable or disable use of a
shadow with the hardware accelerated cursor; this is a
black translucent replica of your cursor shape at a
given offset from the real cursor. This option is
only available on GeForce2 or better hardware (ie
everything but TNT/TNT2, GeForce 256, GeForce DDR and
Quadro). Default: no cursor shadow.
Option "CursorShadowAlpha" "integer"
The alpha value to use for the cursor shadow; only
applicable if CursorShadow is enabled. This value must
be in the range [0, 255] -- 0 is completely transparent;
255 is completely opaque. Default: 64.
Option "CursorShadowXOffset" "integer"
The offset, in pixels, that the shadow image will be
shifted to the right from the real cursor image; only
applicable if CursorShadow is enabled. This value must
be in the range [0, 32]. Default: 4.
Option "CursorShadowYOffset" "integer"
The offset, in pixels, that the shadow image will be
shifted down from the real cursor image; only applicable
if CursorShadow is enabled. This value must be in the
range [0, 32]. Default: 2.
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "string"
Allows you to override what the NVIDIA kernel module
detects is connected to your video card. This may
be useful, for example, if you use a KVM (keyboard,
video, mouse) switch and you are switched away when
X is started. In such a situation, the NVIDIA kernel
module can't detect what display devices are connected,
and the NVIDIA X driver assumes you have a single CRT.
Valid values for this option are "CRT" (cathode ray
tube), "DFP" (digital flat panel), or "TV" (television);
if using TwinView, this option may be a comma-separated
list of display devices; e.g.: "CRT, CRT" or "CRT, DFP".
NOTE: anything attached to a 15 pin VGA connector is
regarded by the driver as a CRT. "DFP" should only be
used to refer to flatpanels connected via a DVI port.
Default: string is NULL.
Option "UseEdidFreqs" "boolean"
This option causes the X server to use the HorizSync
and VertRefresh ranges given in a display device's EDID,
if any. EDID provided range information will override
the HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges specified in the
Monitor section. If a display device does not provide an
EDID, or the EDID doesn't specify an hsync or vrefresh
range, then the X server will default to the HorizSync
and VertRefresh ranges specified in the Monitor section.
Option "IgnoreEDID" "boolean"
Disable probing of EDID (Extended Display Identification
Data) from your monitor. Requested modes are compared
against values gotten from your monitor EDIDs (if any)
during mode validation. Some monitors are known to lie
about their own capabilities. Ignoring the values that
the monitor gives may help get a certain mode validated.
On the other hand, this may be dangerous if you don't
know what you are doing. Default: Use EDIDs.
Option "NoDDC" "boolean"
Synonym for "IgnoreEDID"
Option "FlatPanelProperties" "string"
Requests particular properties of any connected flat
panels as a comma-separated list of property=value pairs.
Currently, the only two available properties are 'Scaling'
and 'Dithering'. The possible values for 'Scaling' are:
'default' (the driver will use whatever scaling state
is current), 'native' (the driver will use the flat
panel's scaler, if it has one), 'scaled' (the driver
will use the NVIDIA scaler, if possible), 'centered'
(the driver will center the image, if possible),
and 'aspect-scaled' (the driver will scale with the
NVIDIA scaler, but keep the aspect ratio correct).
The possible values for 'Dithering' are: 'default'
(the driver will decide when to dither), 'enabled' (the
driver will always dither when possible), and 'disabled'
(the driver will never dither). If any property is not
specified, it's value shall be 'default'. An example
properties string might look like:
"Scaling = centered, Dithering = enabled"
Option "UseInt10Module" "boolean"
Enable use of the XFree86 Int10 module to soft-boot all
secondary cards, rather than POSTing the cards through
the NVIDIA kernel module. Default: off (POSTing is
done through the NVIDIA kernel module).
Option "TwinView" "boolean"
Enable or disable TwinView. Please see APPENDIX I for
details. Default: TwinView is disabled.
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "string"
Controls the relationship between the two display devices
when using TwinView. Takes one of the following values:
"RightOf" "LeftOf" "Above" "Below" "Clone". Please see
APPENDIX I for details. Default: string is NULL.
Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "range(s)"
This option is like the HorizSync entry in the Monitor
section, but is for the second monitor when using
TwinView. Please see APPENDIX I for details. Default:
none.
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "range(s)"
This option is like the VertRefresh entry in the Monitor
section, but is for the second monitor when using
TwinView. Please see APPENDIX I for details. Default:
none.
Option "MetaModes" "string"
This option describes the combination of modes to use
on each monitor when using TwinView. Please see APPENDIX
I for details. Default: string is NULL.
Option "NoTwinViewXineramaInfo" "boolean"
When in TwinView, the NVIDIA X driver normally provides a
Xinerama extension that allows X clients (such as window
managers) to call XineramaQueryScreens() to discover
the current TwinView configuration. This confuses some
window mangers, so this option is provided to disable
this behavior. Default: TwinView Xinerama information
is provided.
Option "UseClipIDs" "boolean"
This allows usage of hardware clip id buffers to improve
rendering performance to drawables that are clipped in a
complex way. This is only supported on Quadro4 and Quadro FX
chips when UBB is enabled. Enabling this sets aside a small
amount of video ram for the clip id surfaces, typically less
than two megabytes. Default: Clip id surfaces are not used.
Option "TVStandard" "string"
Please see (app-j) APPENDIX J: CONFIGURING TV-OUT.
Option "TVOutFormat" "string"
Please see (app-j) APPENDIX J: CONFIGURING TV-OUT.
Option "TVOverScan" "Decimal value in the range 0.0 to 1.0"
Valid values are in the range 0.0 through 1.0; please see
(app-j) APPENDIX J: CONFIGURING TV-OUT.
Option "Stereo" "integer"
Enable offering of quad-buffered stereo visuals on Quadro.
Integer indicates the type of stereo glasses being used:
1 - DDC glasses. The sync signal is sent to the glasses
via the DDC signal to the monitor. These usually
involve a passthrough cable between the monitor and
video card.
2 - "Blueline" glasses. These usually involve
a passthrough cable between the monitor and video
card. The glasses know which eye to display based
on the length of a blue line visible at the bottom
of the screen. When in this mode, the root window
dimensions are one pixel shorter in the Y dimension
than requested. This mode does not work with virtual
root window sizes larger than the visible root window
size (desktop panning).
3 - Onboard stereo support. This is usually only found
on professional cards. The glasses connect via a
DIN connector on the back of the video card.
4 - TwinView clone mode stereo (aka "passive" stereo).
On video cards that support TwinView, the left eye
is displayed on the first display, and the right
eye is displayed on the second display. This is
normally used in conjuction with special projectors
to produce 2 polarized images which are then viewed
with polarized glasses. To use this stereo mode,
you must also configure TwinView in clone mode with
the same resolution, panning offset, and panning
domains on each display.
Stereo is only available on Quadro cards. Stereo
options 1, 2, and 3 (aka "active" stereo) may be used
with TwinView if all modes within each metamode have
identical timing values. Please see (app-l) APPENDIX
L: PROGRAMMING MODES for suggestions on making sure the
modes within your metamodes are identical. The identical
modeline requirement is not necessary for Stereo option 4
("passive" stereo). Currently, stereo operation may
be "quirky" on the original Quadro (NV10) chip and
left-right flipping may be erratic. We are trying
to resolve this issue for a future release. Default:
Stereo is not enabled.
Option "NoBandWidthTest" "boolean"
As part of mode validation, the X driver tests if a
given mode fits within the hardware's memory bandwidth
constraints. This option disables this test. Default:
the memory bandwidth test is performed.
