ADDn00b Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 I've spent the last two days trying to find and execute an answer on my own...and have failed miserably. I thought I'd throw myself on the mercy of the community and hope for the best. After an update two days ago, my nVidia driver failed to load. I have no 3D desktop, which doesn't seem like a big deal because I can still log in and somewhat use the system, but there are no window borders, no close, minimize, maximize buttons, and right-click functions open UNDER the current window (which cannot be moved). The windows open on top of the taskbar, so unless I can get the window closed via file->exit, I can't even access the shut-down button. Essentially, these issues make my system unusable, which is a bummer because I really enjoy Mandriva and don't want to go back to windoze. I read about a known issue (bug #34141) within Mandriva 2008, but I didn't have backports enabled (one of the described issues) and the instructions from the known-issues wiki aren't too easy for a n00b to understand, ("as root, do this:"). I tried it though! Whatever I was supposed to do wasn't what I did, apparently, because it didn't work. I also read through forums, including this one, looking for anyone who had an nVIDIA failure after the recent updates, and it seems I'm the only one. I'm considering starting all over, reinstalling the whole OS, but I just loaded more than 200 family pictures and I'm not sure I could get them backed up anywhere with the way the system is(n't) operating. I dual-boot XP/Mandriva 2008, my card is a GeForce Go 7800 GTX, and the other specs of my system are in my profile if that makes any difference. I know you will probably have other questions that I haven't answered. I appreciate any and all help offered. Please remember I am a complete n00b and don't understand some of the terminology (despite reading the excellent glossary provided here), nor do I have a grasp on the inner workings of the OS. Thanks much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 (edited) It's not the nvidia driver that got borked, it's compiz (fusion) which does not allow the kde window manager to load. As normal user, press alt+F2, or rather (since the above may not work), open a console as user, and then kwin --replace And, if it keeps going like that every time you log in, add to your ~.bashrc configuration file a line export KDEWM="kwin" Now kwin will be loaded the next time you log into KDE. Edited May 22, 2008 by scarecrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted May 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 I am droppin' what I'm doing right now and I will go and try it. THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted May 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 (edited) Scarecrow, thanks very much. I hope I understood you correctly. Is a console the same as a terminal window? If so, that's what I opened and input the text you suggested. It said "command not found". Also, I use (or have used) GNOME. Who knows what's loading now. :unsure: The second part of your response I did not understand. What is a ~.bashrc configuration file and how do I get to it?...then again, considering how screwed up it is so far, maybe I shouldn't get to it. Thanks again. Edited May 22, 2008 by ADDn00b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 First, yes, console/terminal/xterm are effectively the same thing. Second, since you're using Gnome, the command should be a tad different: metacity --replace As for ~.bashrc things aren't complicated: ~ is your user's home directory . (dot) means that the file is hidden. Still, you can easily edit it by many means- say gedit ~.bashrc But if using Gnome, better instead of editing that file is adding metacity --replace at the Gnome startup applications System -> Preferences -> Sessions -> Startup Programs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted May 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 Thank you scarecrow. That helps a lot. I now have close, minimize, and maximize, and my desktop switcher is back. That helps tremendously. Will I have to use that command every time I log on? I think I added it correctly via the sessions manager. I still don't have 3D desktop and the usual nVIDIA splash screen I'm used to seeing at boot isn't there, either. But at least it is more functional now. And thank you for the explanation of the terminal/console thingy. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 It sounds like you did get affected by the bug you were talking about. You don't *have* to have backports repositories enabled, that's why it was such an annoying bug... Can you run this command: rpm -qa | grep nvidia and paste the output here? I'll probably know what to do then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted May 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Hi Adam, and thank you for your response. Here is the output: nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.9-laptop-1mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.9-desktop-2mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 x11-driver-video-nvidia-current-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-laptop-latest-100.14.19-1.20080506.1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.19-laptop-2mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.18-desktop-1mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-desktop-latest-100.14.19-1.20080506.1mdv2008.0 dkms-nvidia-current-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.19-desktop-2mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.9-laptop-2mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 nvidia-current-kernel-2.6.22.9-desktop-1mdv-100.14.19-1mdv2008.0 I starting to wonder if I shouldn't just update to Spring (I understand the bug was addressed in that version) and save myself more aggravation. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medo3891 Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 Actually no, you weren't hit by that bug. But by all means update to 2008 spring ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 yeah, you don't have the backports bug, you have something else. You can upgrade to Spring, by all means. Or it should still be fixable. I forget to check one important thing, what kernel you're running - can you run: uname -r and paste the result? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted May 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 Hi Adam (and medo3891), and thank you for responding. Downloading Spring right now. I'll be sure and post the kernel when I'm done. I'd really like to learn what went wrong before I update. Again, many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Here's the kernel: 2.6.22.19-desktop-2mdv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDn00b Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Spring is working great so far, Adam. However, my ISP kicked me off-line for awhile because it took me so many tries to download it. ;) If I have the same issue with the card again, I'll be back! Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 okay, glad it's working one way or the other. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.