Nvidia G80 GPU on Ubuntu 12.04

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

Hey guys

 

I've recently installed Ubuntu 12.04 on an old laptop (Gateway P-171s-FX) with an 8800m GTS GPU. The issue is I cannot install the current drivers without causing the system to freeze within a minute or so after booting up. During the minute where everything is working my laptop is very responsive and all desktop effects run very smoothly. Unfortunately the only driver I can install from jockey that doesn't lead to freezing is version 173. With this driver installed my laptop occasionally hangs up and does not feel nearly as responsive. 

After some research I found that many G80 (8800 GTX/GTS/GS and 8800m's) had similar issues when driver version 295.40 was released. I have not been able to find out if the issue was resolved for most users in subsequent updates, but none of the later releases appear to be working for me. 

My question is:

Has anyone here dealt with this issue and found a solution? If not I'd be more than willing to take pointers if you have them. I've not had ubuntu installed for very long so I don't mind making changes that may require me to reformat (incase I break ubuntu), especially since this isn't my primary system.

Thanks

2

I had an issue on Acer Aspire One 722 had the freezing issue - within a minute of booting, the system would totally lock up. There is a strange workaround where setting network booting as the top boot priority seems to fix that issue.

I have my doubts, but I'd dig around in the Ubuntu Forums. I always seem to find a solution to my problems without having to start a new thread, regardless of how obscure... though one time I did have to stick a thread through a translator. In fact, that's how I found the workaround.