Option "IgnoreDisplayDevices" "string"
This option tells the NVIDIA kernel module to completely
ignore the indicated classes of display devices when
checking what display devices are connected. You may
specify a comma-separated list containing any of "CRT",
"DFP", and "TV".
For example:
Option "IgnoreDisplayDevices" "DFP, TV"
will cause the NVIDIA driver to not attempt to detect
if any flatpanels or TVs are connected.
This option is not normally necessary; however, some video
BIOSes contain incorrect information about what display
devices may be connected, or what i2c port should be
used for detection. These errors can cause long delays
in starting X. If you are experiencing such delays, you
may be able to avoid this by telling the NVIDIA driver to
ignore display devices which you know are not connected.
NOTE: anything attached to a 15 pin VGA connector is
regarded by the driver as a CRT. "DFP" should only be
used to refer to flatpanels connected via a DVI port.
Option "MultisampleCompatibility" "boolean"
Enable or disable the use of separate front and back
multisample buffers. This will consume more memory
but is necessary for correct output when rendering to
both the front and back buffers of a multisample or
FSAA drawable. This option is necessary for correct
operation of SoftImage XSI. Default: a singlemultisample
buffer is shared between the front and back buffers.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-e) APPENDIX E: OPENGL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE SETTINGS
__________________________________________________________________________
FULL SCENE ANTI-ALIASING
Anti-aliasing is a technique used to smooth the edges of objects in a
scene to reduce the jagged "stairstep" effect that sometimes appears.
Full scene anti-aliasing is supported on GeForce or newer hardware.
By setting the appropriate environment variable, you can enable full
scene anti-aliasing in any OpenGL application on these GPUs.
Several anti-aliasing methods are available and you can select between
them by setting the __GL_FSAA_MODE environment variable appropriately.
Note that increasing the number of samples taken during FSAA rendering
may decrease performance.
The following tables describe the possible values for __GL_FSAA_MODE
and their effect on various NVIDIA GPUs.
__GL_FSAA_MODE GeForce, GeForce2, Quadro, and Quadro2 Pro
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 FSAA disabled
1 FSAA disabled
2 FSAA disabled
3 1.5 x 1.5 Supersampling
4 2 x 2 Supersampling
5 FSAA disabled
__GL_FSAA_MODE GeForce4 MX, GeForce4 4xx Go, Quadro4 380,550,580 XGL,
and Quadro4 NVS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 FSAA disabled
1 2x Bilinear Multisampling
2 2x Quincunx Multisampling
3 FSAA disabled
4 2 x 2 Supersampling
5 FSAA disabled
__GL_FSAA_MODE GeForce3, Quadro DCC, GeForce4 Ti, GeForce4 4200 Go,
and Quadro4 700,750,780,900,980 XGL
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 FSAA disabled
1 2x Bilinear Multisampling
2 2x Quincunx Multisampling
3 FSAA disabled
4 4x Bilinear Multisampling
5 4x Gaussian Multisampling
__GL_FSAA_MODE GeForce FX, Quadro FX
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 FSAA disabled
1 2x Bilinear Multisampling
2 2x Quincunx Multisampling
3 FSAA disabled
4 4x Bilinear Multisampling
5 4x Gaussian Multisampling
NOTE: 2x Bilinear Multisampling by 4x Supersampling and 4x Bilinear
Multisampling by 4x Supersampling are not available when using UBB.
ANISOTROPIC TEXTURE FILTERING
Automatic anisotropic texture filtering can be enabled by setting
the environment variable __GL_DEFAULT_LOG_ANISO, The useful values
are:
__GL_DEFAULT_LOG_ANISO GeForce/GeForce2/GeForce4 MX Description
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 No anisotropic filtering
1 Enable automatic anisotropic filtering
__GL_DEFAULT_LOG_ANISO GeForce3/GeForce4 Ti/GeForce FX Description
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 No anisotropic filtering
1 Low anisotropic filtering
2 Medium anisotropic filtering
3 Maximum anisotropic filtering
VBLANK SYNCING
Setting the environment variable __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK to a non-zero value
will force glXSwapBuffers to sync to your monitor's vertical refresh rate
(perform a swap only during the vertical blanking period) on GeForce or
newer hardware (ie: everything but TNT/TNT2 products).
When using __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK with TwinView, OpenGL can only sync to one
of the display devices; this may cause tearing corruption on the display
device to which OpenGL is not syncing. You can use the environment
variable __GL_SYNC_DISPLAY_DEVICE to specify to which display device
OpenGL should sync. You should set this environment variable to the
name of a display device; for example "CRT-1". Please look for the line
"Connected display device(s):" in your XFree86.0.log file for a list of
the display devices present and their names.
DISABLING CPU SPECIFIC FEATURES
Setting the environment variable __GL_FORCE_GENERIC_CPU to a non-zero
value will inhibit the use of CPU specific features such as MMX, SSE,
or 3DNOW!. Use of this option may result in performance loss. This
option may be useful in conjunction with software such as the Valgrind
memory debugger.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-f) APPENDIX F: CONFIGURING AGP
__________________________________________________________________________
There are several choices for configuring the NVIDIA kernel module's
use of AGP: you can choose to either use NVIDIA's AGP module (NVAGP),
or the AGP module that comes with the linux kernel (AGPGART). This is
controlled through the "NvAGP" option in your XF86Config file:
Option "NvAgp" "0" ... disables AGP support
Option "NvAgp" "1" ... use NVAGP, if possible
Option "NvAgp" "2" ... use AGPGART, if possible
Option "NvAGP" "3" ... try AGPGART; if that fails, try NVAGP
The default is 3 (the default was 1 until after 1.0-1251).
You should use the AGP module that works best with your AGP chip set.
If you are experiencing problems with stability, you may want to start
by disabling AGP and observing if that solves the problems. Then you
can experiment with either of the other AGP modules.
You can query the current AGP status at any time via the /proc filesystem
interface (see APPENDIX O: PROC INTERFACE).
To use the Linux AGPGART module, it will need to be compiled with
your kernel, either statically linked in, or built as a module.
NVIDIA AGP support cannot be used if AGPGART is loaded in the kernel.
It's recommended that you compile AGPGART as a module and make sure that
it is not loaded when trying to use NVIDIA AGP.
Please also note that changing AGP drivers generally requires a reboot
before the changes actually take effect.
The following AGP chipsets are supported by NVIDIA's AGP; for all other
chipsets it's recommended that you use the AGPGART module.
o Intel 440LX
o Intel 440BX
o Intel 440GX
o Intel 815 ("Solano")
o Intel 820 ("Camino")
o Intel 830
o Intel 840 ("Carmel")
o Intel 845 ("Brookdale")
o Intel 845G
o Intel 850 ("Tehama")
o Intel 860 ("Colusa")
o AMD 751 ("Irongate")
o AMD 761 ("IGD4")
o AMD 762 ("IGD4 MP")
o VIA 8371
o VIA 82C694X
o VIA KT133
o VIA KT266
o RCC 6585HE
o Micron SAMDDR ("Samurai")
o Micron SCIDDR ("Scimitar")
o nForce AGP
o nForce 2 AGP
o ALi 1621
o ALi 1631
o ALi 1647
o ALi 1651
o ALi 1671
o SiS 630
o SiS 633
o SiS 635
o SiS 645
o SiS 730
o SiS 733
o SiS 735
o SiS 745
If you are experiencing AGP stability problems, you should be aware of
the following:
o Support for the processor's Page Size Extension on Athlon Processors
Some linux kernels have a conflicting cache attribute bug that is
exposed by advanced speculative caching in newer AMD Athlon family
processors (AMD Athlon XP, AMD Athlong 4, AMD Athlon MP, and Models 6
and above AMD Duron). This kernel bug usually shows up under heavy use
of accelerated 3D graphics with an AGP graphics card.
