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I'd like to know which driver to use for my configuration (Toshiba laptop P50 A 14P + NVidia GT 745M/PCie/SSE2 - 14.04LT) to work.

Up to now, I've tried all available ones (340.96, 340.96-updates, 352.63 and 352.63-updates) and all are freezing the screen after some random time (from never in a day to a few seconds...). I can go back to no-freeze closing and re-opening the lid but it happens a lot.

Using the nouveau/intel driver gives no freezing but also low graphic performance (can't save properly Matlab graphics).

I've found two newer drivers on NVidia website (http://www.geforce.com/drivers) for GeForce GT 745M / Linux 64-bits / US En /recommended certified:

352.79 and 361.28

Does anyone tried one of those or another working one? Any tips on how to solve this?

I'm afraid to install a new one and can't go back to nouveau. I don't know how to do it in terminal. I've tried the following:

ubuntu-drivers devices
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-nouveau

Doing the above while using a proprietary one says xserver-xorg-video-nouveau is already the newest version And the proprietary is still the one used in "Additional drivers" (even after log out / log in).

Cheers! Nicolas

2 Answers 2

1

Generally it is recommended to use the NVIDIA drivers from the official Ubuntu repositories.
When there are problems with these drivers, you can install the latest official NVIDIA drivers.

NVIDIA released the final long-lived branch drivers version 361 this month.
The drivers 361.28 already are available in the Proprietary GPU drivers PPA.

Step 1 : Uninstall the currently installed NVIDIA drivers.

Highlight the Ubuntu entry in the GRUB boot menu.
Press the E key.
Add nouveau.modeset=0 to the end of the linux line.
Press F10 to boot.

On the login screen press Ctrl+Alt+F1.
Enter user name and password ... execute :

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*  
sudo reboot  

Step 2 : Install the latest official stable NVIDIA drivers.

Highlight the Ubuntu entry in the GRUB boot menu.
Press the E key.
Add nouveau.modeset=0 to the end of the linux line.
Press F10 to boot.

On the login screen press Ctrl+Alt+F1.
Enter user name and password ... execute :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-361 nvidia-prime
sudo reboot  

Personal experience note and opinion :

I installed these drivers when they were released and they are working great without any issue.

Update addressing the question on how to revert back to the drivers from Ubuntu repositories :

Step 1 : Uninstall the currently installed NVIDIA software.

Execute these commands :

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge  
sudo ppa-purge ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa  
sudo apt-get purge nvidia-361 nvidia-opencl-icd-361 libcuda1-361 libxnvctrl0 libvdpau1 nvidia-prime nvidia-settings  
sudo reboot  

Step 2 : Install the NVIDIA drivers from Ubuntu repositories.

Execute these commands :

sudo apt-get update  
sudo apt-get install nvidia-352 nvidia-prime  
sudo reboot
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  • Hi cl-netbox, thanks for the tip. Is it ok for me to do the above with a dual boot system? I have Windows 8.1 installed and access Ubuntu by doing shift+restart button inside Windows.
    – Nicolas
    Feb 21, 2016 at 16:40
  • @Nicolas : The NVIDIA drivers are installed within the Ubuntu system, so Windows will not be touched. :)
    – cl-netbox
    Feb 21, 2016 at 16:46
  • OK, I'n gonna try this one then. Just waiting for a "window" with less needs of the computer and I'll revert afterward. Cheers
    – Nicolas
    Feb 23, 2016 at 16:07
  • Hi, @cl-netbox When I try to execute "sudo apt-get purge nvidia*", I get "sudo: No match." Whithout the asterix, it asks for my password. I gave 3 wrong ones to exit the purge. Is that normal? Cheers
    – Nicolas
    Feb 24, 2016 at 22:02
  • It seems that I have some drivers installed, see screeshot below i.stack.imgur.com/NVEU2.png Still going for step 2? Thanks a lot
    – Nicolas
    Feb 25, 2016 at 16:25
0

To solve the random freezing (which is caused by the current driver), follow these steps:

  1. Install the latest NVIDIA Xorg driver:

    sudo apt install xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-495
    

    Or find another one via: sudo apt search nvidia.

  2. Select that driver in Additional Drivers tab (Software & Updates).

    Ubuntu Software and Updates, Additional Drivers, NVIDIA an alternative proprietary driver

  3. Restart Xorg or reboot.

Troubleshooting

  • Ensure the driver is loaded by lsmod, e.g.

    $ lsmod | grep ^nvidia
    nvidia_uvm           1044480  0
    nvidia_drm             61440  21
    nvidia_modeset       1150976  9 nvidia_drm
    nvidia              36904960  711 nvidia_uvm,nvidia_modeset
    
  • Run nvidia-detector (for any errors)

  • Run nvidia-settings to adjust or test different settings. Also make sure fans are working properly (check RPM speed) and card is not overheating (check its temperature from thermal sensor).

  • If problem still persist, run nvidia-bug-report.sh and report the problem to NVIDIA (see https://forums.developer.nvidia.com).

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