Questions tagged [drivers]

Ubuntu drivers are either coded into the Linux kernel, or loaded with kernel modules. Use this tag for questions related to installing, loading and troubleshooting drivers (kernel modules).

The Ubuntu OS and installed applications will use drivers to communicate with the hardware on the computer. These drivers give information on how to access the device, often with specific ways of communicating (interrupts, how to access etc.).

This tag covers all questions relating to:

  • Questions related to driver problems/troubleshooting
  • Questions on how to wrap drivers (for cross platform use)
  • Questions on which driver to use

Drivers generally fall into two categories:

  • Device/Software driver - A program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device.

  • Hardware Device - (examples) Graphics Card, Sound Card, NIC, etc.


Related links:

18814 questions
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Installing Broadcom Wireless Drivers

I'm having serious problems installing the Broadcom drivers for Ubuntu. It worked perfectly on my previous version, but now, it is impossible. What are the steps to install Broadcom wireless drivers for a BCM43xx card? I'm a user with no advance…
273
votes
7 answers

How can I find what video driver is in use on my system?

I would like to try a different video display driver, but I'm not sure which one I'm currently using. What's the simple way to see what driver my system is using currently?
belacqua
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185
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18 answers

How to install NVIDIA.run?

I have a Nvidia Ge force Ge6150 SE graphics card. I am running ubuntu 12.04. When I try to install the .run file it fails. It shows the message like this: I tried to install it after uninstalling the old driver.still same message. Here is the log…
Kiranraj
  • 2,113
181
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14 answers

How do I install the Nvidia drivers?

I just ordered the Nvidia GTX card. I have a dilemma, though. Should I keep using the driver which is available in "additional drivers" in Ubuntu, or should I install the driver from the Nvidia site? So which driver is the best for me?
Frantisek
  • 8,998
143
votes
16 answers

Is there a way to "restart" the touchpad driver?

I use Ubuntu 14.04 on a laptop, usually with an external usb mouse and keyboard and screen connected. Sometimes, however, I unplug all of them and move the laptop and keep using it with the builtin keyboard and screen and touchpad. At random times…
matteo
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141
votes
9 answers

How do I check if Ubuntu is using my NVIDIA graphics card?

The reason I'm asking is that none of the games I've installed through software center that require 3D accelartion like TORCS for instance will run. When I try to run then, nothing happens. I have a Dell Inspiron N5110 with a nVidia GeForce GT…
Nic
  • 1,411
122
votes
31 answers

External monitor not detected on Ubuntu 18.04

After upgrading to Ubuntu 18.04, my laptop has been unable to detect/use an external monitor attached via HDMI. Even when plugged in, the "detect displays" button within the default settings app doesn't do anything. Here is the output from…
PullJosh
  • 1,331
111
votes
2 answers

dpkg-deb: error: paste subprocess was killed by signal (Broken pipe)

On Ubuntu 18.04 I am getting this when I want to install the recommended Nvidia driver. sudo apt install nvidia-340 Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following packages were…
107
votes
6 answers

Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/i915

I upgraded my laptop to have the 4.8 kernel and during the process the following warnings came up. update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-4.8.0-040800-generic W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/i915/kbl_dmc_ver1_01.bin for module…
Malachi
  • 1,397
90
votes
1 answer

Unknown Additional Driver: Processor microcode firmware for Intel CPUs for intel-microcode

After upgrading to 15.04, I have one additional driver (it did not appear in 14.10). What is the purpose of this driver and should I enable it?
86
votes
6 answers

"W: Possible missing firmware for module i915_bpo" when updating initramfs

When I run a kernel or NVIDIA driver update on my 16.04, this triggers an initramfs rebuild which outputs the warning below: Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.122ubuntu8.1) ... update-initramfs: Generating…
Byte Commander
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86
votes
6 answers

How can I check the information of currently installed WiFi drivers?

When I clicked on additional drivers on Ubuntu 12.04, I could not see any drivers.. How can I check what drivers are installed for WiFi on Ubuntu environment.
Inderjeet
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82
votes
13 answers

NVIDIA-SMI has failed because it couldn't communicate with the NVIDIA driver. Make sure that the latest NVIDIA driver is installed and running

I just installed CUDA in a notebook like this: sudo apt-get install cuda Like said here. The compilation works just fine but when I try to run I got the followin problem: CUDA error at file.cu:128 code=35(cudaErrorInsufficientDriver)…
Rodolfo
  • 1,213
82
votes
4 answers

How do I install additional drivers?

I've just installed Ubuntu and I need either video, wireless, or some sort of other manufacturer (non-opensource) driver. How can I run the tool that will fetch all of these for me? I'd like graphical instructions. Related: Can I install extra…
Jorge Castro
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79
votes
5 answers

Can I install extra drivers via the command prompt?

Since I can't seem to open the Additional Drivers program? And how do I know what driver I need to install?
TheXed
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