Linux distributions based on kernel 2.4.19 and later *should*
incorporate the bug fix. But, older kernels require help from the user
in ensuring that a small portion of advanced speculative caching is
disabled (normally done through a kernel patch) and a boot option is
specified in order to apply the whole fix.
Nvidia's driver automatically disables the small portion of advanced
speculative caching for the affected AMD processors without the need
to patch the kernel; it can be used even on kernels which do already
incorporate the kernel bug fix. Additionally, for older kernels the
user performs the boot option portion of the fix by explicitly disabling
4MB pages. This can be done from the boot command line by specifying:
mem=nopentium
Or by adding the following line to etc/lilo.conf:
append = "mem=nopentium"
o AGP drive strength BIOS setting (Via based mainboards)
Many Via based mainboards allow adjusting the AGP drive strength in
the system BIOS. The setting of this option largely affects system
stability, the range between 0xEA and 0xEE seems to work best for
NVIDIA hardware. Setting either nibble to 0xF generally restults in
severe stability problems.
If you decide to experiment with this, you need to be aware of
the fact that you are doing so at your own risk and that you may
render your system unbootable with improper settings until you
reset the setting to a working value (w/ a PCI graphics card or
by resetting the BIOS to its default values).
o System BIOS version
Make sure to have the latest system BIOS provided by the board
manufacturer.
o AGP Rate
You may want to decrease the AGP rate setting if you are seeing
lockups with the value you are currently using. You can do so by
extracting the .run file:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1.run --extract-only
cd NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-4496-pkg1/usr/src/nv/
Then edit os-registry.c, and make the following changes:
- static int NVreg_ReqAGPRate = 7;
+ static int NVreg_ReqAGPRate = 4; /* force AGP Rate to 4x */
or
+ static int NVreg_ReqAGPRate = 2; /* force AGP Rate to 2x */
or
+ static int NVreg_ReqAGPRate = 1; /* force AGP Rate to 1x */
and then remove the two leading underscores:
- { "__ReqAGPRate", &NVreg_ReqAGPRate },
+ { "ReqAGPRate", &NVreg_ReqAGPRate },
Then recompile and load the new kernel module.
On Athlon motherboards with the VIA KX133 or 694X chip set, such as the
ASUS K7V motherboard, NVIDIA drivers default to AGP 2x mode to work around
insufficient drive strength on one of the signals. You can force AGP 4x
by setting NVreg_EnableVia4x to 1. Note that this may cause the system
to become unstable.
On ALi1541 and ALi1647 chipsets, NVIDIA drivers disable AGP to work
around timing issues and signal integrity issues. You can force AGP
to be enabled on these chipsets by setting NVreg_EnableALiAGP to 1.
Note that this may cause the system to become unstable.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-g) APPENDIX G: ALI SPECIFIC ISSUES
__________________________________________________________________________
The following tips may help stabilize problematic ALI systems:
o Disable TURBO AGP MODE in the BIOS.
o When using a P5A upgrade to BIOS Revision 1002 BETA 2.
o When using 1007, 1007A or 1009 adjust the IO Recovery Time to
4 cycles.
o AGP is disabled by default on some ALi chipsets (ALi1541, ALi1647)
to work around severe system stability problems with these chipsets.
See the comments for NVreg_EnableALiAGP in os-registry.c to force
AGP on anyway.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-h) APPENDIX H: TNT SPECIFIC ISSUES
__________________________________________________________________________
Most issues pertaining to SGRAM/SDRAM TNT cards should be resolved.
There is the rare chance, however, that your video card has the wrong
BIOS installed, and that this driver will continue to fail for you.
If this driver fails for you, do the following:
o watch your monitor as the system boots. The very first, brief screen
will identify the type of video memory your card has. This will be
either SGRAM or SDRAM.
o edit the file "os-registry.c" from the kernel module sources. Look
for the variable "NVreg_VideoMemoryTypeOverride". Set the value of
the variable to the type of memory you have (numerically, see the
line just above it).
o since we don't normally use this variable, change the "#if 0" that is
about 10 lines above the variable to "#if 1".
o rebuild and reinstall the new driver ("make")
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-i) APPENDIX I: CONFIGURING TWINVIEW
__________________________________________________________________________
The TwinView feature is only supported on NVIDIA GPUs that support
dual-display functionality, such as the GeForce2 MX, GeForce2 Go,
Quadro2 MXR, Quadro2 Go, and any of the GeForce4 or Quadro4 GPUs.
Please consult with your video card vendor to confirm that TwinView is
supported on your card.
TwinView is a mode of operation where two display devices (digital
flat panels, CRTs, and TVs) can display the contents of a single X screen
in any arbitrary configuration. This method of multiple monitor use
has several distinct advantages over other techniques (such as Xinerama):
o A single X screen is used. The NVIDIA driver conceals all
information about multiple display devices from the X server; as
far as X is concerned, there is only one screen.
o Both display devices share one frame buffer. Thus, all the
the functionality present on a single display (e.g. accelerated
OpenGL) is available on TwinView.
o No additional overhead is needed to emulate having a single
desktop.
If you are interested in using each display device as a separate
X screen, please see (app-r) APPENDIX R: CONFIGURING MULTIPLE X
SCREENS ON ONE CARD.
XF86CONFIG TWINVIEW OPTIONS
To enable TwinView, you must specify the following options in the Device
section of your XF86Config file:
Option "TwinView"
Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "<hsync range(s)>"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "<vrefresh range(s)>"
Option "MetaModes" "<list of metamodes>"
You may also use any of the following options, though they are not
required:
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "<relationship of head 1 to head 0>"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "<list of connected display devices>"
Please see the detailed descriptions of each option below:
o TwinView
This option is required to enable TwinView; without it, all
other TwinView related options are ignored.
o SecondMonitorHorizSync, SecondMonitorVertRefresh
You specify the constraints of the second monitor through these
options. The values given should follow the same convention as
the "HorizSync" and "VertRefresh" entries in the Monitor section.
As the XF86Config man page explains it: the ranges may be a
comma separated list of distinct values and/or ranges of values,
where a range is given by two distinct values separated by
a dash. The HorizSync is given in kHz, and the VertRefresh
is given in Hz. You may, if you trust your display devices'
EDIDs, use the "UseEdidFreqs" option instead of these options
(see APPENDIX D for a description of the "UseEdidFreqs" option).
o MetaModes
A single MetaMode describes what mode should be used on each
display device at a given time. Multiple MetaModes list the
combinations of modes and the sequence in which they should be
used. When the NVIDIA driver tells X what modes are available,
it is really the minimal bounding box of the MetaMode that is
communicated to X, while the "per display device" mode is kept
internal to the NVIDIA driver. In MetaMode syntax, modes within
a MetaMode are comma separated, and multiple MetaModes are
separated by semicolons. For example:
"<mode name 0>, <mode name 1>; <mode name 2>, <mode name 3>"
Where <mode name 0> is the name of the mode to be used on display
device 0 concurrently with <mode name 1> used on display device 1.
