Syslog error: "modprobe: FATAL: Module nvidia not found in directory /lib/modules/5.15.0-37-generic"

Question

After regular update (apt update && apt dist-upgrade) of my desktop computer to Linux Kernel 5.15.0-37-generic two days ago, syslog started filling with the following error:

modprobe: FATAL: Module nvidia not found in directory /lib/modules/5.15.0-37-generic

Any ideas?

More info about my system:

# dkms status
fwts-efi-runtime-dkms/22.03.00, 5.15.0-35-generic, x86_64: installed (WARNING! Diff between built and installed module!)
fwts-efi-runtime-dkms/22.03.00, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed (WARNING! Diff between built and installed module!)
virtualbox/6.1.32, 5.15.0-35-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox/6.1.32, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed
uname -rv
5.15.0-37-generic #39-Ubuntu SMP Wed Jun 1 19:16:45 UTC 2022
ubuntu-drivers devices
== /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.0 ==
modalias : pci:v000010DEd00001C8Dsv00001D05sd00001042bc03sc00i00
vendor   : NVIDIA Corporation
model    : GP107M [GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile]
driver   : nvidia-driver-470 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-450-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-418-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-510-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-390 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-470-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-510 - distro non-free recommended
driver   : xserver-xorg-video-nouveau - distro free builtin
ll /lib/modules/5.15.0-3[57]-generic/kernel/
/lib/modules/5.15.0-35-generic/kernel/:
total 92
drwxr-xr-x  23 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 ./
drwxr-xr-x   6 root root 4096 Jun 11 16:43 ../
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 arch/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 block/
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 crypto/
drwxr-xr-x 111 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 drivers/
drwxr-xr-x  60 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 fs/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 kernel/
drwxr-xr-x  10 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 lib/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 mm/
drwxr-xr-x  61 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 net/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 nvidia-390/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 nvidia-418srv/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 nvidia-450srv/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 nvidia-470/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 nvidia-470srv/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun 11 16:43 nvidia-510/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 nvidia-510srv/
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 samples/
drwxr-xr-x  16 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 sound/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 ubuntu/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 v4l2loopback/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  3 12:32 zfs/
/lib/modules/5.15.0-37-generic/kernel/:
total 64
drwxr-xr-x  16 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 ./
drwxr-xr-x   6 root root 4096 Jun 11 17:26 ../
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 arch/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 block/
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 crypto/
drwxr-xr-x 111 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 drivers/
drwxr-xr-x  60 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 fs/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 kernel/
drwxr-xr-x  10 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 lib/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 mm/
drwxr-xr-x  61 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 net/
drwxr-xr-x   4 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 samples/
drwxr-xr-x  16 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 sound/
drwxr-xr-x   3 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 ubuntu/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 v4l2loopback/
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 Jun  9 21:16 zfs/
dpkg --list | grep -E "^ii.*linux-(headers|image|hwe|modules)"
ii  linux-headers-5.15.0-35                           5.15.0-35.36                            all          Header files related to Linux kernel version 5.15.0
ii  linux-headers-5.15.0-35-generic                   5.15.0-35.36                            amd64        Linux kernel headers for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-headers-5.15.0-37                           5.15.0-37.39                            all          Header files related to Linux kernel version 5.15.0
ii  linux-headers-5.15.0-37-generic                   5.15.0-37.39                            amd64        Linux kernel headers for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-headers-generic                             5.15.0.37.39                            amd64        Generic Linux kernel headers
ii  linux-image-5.15.0-35-generic                     5.15.0-35.36                            amd64        Signed kernel image generic
ii  linux-image-5.15.0-37-generic                     5.15.0-37.39                            amd64        Signed kernel image generic
ii  linux-image-generic                               5.15.0.37.39                            amd64        Generic Linux kernel image
ii  linux-modules-5.15.0-35-generic                   5.15.0-35.36                            amd64        Linux kernel extra modules for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-5.15.0-37-generic                   5.15.0-37.39                            amd64        Linux kernel extra modules for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-extra-5.15.0-35-generic             5.15.0-35.36                            amd64        Linux kernel extra modules for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii  linux-modules-extra-5.15.0-37-generic             5.15.0-37.39                            amd64        Linux kernel extra modules for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP

Update 1:

I tried to reinstall nvidia-driver-510 (proprietary, tested) using Ubuntu's /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk tool. After the update:

# dkms status
fwts-efi-runtime-dkms/22.03.00, 5.15.0-35-generic, x86_64: installed (WARNING! Diff between built and installed module!)
fwts-efi-runtime-dkms/22.03.00, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed (WARNING! Diff between built and installed module!)
nvidia/510.73.05, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox/6.1.32, 5.15.0-35-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox/6.1.32, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed

But /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk and ll /lib/modules/5.15.0-3[57]-generic/kernel/ outputs stay the same.

