Pop OS + older laptop = mixed results

Software & Operating Systems Linux
1

Hi dear community. I just installed Pop OS on my laptop (3630QM, GT635M) and I’m having some issues with it. I think is mostly due to the fact that the Nvidia drivers might be too new for the GPU I’m using. Would uninstalling them and install the ones from the Nvidia website break the switching functionality built into the system?
Also the output of the lspic is the following:

Schermata%20del%202019-04-15%2021-22-02
Schermata del 2019-04-15 21-22-02.png1366×768 108 KB

I can’t see the GPU in the output. Maybe is due to the incorrect driver? I can see it properly in Windows and works as expected. Thanks for the answers.

2

switching already doesnt work under linux unless you run nouveau or if you run bumblebee. Installing the latest nvidia driver shouldnt break anything, just means some funkyness when you update kernels.

what version are you currently running?

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3

This version of Pop is running the 418.43. Nvidia says that the appropriate driver for this GPU is the 390.something. Pop OS is made to switch between GPUs, it’s like an in house thing. Also I was able to do that with Kubuntu and the proprietary driver through their panel.

P.S. it also takes forever to get to the login screen. Which I think is due to the incorrect video drivers.

4

You should be able to get whatever older driver from the ubuntu repo. Switching is still a shitshow.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus

I wouldn’t expect it to just work.

As for your particular issue, it should be showing up in the output of lspci, so is it possible that its been disabled in bios?

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5

How should I go about uninstalling the present drivers? Just apt-get purge?

No, the GPU is working fine in Windows when I reboot to it immediatly after using Linux.

6

I’m not sure how pop manages its proprietary drivers, does it not have an option for ‘additional drivers’?

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7

Nope, it’s pretty much “ready out of the box” and doesen’t have a package manager. Only the “pop shop” in which I see the correct Nvidia Xserver version but the output of modinfo nvidia says 418.43. If I try to launch nvidia-smi it says that it can’t communicate with the driver.

I don’t need “additional drivers” I think, just uninstall the 418.43 and install the 390.something.

8

additional drivers would be how you would remove the driver via gui in ubuntu or switch to an older version. you can just apt remove --purge the current driver and then use the nvidia recommended one but that could cause headaches down the road when you update. you should have access to the drivers in the ubuntu ppa. aptitude search nvidia to see which ones are in the ppa.

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9

It’s heavly modified, not like a typical ubuntu spin. Anyway the nvidia driver is stuck at ages ago, it won’t update. Also using the ppas how would make things easier? It automagically overwrites the drivers I have currently installed? I don’t think it works that way.

10

it makes it easier because the kernel modules are updated automatically. you dont overwrite the drivers, you remove and install the ones you need.

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11

Aptitude is not installed. In fact I remember that it doesen’t come installed by default but you have to set it up manually (I think).

12

In the Pop!_Shop, search for and install software-properties-gtk Software & Updates (this is the Ubuntu tool, found in the default Pop!_OS repositories, which are Ubuntu’s repositories).

The Additional Drivers tab of the Software & Updates tool should list alternate NVidia driver versions. Switching versions using this tool will automatically uninstall the old version and install the newer version.

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13

you cant apt install apitude?

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14

dis is de wae ma brudda

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15

Ehm…the page is completly blank. It doesen’t list any additional driver to install on the system. You’re a genious btw, we’ll figure out how to do it

16

Hmm, I suppose the NVidia card isn’t being detected (absence from lspci and all). Does the laptop have a BIOS setting to default to the NVidia card or otherwise give it preferential treatment?

17

I don’t think it’s necessary. I had zero issues (even if I was using secureboot like a moron) on Kubuntu. Also I think it would boot to a black screen if I set the Nvidia GPU only since it takes forever to get out of the black screen and show me something (got an 850 Evo 500GB in this machine NOT FULL so it should be pretty fast).

18

whats the output of lshw?

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19

Nothing useful, the Nvidia GPU it’s not there.

20

Hmm, seems tricky. Anything showing up using lshw under *-pci *-display ?

On the off chance that the correct drivers probe in a way the kernel doesn’t, you might try installing the driver from Ubuntu Graphics Drivers Team PPA,

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-396
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