A mode switch will then cause <mode name 2> to be used on display
device 0 and <mode name 3> to be used on display device 1. Here
is a real MetaMode entry from the XF86Config sample config file:
Option "MetaModes" "1280x1024,1280x1024; 1024x768,1024x768"
If you want a display device to not be active for a certain
MetaMode, you can use the mode name "NULL", or simply omit the
mode name entirely:
"1600x1200, NULL; NULL, 1024x768"
or
"1600x1200; , 1024x768"
Optionally, mode names can be followed by offset information
to control the positioning of the display devices within the
virtual screen space; e.g.:
"1600x1200 +0+0, 1024x768 +1600+0; ..."
Offset descriptions follow the conventions used in the X
"-geometry" command line option; i.e. both positive and negative
offsets are valid, though negative offsets are only allowed when
a virtual screen size is explicitly given in the XF86Config file.
When no offsets are given for a MetaMode, the offsets will be
computed following the value of the TwinViewOrientation option
(see below). Note that if offsets are given for any one of the
modes in a single MetaMode, then offsets will be expected for
all modes within that single MetaMode; in such a case offsets
will be assumed to be +0+0 when not given.
When not explicitly given, the virtual screen size will be
computed as the the bounding box of all MetaMode bounding boxes.
MetaModes with a bounding box larger than an explicitly given
virtual screen size will be discarded.
A MetaMode string can be further modified with a "Panning Domain"
specification; eg:
"1024x768 @1600x1200, 800x600 @1600x1200"
A panning domain is the area in which a display device's viewport
will be panned to follow the mouse. Panning actually happens on
two levels with TwinView: first, an individual display device's
viewport will be panned within its panning domain, as long as
the viewport is contained by the bounding box of the MetaMode.
Once the mouse leaves the bounding box of the MetaMode, the entire
MetaMode (ie all display devices) will be panned to follow the
mouse within the virtual screen. Note that individual display
devices' panning domains default to being clamped to the position
of the display devices' viewports, thus the default behavior is
just that viewports remain "locked" together and only perform
the second type of panning.
The most beneficial use of panning domains is probably to
eliminate dead areas -- regions of the virtual screen that are
inaccessible due to display devices with different resolutions.
For example:
"1600x1200, 1024x768"
produces an inaccessible region below the 1024x768
display. Specifying a panning domain for the second display
device:
"1600x1200, 1024x768 @1024x1200"
provides access to that dead area by allowing you to pan the
1024x768 viewport up and down in the 1024x1200 panning domain.
Offsets can be used in conjunction with panning domains to
position the panning domains in the virtual screen space (note
that the offset describes the panning domain, and only affects
the viewport in that the viewport must be contained within the
panning domain). For example, the following describes two modes,
each with a panning domain width of 1900 pixels, and the second
display is positioned below the first:
"1600x1200 @1900x1200 +0+0, 1024x768 @1900x768 +0+1200"
If no MetaMode string is specified, then the X driver uses the
modes listed in the relevant "Display" subsection, attempting
to place matching modes on each display device.
o TwinViewOrientation
This option controls the positioning of the second display
device relative to the first within the virtual X screen, when
offsets are not explicitly given in the MetaModes. The possible
values are:
"RightOf" (the default)
"LeftOf"
"Above"
"Below"
"Clone"
When "Clone" is specified, both display devices will be assigned
an offset of 0,0.
o ConnectedMonitor
This option allows you to override what the NVIDIA kernel
module detects is connected to your video card. This may be
useful, for example, if any of your display devices do not
support detection using Display Data Channel (DDC) protocols.
Valid values for this option are "CRT" (cathode ray tube), "DFP"
(digital flat panel), or "TV" (television); when using TwinView,
this option may be a comma-separated list of display devices;
e.g.: "CRT, CRT" or "CRT, DFP".
Just as in all XF86Config entries, spaces are ignored and all entries
are case insensitive.
FREQUENTLY ASKED TWINVIEW QUESTIONS:
Q: Nothing gets displayed on my second monitor; what's wrong?
A: Monitors that do not support monitor detection using Display Data
Channel (DDC) protocols (this includes most older monitors) aren't
detectable by your NVIDIA card. You need to explicitly tell the NVIDIA
XFree86 driver what you have connected using the "ConnectedMonitor"
option; e.g.:
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "CRT, CRT"
Q: Will window managers be able to appropriately place windows
(e.g. avoiding placing windows across both display devices, or in
inaccessible regions of the virtual desktop)?
A: Yes. The NVIDIA X driver provides a Xinerama extension that allows
X clients (such as window managers) to call XineramaQueryScreens() to
discover the current TwinView configuration. Note that the Xinerama
protocol provides no way to inform clients of when a configuration
change occurs. So, if you modeswitch to a different MetaMode, your
window manager will still think you have the previous configuration.
Using the Xinerama extension, in conjunction with the XF86VidMode
extension to get modeswitch events, window managers should be
able to determine the TwinView configuration at any given time.
Unfortunately, the data provided by XineramaQueryScreens() appears to
confuse some window managers; to workaround such broken window mangers,
you can disable communication of the TwinView screen layout with the
"NoTwinViewXineramaInfo" XF86Config Option (please see Appendix D
for details).
Be aware that the NVIDIA driver cannot provide the Xinerama
extension if XFree86's own Xinerama extension is being used.
Explicitly specifying Xinerama in the XF86Config file or on the XFree86
commandline will prohibit NVIDIA's Xinerama extension from installing,
so make sure that XFree86's /var/log/XFree86.0.log is not reporting:
(++) Xinerama: enabled
if you wish the NVIDIA driver to be able to provide the Xinerama
extension while in TwinView.
Another solution is to use panning domains to eliminate inaccessible
regions of the virtual screen (see the MetaMode description above).
A third solution is to use two separate X screens, rather than use
TwinView. Please see (app-r) APPENDIX R: CONFIGURING MULTIPLE X
SCREENS ON ONE CARD.
Q: Why can I not get a resolution of 1600x1200 on the second display
device when using a GeForce2 MX?
A: Because the second display device on the GeForce2 MX was designed to
be a digital flat panel, the Pixel Clock for the second display device
is only 150 MHz. This effectively limits the resolution on the second
display device to somewhere around 1280x1024 (for a description of
how Pixel Clock frequencies limit the programmable modes, see the
XFree86 Video Timings HOWTO). This constraint is not present on
GeForce4 or GeForce FX chips -- the maximum pixel clock is the same i
on both heads.
Q: Do video overlays work across both display devices?
A: Hardware video overlays only work on the first display device.
The current solution is that blitted video is used instead on TwinView.
Q: How are virtual screen dimensions determined in TwinView?
A: After all requested modes have been validated, and the offsets
for each MetaMode's viewports have been computed, the NVIDIA driver
computes the bounding box of the panning domains for each MetaMode.
The maximum bounding box width and height is then found.
Note that one side effect of this is that the virtual width and
virtual height may come from different MetaModes. Given the following
MetaMode string:
"1600x1200,NULL; 1024x768+0+0, 1024x768+0+768"
the resulting virtual screen size will be 1600 x 1536.
Q: Can I play full screen games across both display devices?
A: Yes. While the details of configuration will vary from game to game,
the basic idea is that a MetaMode presents X with a mode whose
resolution is the bounding box of the viewports for that MetaMode.
For example, the following:
Option "MetaModes" "1024x768,1024x768; 800x600,800x600"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf"
produce two modes: one whose resolution is 2048x768, and another whose
resolution is 1600x600. Games such as Quake 3 Arena use the VidMode
extension to discover the resolutions of the modes currently available.