However, it seems that the error message has gone away.

Update 2:

I did apt remove fwts-efi-runtime-dkms and now:

# dkms status
nvidia/510.73.05, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox/6.1.32, 5.15.0-35-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox/6.1.32, 5.15.0-37-generic, x86_64: installed

score 17 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 25 '22 at 01:01

I encountered this issue after a reboot. To help others find this answer, I'll describe my primary symptoms as well:

nvidia-settings would not show any options other than Application Profiles and nvidia-settings Configuration
Only 1 of my 2 displays seemed to be detected and functioning
nvidia-xconfig --query-gpu-info would return Unable to query GPU information
Running sudo systemctl status display-manager produced modprobe: FATAL: Module nvidia not found in directory /lib/modules/5.17.0-1020-oem
Running modprobe nvidia produced the same message as above as well

These all pointed to faulty or missing driver installations. Here's what I tried that did not work to resolve the issue:

Using Software & Updates to switch between driver versions (subsequently rebooting)
Switching to Nouveau drivers, purging nvidia, and reinstalling nvidia with ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
Installing drivers specifically picked from ubuntu-drivers devices
Downgrading to previous driver versions via any of the above methods
Downgrading to previous kernel versions I had available

What finally worked

Specifically installing the module package for my last installed version of the Nvidia driver + linux kernel version. My installed nvidia driver version was 510, and my kernel version according to uname -r is 5.17.0-1020-oem, therefore I ran:

sudo apt install linux-modules-nvidia-510-5.17.0-1020-oem

(At this point I was also warned that I was missing header files, so I also installed linux-headers-5.17.0-1020-oem -- I'm not sure how this happened)

After having installed the module above, I added it with modprobe:

sudo modprobe nvidia

My displays refreshed, and presto -- both displays were detected, and I was back in business.

Hannu · Answer 2 · 2022-06-12T09:46:41.573

2

My guess:
You have more than one kernel version installed; this is an effect of that.

Check for installed kernel-related packages with:
$ dpkg --list | grep -E "^ii.*linux-(headers|image|hwe|modules)"

... and compare to the output of uname -rv

Only one kernel version is required, a kernel one step older might be good to keep, in practice; if there would be some kind of related problem (i.e. booting).

edited Jun 12 '22 at 09:46

answered Jun 12 '22 at 09:41

Hannu

6,605
1
28
45

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 20 '22 at 11:46

I got the same error, but after upgrading to kernel 5.15.0-46, which was leading to nvidia-driver not being loaded error. I followed Update 1 from the question, though installing nvidia-driver-515 instead. It worked flawlessly.

For those who don't know, you can see boot logs with journalctl -b, and then grep nvidia may help find the error on the logs, like this:

$ journalctl -b | grep nvidia
modprobe: FATAL: Module nvidia not found in directory /lib/modules/5.15.0-46-generic

I would have posted this as a comment If I could; I hope this may help others searching for the same error with a recent kernel.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered May 13 '23 at 19:15

0

I have a custom kernel from linux-surface, and after failing with all the GUI methods, I was able to get it to work via apt using the latest dkms version for nvidia:

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-530 nvidia-dkms-530

answered May 13 '23 at 19:15

mikebridge

161

forgetso · Answer 5 · 2023-09-28T10:41:13.253

For anyone looking for a command they can just run, here you go:

ubuntu-drivers devices | grep recommended | grep -oP nvidia-driver-[0-9]* | awk '{sub(/driver-/,""); print}' | { read -d '' x; echo "sudo apt install linux-modules-$x-$(uname -r)"; } | bash

It does the following:

queries the drivers using ubuntu-drivers

➜  ~ ubuntu-drivers devices
== /sys/devices/pci0000
modalias : pci:v0000
vendor   : NVIDIA Corporation
model    : TU106 [GeForce]
driver   : nvidia-driver-525 - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-450-server - distro non-free
driver   : nvidia-driver-535-server-open - distro non-free recommended
driver   : nvidia-driver-435 - distro non-free

filters for the recommended driver using grep

driver   : nvidia-driver-535-server-open - distro non-free recommended

captures the name of the nvidia driver using grep

nvidia-driver-535

replaces the -driver part with an empty string using awk

nvidia-535

creates the installation command mentioned in miend's answer ($x is nvidia-535 here).

{ read -d '' x; echo "sudo apt install linux-modules-$x-$(uname -r)"; }

pipes the command to bash

Syslog error: "modprobe: FATAL: Module nvidia not found in directory /lib/modules/5.15.0-37-generic"

uname -rv

ubuntu-drivers devices

ll /lib/modules/5.15.0-3[57]-generic/kernel/

dpkg --list | grep -E "^ii.*linux-(headers|image|hwe|modules)"

5 Answers5

What finally worked

Linked