4

I already followed about 10 posts showing the same problem as mine. But all provided answers did not work. I tried to install many different nvidia-XXX drivers versions - also I have edited the bumblebee.conf file. When I enter the command lspci -nn | grep '\[03' I get the output :

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0a16] (rev 0b)  
03:00.0 3D controller [0302]: NVIDIA Corporation GM108M [GeForce 840M] 10de:1341] (rev a2)

Then I followed : Ubuntu 14.04 and Nvidia GeForce (840M) compatability on 64-bit laptop. It also didn't work, see NVIDIA X Server Settings - Screenshot. When I execute optirun firefox I get :

[  516.003655] [ERROR]Cannot access secondary GPU - error: [XORG] (EE)  
[  516.003685] [ERROR]Aborting because fallback start is disabled.

I tried so many things already, but nothing worked. I've been trying to fix this for several days ... but now I'm clueless. Does anyone know what to do?

Community
  • 1
Enforcerke
  • 313

2 Answers2

3

As you did not mention the Ubuntu edition you are using ... this is valid for all currently supported editions (12.04 | 14.04 | 16.04 | 16.10). Use this method to install the latest stable NVIDIA drivers !

First uninstall the currently installed NVIDIA drivers and bumblebee.
The solution to switch between the graphics adapters is nvidia-prime.

Boot the computer, mark the Ubuntu entry in the GRUB boot menu and press the E key.
Add nouveau.modeset=0 at the end of the linux line. Press the F10 key to boot Ubuntu.

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

sudo apt purge nvidia* bumblebee
sudo apt install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge bumblebee/stable
sudo ppa-purge xorg-edgers/ppa
sudo reboot

Note : As I do not know which of the linked answers you tried, I just removed both PPAs ...
Now install the official NVIDIA drivers 375.26, which support NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 840M.

Boot the computer, mark the Ubuntu entry in the GRUB boot menu and press the E key.
Add nouveau.modeset=0 at the end of the linux line. Press the F10 key to boot Ubuntu.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nvidia-375 nvidia-prime
sudo reboot

Important : Set a space between the last letter in the linux line and nouveau.modeset=0.
Switch between intel and NVIDIA graphics with NVIDIA X Server Settings -> PRIME Profiles.

cl-netbox
  • 31,491
0

@Enforcerke Do not install Bumblebee! It's outdated solutions for NVIDIA Optimus. If you have installed the official Nvidia drivers, and you can access the NVIDIA X Server Settings menu with PRIME profiles with options for switching between Intel (Power Saving) and NVIDIA (Performance) modes, then use that to switch between your GPUs.

You'll only need the dGPU for applications like CAD, editing high-res videos, or games. When you need that, switch the cards from the NVIDIA X Server Settings, then log out and back in, and you're done. Otherwise, most of the time you will be using the Intel iGPU anyway!

The hassle of using the outdated methodology of bumblebee is not worth it. Especially considering that newer kernels are already addressing the GPU issues out of the box.

Samuel S. Mandal
  • 61