To configure Quake 3 Arena to use the above MetaMode string, add the
following to your q3config.cfg file:
seta r_customaspect "1"
seta r_customheight "600"
seta r_customwidth "1600"
seta r_fullscreen "1"
seta r_mode "-1"
Note that, given the above configuration, there is no mode with a
resolution of 800x600 (remember that the MetaMode "800x600, 800x600"
has a resolution of 1600x600"), so if you change Quake 3 Arena to use
a resolution of 800x600, it will display in the lower left corner of
your screen, with the rest of the screen grayed out. To have single
head modes available as well, an appropriate MetaMode string might
be something like:
"800x600,800x600; 1024x768,NULL; 800x600,NULL; 640x480,NULL"
More precise configuration information for specific games is beyond the
scope of this document, but the above examples coupled with numerous
online sources should be enough to point you in the right direction.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-j) APPENDIX J: CONFIGURING TV-OUT
__________________________________________________________________________
NVIDIA GPU-based video cards with a TV-Out (S-Video) connector can be
employed to use a television as another display device, just like a CRT
or digital flat panel. The TV can be used by itself, or (on appropriate
video cards) in conjunction with another display device in a TwinView
configuration.
If a TV is the only display device connected to your video card, it will
be used as the primary display when you boot your system (ie the console
will come up on the TV just as if it were a CRT). To use your TV with X,
there are a few parameters that you should pay special attention to in
your XF86Config file:
o The VertRefresh and HorizSync values in your monitor section;
please make sure these are appropriate for your television.
Values are generally:
HorizSync 30-50
VertRefresh 60
o The Modes in your screen section; the valid modes for your TV encoder
will be reported in a verbose XFree86.0.log file (generated with
`startx -- -logverbose 5`) when X is run on a TV. Some modes may
be limited to certain TV Standards; if that is the case, it will
be noted in the XFree86.0.log file. Generally, atleast 800x600 and
640x480 are supported.
o The "TVStandard" option should be added to your screen section; valid
values are:
"PAL-B" : used in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Guinea,
Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, The
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain,
Sweden, and Switzerland
"PAL-D" : used in China and North Korea
"PAL-G" : used in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia,
The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
and Switzerland
"PAL-H" : used in Belgium
"PAL-I" : used in Hong Kong and The United Kingdom
"PAL-K1" : used in Guinea
"PAL-M" : used in Brazil
"PAL-N" : used in France, Paraguay, and Uruguay
"PAL-NC" : used in Argentina
"NTSC-J" : used in Japan
"NTSC-M" : used in Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, South
Korea, Taiwan, United States of America, and Venezuela
The line in your XF86Config file should be something like:
Option "TVStandard" "NTSC-M"
If you don't specify a TVStandard, or you specify an invalid value,
the default "NTSC-M" will be used. Note: if your country is not in
the above list, select the country closest to your location.
o The "ConnectedMonitor" option can be used to tell X to use the TV for
display. This should only be needed if your TV is not detected by
the video card, or you use a CRT (or digital flat panel) as your
boot display, but want to redirect X to use the TV. The line in
your config file should be:
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "TV"
o The "TVOutFormat" option can be used to force SVIDEO or COMPOSITE
output. Without this option the driver autodetects the output format.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always do this correctly. The output format
can be forced with the options:
Option "TVOutFormat" "SVIDEO"
or
Option "TVOutFormat" "COMPOSITE"
o The "TVOverScan" option can be used to enable Overscan where
supported. Valid values are decimal values in the range 1.0 (which
means overscan as much as possible: make the image as large as
possible) and 0.0 (which means disable overscanning: make the image
as small as possible). Overscanning is disabled (0.0) by default.
Overscan is currently only available on GeForce4 or newer GPUs
with either NVIDIA or Conexant TV encoders.
The NVIDIA XFree86 driver may not restore the console correctly with
XFree86 versions older than 4.3 when the console is a TV. This is due
to binary incompatibilities between XFree86 int10 modules. If you use
a TV as your console it is recommended that you upgrade to XFree86 4.3.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-k) APPENDIX K: CONFIGURING A LAPTOP
__________________________________________________________________________
INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION
Installation and configuration of the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver
Set on a laptop is the same as for any desktop environment, with a few
minor exceptions, listed below.
Starting in the 1.0-2802 release, information about the internal flatpanel
for use in initializing the display is by default generated on the fly
from data stored in the video BIOS. This can be disabled by setting
the "SoftEDIDs" kernel option to 0. If "SoftEDIDs" is turned off, then
hardcoded data will be chosen from a table, based on the value of the
"Mobile" kernel option.
The "Mobile" kernel option can be set to any of the following values:
0xFFFFFFFF : let the kernel module auto detect the correct value
1 : Dell laptops
2 : non-Compal Toshiba laptops
3 : all other laptops
4 : Compal Toshiba laptops
5 : Gateway laptops
Again, the "Mobile" kernel option is only needed if SoftEDIDs is
disabled; when it is used, it's usually safest to let the kernel
module auto detect the correct value (this is the default behavior).
Should you need to alter either of these options, this can be done by
doing any of the following:
o editing os-registry.c in the usr/src/nv/ directory of the
.run file.
o setting the value on the modprobe command line (eg: `modprobe
nvidia NVreg_SoftEDIDs=0 NVreg_Mobile=3`)
o adding an "options" line to your module configuration file,
usually /etc/modules.conf (eg: "options nvidia
NVreg_Mobile=5")
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITY
TWINVIEW
All mobile NVIDIA chips support TwinView. TwinView on a laptop can
be configured in the same way as on a desktop machine (please refer
to APPENDIX I above); note that in a TwinView configuration using
the laptop's internal flat panel and an external CRT, the CRT is the
primary display device (specify it's HorizSync and VertRefresh in
the Monitor section of your XF86Config file) and the flat panel is
the secondary display device (specify it's HorizSync and VertRefresh
through the SecondMonitorHorizSync and SecondMonitorVertRefresh options).
You can also employ the UseEdidFreqs option to acquire the HorizSync and
VertRefresh from the EDID of each display devices, and not worry about
setting them in your XF86Config file (this should only be done if you
trust your display device's reported EDIDs -- please see the description
of the UseEdidFreqs option in APPENDIX D for details).
HOTKEY SWITCHING OF DISPLAY DEVICES
Besides TwinView, mobile NVIDIA chips also have the capacity to react to
an LCD/CRT hotkey event, toggling between each of the connected display
devices and each possible combination of the connected display devices
(note that only 2 display devices may be active at a time). TwinView as
configured in your XF86Config file and hotkey functionality are mutually
exclusive -- if you enable TwinView in your XF86Config file, then the
NVIDIA X driver will ignore LCD/CRT hotkey events.
Another important aspect of hotkey functionality is that you can
dynamically connect and remove display devices to/from your laptop and
hotkey to them without restarting X.
A concern with all of this is how to validate and determine what modes
should be programmed on each display device. First, it is immensely
helpful to use the UseEdidFreqs so that the hsync and vrefresh for
each display device can be retrieved from the display devices' EDID --
otherwise, the semantics of what the contents of the monitor section
mean constantly changes with each hotkey event.
When X is started, or when a change is detected in the list of connected
display devices, a new hotkey sequence list is constructed -- this lists
what display devices will be used with each hotkey event. When a hotkey
event occurs, then the next hotkey state in the sequence is chosen.
Each mode requested in the XF86Config file is validated against each
display device's constraints, and the resulting modes are made available
for that display device. If multiple display devices are to be active
at once, then the modes from each display device are paired together;
if an exact match (same resolution) can't be found, then the closest fit
is found, and the display device with the smaller resolution is panned
within the resolution of the other display device.
When vt-switching away from X, the vga console will always be restored on
the display device on which it was present when X was started. Similarly,
when vt-switching back into X, the same display device configuration
will be used as when you vt-switched away from X, regardless of what
LCD/CRT hotkey activity occurred while vt-switched away.
NON-STANDARD MODES ON LCD DISPLAYS
Some users have had difficulty programming a 1400x1050 mode (the native
resolution of some laptop LCDs). In version 4.0.3, XFree86 added several
1400x1050 modes to its database of default modes, but if you're using
an older version of XFree86, here is a modeline that you can use:
# -- 1400x1050 --
# 1400x1050 @ 60Hz, 65.8 kHz hsync
Modeline "1400x1050" 129 1400 1464 1656 1960
1050 1051 1054 1100 +HSync +VSync
KNOWN LAPTOP ISSUES
o LCD/CRT hotkey switching is not currently functioning on any
Toshiba laptop, with the exception of the Toshiba Satellite
3000 series.
o TwinView on Satellite 2800 series Toshbia laptops is not currently
functioning.
o The video overlay only works on the first display device on which
you started X. For example, if you start X on the internal LCD,
run a video application that uses the video overlay (uses the
"Video Overlay" adaptor advertised through the XV extension), and
then hotkey switch to add a second display device, the video will
not appear on the second display device. To work around this,
you can either configure the video application to use the "Video
Blitter" adaptor advertised through the XV extension (this is always
available), or hotkey switch to the display device on which you want
to use the video overlay *before* starting X.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-l) APPENDIX L: PROGRAMMING MODES
__________________________________________________________________________
The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set supports all standard VGA and VESA
modes, as well as most user-written custom mode lines; double-scan modes
are supported on all hardware.
In general, your display device (monitor/flat panel/television) will be
a greater constraint on what modes you can use than either your NVIDIA
GPU-based video board or the NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set.
To request one or more standard modes for use in X, you can simply add a
"Modes" line such as:
Modes "1600x1200" "1024x768" "640x480"
in the appropriate Display subsection of your XF86Config file (please see
the XF86Config(4/5) man page for details). The following documentation
is primarily of interest if you compose your own custom mode lines,
experiment with xvidtune(1), or are just interested in learning more.
Please note that this is neither an explanation nor a guide to the fine
art of crafting custom mode lines for XFree86. We leave that, rather,
to documents such as the XFree86 Video Timings HOWTO (which can be found
at www.tldp.org).
DEPTH, BITS PER PIXEL, AND PITCH
While not directly a concern when programming modes, the bits used per
pixel is an issue when considering the maximum programmable resolution;
for this reason, it is worthwhile to address the confusion surrounding
the terms "depth" and "bits per pixel". Depth is how many bits of
data are stored per pixel. Supported depths are 8, 15, 16, and 24.
Most video hardware, however, stores pixel data in sizes of 8, 16, or
32 bits; this is the amount of memory allocated per pixel. When you
specify your depth, X selects the bits per pixel (bpp) size in which to
store the data. Below is a table of what bpp is used for each possible
depth:
depth bpp
===== =====
8 8
15 16
16 16
24 32
Lastly, the "pitch" is how many bytes in the linear frame buffer there are
between one pixel's data, and the data of the pixel immediately below.
You can think of this as the horizontal resolution multiplied by the
bytes per pixel (bits per pixel divided by 8). In practice, the pitch may
be more than this product due to alignment constraints.
MAXIMUM RESOLUTIONS
The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Driver Set and NVIDIA GPU-based video boards
support resolutions up to 2048x1536, though the maximum resolution
your system can support is also limited by the amount of video memory
(see USEFUL FORMULAS for details) and the maximum supported resolution
of your display device (monitor/flat panel/television). Also note that
while use of a video overlay does not limit the maximum resolution or
refresh rate, video memory bandwidth used by a programmed mode does
effect the overlay quality.
USEFUL FORMULAS
The maximum resolution is a function both of the amount of video memory
and the bits per pixel you elect to use:
HR * VR * (bpp/8) = Video Memory Used
In other words, the amount of video memory used is equal to the horizontal
resolution (HR) multiplied by the vertical resolution (VR) multiplied by
the bytes per pixel (bits per pixel divided by eight). Technically, the
video memory used is actually the pitch times the vertical resolution,
and the pitch may be slightly greater than (HR * (bpp/8)) to accommodate
hardware requirements that the pitch be a multiple of some value.
Please note that this is just memory usage for the frame buffer; video
memory is also used by other things such as OpenGL or pixmap caching.
Another important relationship is that between the resolution, the pixel
clock (aka dot clock) and the vertical refresh rate:
RR = PCLK / (HFL * VFL)
In other words, the refresh rate (RR) is equal to the pixel clock (PCLK)
divided by the total number of pixels: the horizontal frame length (HFL)
multiplied by the vertical frame length (VFL) (note that these are the
frame lengths, and not just the visible resolutions). As described in
the XFree86 Video Timings HOWTO, the above formula can be rewritten as:
PCLK = RR * HFL * VFL
Given a maximum pixel clock, you can adjust the RR, HFL and VFL as
desired, as long as the product of the three is consistent. The pixel
clock is reported in the log file when you run X with verbose logging:
`startx -- -logverbose 5`. Your XFree86.0.log should contain several
lines like:
(--) NVIDIA(0): Display Device 0: maximum pixel clock at 8 bpp: 350 MHz
(--) NVIDIA(0): Display Device 0: maximum pixel clock at 16 bpp: 350 MHz
(--) NVIDIA(0): Display Device 0: maximum pixel clock at 32 bpp: 300 MHz
which indicate the maximum pixel clock at each bit per pixel size.
HOW MODES ARE VALIDATED
During the PreInit phase of the X server, the NVIDIA X driver validates
all requested modes by doing the following:
o Take the intersection of the HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges given
by the user in the XF86Config with the ranges reported by the monitor
in the EDID (Extended Display Identification Data); this behavior
can be disabled by using the "IgnoreEDID" option in which case the
X driver will blindly accept the HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges
given by the user.
o Call the xf86ValidateModes() helper function, which finds modes with
the names the user specified in the XF86Config file, pruning
out modes with invalid horizontal sync frequencies or vertical
refresh rates, pixel clocks larger than the maximum pixel clock
for the video card, or resolutions larger than the virtual
screen size (if a virtual screen size was specified in the
XF86Config file). Several other constraints are applied; see
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Mode.c:xf86ValidateModes().
o All modes returned from xf86ValidateModes() are then examined to make
sure their resolutions are not larger than the largest mode reported
by the monitor's EDID (this can be disabled with the "IgnoreEDID"
option. If the display is a TV, each mode is checked to make sure
it has a resolution that is supported by the TV encoder (usually
only 800x600 and 640x480 are supported by the encoder).
o All modes are also tested to confirm that they fit within the
hardware's memory bandwidth constraints. This test can be disabled
with the NoBandWidthTest XF86Config file option.
o All remaining modes are then checked to make sure they pass the
constraints described below in ADDITIONAL MODE CONSTRAINTS.
The last three steps are also done when each mode is programmed, to
catch potentially invalid modes submitted by the XF86VidModeExtension
(eg xvidtune(1)). For TwinView, the above validation is done for the
modes requested for each display device.
ADDITIONAL MODE CONSTRAINTS
Below is a list of additional constraints on a mode's parameters that
must be met. In some cases these are specific to particular chips.
o The horizontal resolution (HR) must be a multiple of 8 and be less
than or equal to the value in the table below.
o The horizontal blanking width (the maximum of the horizontal frame
length and the horizontal sync end minus the minimum of the horizontal
resolution and the horizontal sync start (max(HFL,HSE) - min(HR,HSS))
must be a multiple of 8 and be less than or equal to the value in
the table below.
o The horizontal sync start (HSS) must be a multiple of 8 and be less
than or equal to the value in the table below.
o The horizontal sync width (the horizontal sync end minus the
horizontal sync start (HSE - HSS)) must be a multiple of 8 and be
less than or equal to the value in the table below.
o The horizontal frame length (HFL) must be a multiple of 8, must be
greater than or equal to 40, and must be less than or equal to the
value in the table below.
o The vertical resolution (VR) must be less than or equal to the
value in the table below.
o The vertical blanking width (the maximum of the vertical frame length
and the vertical sync end minus the minimum of the vertical resolution
and the vertical sync start (max(VFL,VSE) - min(VR,VSS)) must be
less than or equal to the value in the table below.
o The vertical sync start (VSS) must be less than or equal to the
value in the table below.
o The vertical sync width (the vertical sync end minus the vertical sync
start (VSE - VSS)) must be less than or equal to the value in the
table below.
o The vertical frame length (VFL) must be greater than or equal to 2 and
less than or equal to the value in the table below.
Maximum DAC Values
------------------
| GeForce/TNT Geforce2 & 3 Geforce4 or newer
______|_______________________________________________
|
HR | 4096 4096 8192
HBW | 1016 1016 2040
HSS | 4088 4088 8224
HSW | 256 256 512
HFL | 4128 4128 8224
VR | 2048 4096 8192
VBW | 128 128 256
VSS | 2047 4095 8192
VSW | 16 16 16
VFL | 2049 4097 8192
Here is an example mode line demonstrating the use of each abbreviation
used above:
# Custom Mode line for the SGI 1600SW Flatpanel
# name PCLK HR HSS HSE HFL VR VSS VSE VFL
Modeline "sgi1600x1024" 106.9 1600 1632 1656 1672 1024 1027 1030 1067
ENSURING IDENTICAL MODETIMINGS
Some functionality, such as Active Stereo with TwinView, requires
control over exactly what mode timings are used. There are several
ways to accomplish that:
o If you only want to make sure that both display devices use
the same modes, you only need to make sure that both display
devices use the same HorizSync and VertRefresh values when
performing mode validation; this would be done by making sure the
HorizSync and SecondMonitorHorizSync match, and that the VertRefresh
and the SecondMonitorVertRefresh match.
o A more explicit approach is to specify the modeline you wish
to use (using one of the modeline generators available),
and using a unique name. For example, if you wanted to use
1024x768 at 120 Hz on each monitor in TwinView with active
stereo, you might add something like:
# 1024x768 @ 120.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 98.76 kHz; pclk: 139.05 MHz
Modeline "1024x768_120" 139.05 1024 1104 1216 1408 768 769 772 823 -HSync +Vsync
In the monitor section of your XF86Config file, and then in
the Screen section of your XF86Config file, specify a MetaMode
like this:
Option "MetaModes" "1024x768_120, 1024x768_120"
SEE ALSO:
An XFree86 modeline generator, conforming to the GTF Standard is
available here:
http://gtf.sourceforge.net/
For additional modeline generators, try searching for "modeline"
on freshmeat.net.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-m) APPENDIX M: PAGE FLIPPING, WINDOW FLIPPING, AND UBB
__________________________________________________________________________
Starting with the 1.0-2313 driver release, the NVIDIA Accelerated
Linux Driver Set supports Unified Back Buffer (UBB), Page Flipping,
and Window Flipping. These features can provide performance gains in
certain situtations. Here is a discription of each:
o Page Flipping: This feature is available on all GeForce or newer
hardware (ie: not TNT/TNT2 products), and is enabled in the
case of a single full screen unobscured OpenGL application when
syncing to vblank. Buffer swapping is done by changing which
buffer the DAC scans out rather than copying the back buffer
contents to the front buffer; this is generally a much higher
performance mechanism and allows tearless swapping during the
retrace (when __GL_SYNC_TO_VBLANK is set). This feature can be
disabled with the PageFlip XF86Config option.
o Unified Back Buffer (UBB): UBB is available only on the Quadro family
of GPUs (Quadro4 NVS excluded) and is enabled by default
when there is sufficient video memory available. This can be
disabled with the UBB XF86Config option described in Appendix D.
When UBB is enabled, all windows share the same back, stencil
and depth buffer. When there are many windows, the back, stencil
and depth usage will never exceed the size of that used by a
full screen window. However, even for a single small window
the back, stencil and depth usage are that of a full screen
window so in that case video ram may be used less efficiently
than in the non-UBB case.
o Window Flipping: This feature requires UBB, and thus is only available
on Quadro parts. When there is a single OpenGL window this
window's buffers can be swapped by changing which buffer the DAC
scans out rather than blitting the back buffer contents to the
front buffer. This is similar to Page Flipping but removes the
restriction that the window be unobscured and be full screen.
This only works when there is a single OpenGL window. Window
Flipping is disabled by default and can be enabled with the
"WindowFlip" XF86Config option described in Appendix D.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-n) APPENDIX N: KNOWN ISSUES
__________________________________________________________________________
The following problems still exist in this release and are in the process
of being resolved.
o OpenGL + Xinerama
Currently, OpenGL will not display to anything other than the
first head in a Xinerama environment.
o OpenGL and dlopen()
There are some issues with older versions of the glibc dynamic
loader (e.g., the version that shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.2) and
applications such as Quake3 and Radiant, that use dlopen().
See the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section for more details.
o DPMS and TwinView
DPMS Modes "suspend" and "standby" do not work correctly on
a second CRT when using TwinView. The screen becomes blank
instead of the monitor being set to the requested DPMS state.
o DPMS and Flat Panel
DPMS modes "suspend" and "standby" do not work correctly on a
flat panel display. The screen becomes blank instead of the
flat panel being set to the requested DPMS state.
o Multicard, Multimonitor
In some cases, the secondary card is not initialized correctly
by the NVIDIA kernel module. You can work around this by enabling
the XFree86 Int10 module to soft-boot all secondary cards. See
"APPENDIX D: XF86CONFIG OPTIONS" for details.
o Laptop
If you are using a laptop please see the "Known Laptop Issues" in
APPENDIX D.
o FSAA
When FSAA is enabled (the __GL_FSAA_MODE environment variable
is set to a value that enables FSAA and a multisample visual is
chosen), the rendering may be corrupted when resizing the window.
o Interaction with pthreads
Single threaded applications that dlopen() NVIDIA's libGL
library, and then dlopen() any other library that is linked
against pthreads will crash in NVIDIA's libGL library. This does
not happen in NVIDIA's new ELF TLS OpenGL libraries (please see
(app-c) APPENDIX C: INSTALLED COMPONENTS for a description of
the ELF TLS OpenGL libraries). Possible work arounds for this
problem are:
1) Load the library that is linked with pthreads before
loading libGL.so.
2) Link the application with pthreads.
HARDWARE ISSUES
This section describes problems that will not be fixed. Usually, the
source of the problem is beyond the control of NVIDIA. Following is
the list of problems:
o Gigabyte GA-6BX Motherboard
This motherboard uses a LinFinity regulator on the 3.3-V rail
that is rated to only 5 A -- less than the AGP specification,
which requires 6 A. When diagnostics or applications are
running, the temperature of the regulator rises, causing the
voltage to the NVIDIA chip to drop as low as 2.2 V. Under these
circumstances, the regulator cannot supply the current on the
3.3-V rail that the NVIDIA chip requires.
This problem does not occur when the graphics board has a
switching regulator or when an external power supply is connected
to the 3.3-V rail.
o VIA KX133 and 694X Chip sets with AGP 2x
On Athlon motherboards with the VIA KX133 or 694X chip set, such
as the ASUS K7V motherboard, NVIDIA drivers default to AGP 2x mode
to work around insufficient drive strength on one of the signals.
o Irongate Chip sets with AGP 1x
AGP 1x transfers are used on Athlon motherboards with the Irongate
chip set to work around a problem with the signal integrity of
the chip set.
o ALi chipsets, ALi1541 and ALi1647
On ALi1541 and ALi1647 chipsets, NVIDIA drivers disable AGP to work
around timing issues and signal integrity issues. See "APPENDIX G:
ALI SPECIFIC ISSUES" for more information on ALi chipsets.
o I/O APIC (SMP)
If you are experiencing stability problems with a Linux SMP machine
and seeing I/O APIC warning messages from the Linux kernel, system
reliability may be greatly improved by setting the "noapic" kernel
parameter.
o Local APIC (UP)
On some systems, setting the "Local APIC Support on Uniprocessors"
kernel configuration option can have adverse effects on system
stability. If you are experiencing lockups with a Linux UP machine
and this option set, try disabling local APIC support.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-o) APPENDIX O: PROC INTERFACE
__________________________________________________________________________
The /proc filesystem interface allows you to obtain run-time information
about the driver, any installed NVIDIA graphics cards and the AGP status.
This information is held by several files in /proc/driver/nvidia. This is
a brief description for each one of these files:
o version
Lists the installed driver revision and the version of the GNU C
compiler used to build the Linux kernel module.
o cards/0...3
Provides information about each of the installed NVIDIA graphics
adapters (model name, IRQ, BIOS version, Bus Type). Please note
that the BIOS version is only available while X is running.
o agp/card
Information about the installed AGP card's AGP capabilities.
o agp/host-bridge
Information about the host bridge (model and AGP capabilities).
o agp/status
The current AGP status. If AGP support has been enabled on your
system, the AGP driver being used, the AGP rate and information
about the status of AGP Fast Writes and Side Band Addressing is
shown.
The AGP driver is either one of NVIDIA (NVIDIA's built-in AGP
driver) or AGPGART (the Linux kernel's agpgart.o driver). If
you see "inactive" next to AGPGART, then this means that the
AGP chipset was programmed by AGPGART, but is not currently in
use.
SBA and Fast Writes indicate whether either one of the features
is currently in use. Please note that several factors decide if
support for either will be enabled. First of all, both the AGP
card and the host bridge must support the feature. Even if both
do support it, the driver may decide not to use it in favor of
system stability. This is particularly true of AGP Fast Writes.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-p) APPENDIX P: XVMC SUPPORT
__________________________________________________________________________
This release includes support for the X-Video Motion Compensation (XvMC)
version 1.0 API on GeForce4 and GeForce FX products only. There is a static
library "libXvMCNVIDIA.a" and a dynamic one "libXvMCNVIDIA_dynamic.so"
which is suitable for dlopening. GeForce4 MX and GeForce FX products support
both XvMC's "IDCT" and "motion-compensation" levels of acceleration.
GeForce4 Ti products only support the motion-compensation level. AI44 and IA44
subpictures are supported. 4:2:0 Surfaces up to 2032x2032 are supported.
libXvMCNVIDIA observes the XVMC_DEBUG environment variable and will
provide some debug output to stderr when set to an appropriate integer
value. '0' disables debug output. '1' enables debug output for failure
conditions. '2' or higher enables output of warning messages.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-q) APPENDIX Q: GLX SUPPORT
__________________________________________________________________________
This release supports GLX 1.3 with the following extensions:
GLX_EXT_visual_info
GLX_EXT_visual_rating
GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
GLX_SGIX_pbuffer
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address
For a description of these extensions, please see the OpenGL extension
registry at http://oss.sgi.com/projects/ogl-sample/registry/index.html
Some of the above extensions exist as part of core GLX 1.3 functionality,
however, they are also exported as extensions for backwards compatibility.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-r) APPENDIX R: CONFIGURING MULTIPLE X SCREENS ON ONE CARD
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Graphics chips that support TwinView (see (app-i) APPENDIX I: CONFIGURING
TWINVIEW) can also be configured to treat each connected display device
as a separate X screen.
While there are several disadvantages to this approach as compared to
TwinView (eg: windows cannot be dragged between X screens, hardware
accelerated OpenGL cannot span the two X screens), it does offer several
advantages over TwinView:
o If each display device is a separate X screen, then properties
that may vary between X screens may vary between displays (eg:
depth, root window size, etc).
o Hardware that can only be used on one display at a time (eg:
video overlays, hardware accelerated RGB overlays), and which
consequently cannot be used at all when in TwinView, can be
exposed on the first X screen when each display is a separate
X screen.
o The 1-to-1 association of display devices to X screens is
more historically in line with X.
To configure two separate X screens to share one graphics chip, here is
what you will need to do:
First, create two separate Device sections, each listing the BusID of
the graphics card to be shared, each listing the driver as "nvidia",
and assign each a separate screen:
Section "Device"
Identifier "nvidia0"
Driver "nvidia"
# Edit the BusID with the location of your graphics card
BusID "PCI:2:0:0"
Screen 0
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "nvidia1"
Driver "nvidia"
# Edit the BusID with the location of your graphics card
BusId "PCI:2:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection
Then, create two Screen sections, each using one of the Device sections:
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "nvidia0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "nvidia1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubsection
EndSection
(note: you'll also need to create a second Monitor section)
Finally, update the ServerLayout section to use and position both Screen
sections:
Section "ServerLayout"
...
Screen 0 "Screen0"
Screen 1 "Screen1" leftOf "Screen0"
...
EndSection
For further details, please refer to the XF86Config manpage.
__________________________________________________________________________
(app-s) APPENDIX S: POWER MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
__________________________________________________________________________
This release includes support for APM based power management. This
means that our driver will support suspend and resume, but will not
support standby.
Your laptop's system bios will need to support APM, rather than ACPI.
Many, but not all, of the GeForce2 and GeForce4 based laptops include
APM support. You can check for APM support via the procfs interface
(check for the existance of /proc/apm) or via the kernel's boot output:
% dmesg | grep -i apm
a message similar to this indicates apm support:
apm: BIOS version 1.2 Flags 0x03 (Driver version 1.16)
or a message like this indicates no apm support:
No APM support in Kernel
Although ACPI support is advancing in development kernels and some
backported patches for 2.4 kernels exist, the NVIDIA graphics driver
does not yet provide support for ACPI. We hope to finish this support
in the near future.
Note that standby is not supported, but that the kernel will attempt
to enter standby if told to do so. When changing power levels, many
system services are alerted of the change so that they can handle the
change appropriately. For example, networking will be disabled before
suspending, then reenabled when resuming. When the kernel attempts to
enter standby, the bios will fail the attempt. The kernel will print out
the error message "standby: Parameter out of range", but will fail to
notify the system services of the failure. As a result, the system will
not go into suspension, but all system services will be disabled and the
system will appear hung. The best way to recover from this situation is
to enter suspend, then resume.
Some laptops have experienced agp bus corruption when resuming from
suspend that leads to a system hang. Disabling AGP will work around
this problem (please see APPENDIX F: CONFIGURING AGP for more details
on disabling agp).
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.