Why is there no built-in nvidia driver support? aka GTX 980 issues

[t...@brainpad.org]

Hi,

I've been toying with Qubes for the past week and it really struck me when I realized that it's the future of what an OS should be. Since then I've been obsessed trying to make it run anywhere but the only computer running it perfectly is my Lenovo X220 otherwise my other (Macbook Pro Retina, and a gaming PC with a GTX 980 nvidia GPU) are simply not even starting the install nor a completed install on a USB3 SSD drive I did to test. I tried every idea I could find with grub flags (nodemodeset, etc) the closest I got to doing something on my GTX 980 based PC has been starting the anaconda installer in CLI mode.

It just won't show anything on that GPU. FYI it is hooked via an HDMI cable to a LG television. If I let it go without messing the grub flags my tv shows an "invalid format" error I guess because the resolution is wrong but if I start it and remove the quiet flags to see what goes on I can see some sys-net VM error or something but it just stops and never do anything. I can't switch to console nor try to see more logs.

So my big question is: why does Qubes OS not have built-in GPU support? why is it working better on integrated graphics?

It would be KICKASS to have this run on a monster machine. I swear I would install this everywhere. Put it on my toast when I wake up in the morning and even wash myself with it! Qubes OS blows my mind and I really really want to use it.

Keep up the amazing work, sorry I wish I could provide more details/debug info but don't hesitate to ask for any kind of testing on my end.

Thanks and have a nice day!

[J. Eppler]

So my big question is: why does Qubes OS not have built-in GPU support? why is it working better on integrated graphics?

Integrated graphics cards are mostly Intel based. Intel is one of the top contributors to Linux and provides free and open source drivers for their integrated GPU's.

Nvidia is one of the worst companies [1] when it comes to Linux open source graphics drivers. On the other hand, Nvidia provides well supported proprietary driver.

However, including binary drivers in an open source operating system is always difficult and raises security problems, since it is impossible to audit the source code of the proprietary driver. Who knows what the proprietary driver really does?

Another problem is the switching mechanism between integrated and discrete GPU in Laptops, Nvidia did never provide any source code or driver for that. The open source community had to fill that gap.

I personally would like to see a powerful open source Noveau driver for Nvidia cards which outperforms Nvidia's proprietary driver.

[1]: [Linus Torvalds Gives Nvidia the Finger. Literally(]https://www.wired.com/2012/06/torvalds-nvidia-linux/)

[Achim Patzner]

> Am 16.09.2016 um 09:09 schrieb almigh...@gmail.com:
>
> Qubes was working flawlessly on my GTX 670,

So why did you change anything if things were working?


Achim

[rkn...@nymantechnology.com]

Did this ever get resolved? I am fighting this very battle. I'm assuming that trying to hack through anaconda JUST TO GET THE INSTALLER TO WORK is a waste.

Is there something I can try? How can I help?

=rk=

On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 1:54:55 AM UTC-7, almigh...@gmail.com wrote:
> I have been doing some tests using a GTX 1070, on Qubes R3.2, I think it is fair to say GTX 900 and 1000 series cards are unusable right now going by user reports.
>
> Booting in BIOS mode without self-test:
> Starting installer, one moment...
> *black screen*
>
> Booting in BIOS mode with self-test:
> Starting installer, one moment...
> *scrolls too fast to read*
> 17:47:03 Not asking for VNC because we don't have a network
> 17:47:03 X startup failed, falling back to text mode
>
> Then I am placed in the anaconda CLI install. Trying to go through with the CLI installer fails while trying to set an install destination. Selecting LUKS results in the following errors:
>
> Generating updated storage configureation
> storage configuration failed: autopart failed:
> Encryption requested for LUKS device sdc2 but no encryption key specified for the device.
>
> Booting using UEFI doesn't work either. It shows the 4 tux images and says:
>
> [ 0.000000] efi: EFI_MEMMAP is not enabled.
> [ 0.000000] esrt: ESRT header is not in the memory map.
> [ 5.760317] dracut-pre-trigger[401]: cat: /tmp/dd_disk: No such file or directory
> [ 37.945613] hid-generic 0003:1044:7A03.0008: item 0 1 0 8 parsing failed
> [ 38.003314] hid-generic 0003:1044:7A03.0008: No inputs registered, leaving
> [ 39.170611] sd 6:0:0:0: alua: Attach failed (-22)
> { 9.139264] dracut-initqueue[506]: mount: /dev/sdd is write-protected, mounting read-only
>
> The display then freezes, trying to switch tty doesn't show any effect.
>
> I think this has something to do with nouveau. Searching around shows nouveau only got support for the GTX 1000 series in July. Perhaps Qubes is using an outdated version?

[Slideshowbob]

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: [qubes-users] Re: Why is there no built-in nvidia driver support? aka GTX 980 issues

Local Time: March 8, 2017 11:58 PM

UTC Time: March 8, 2017 10:58 PM

From: rkn...@nymantechnology.com

To: qubes-users <qubes...@googlegroups.com>

almigh...@gmail.com

Did this ever get resolved? I am fighting this very battle. I'm assuming that trying to hack through anaconda JUST TO GET THE INSTALLER TO WORK is a waste.

Is there something I can try? How can I help?

=rk=

I had lots of weird errors and a non working installer, too. Booting using nouveau.modeset=0 made all my issues go away. Worth a try :).

ssb

[cooloutac]

you might have to wait till a kernel come out to support the gpu. If you get Qubes intalled with integrated you can maybe check testing repo for a newer kernel. I guess noveau is lagging more then 2 years behind.

[cooloutac]

Just to add you won't get any benefit from the Nvidia card. Qubes only uses it for desktop effects. the vms don;t have 3d rendering.

[Robert Nyman]

Would you mind detailing the steps you went through to make that happen?

Thank you in advance.

=rk=

[sl98077]

On Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 11:56:52 PM UTC-5, cooloutac wrote:
> Just to add you won't get any benefit from the Nvidia card. Qubes only uses it for desktop effects. the vms don;t have 3d rendering.

It's not only about 3D rendering it has to do with users that want to also dual boot with a spare ssd, be a little mindful others have different obligations.. if Qubes wants to grow it needs to be readily available for all users.

[john.c...@ucdconnect.ie]

On Friday, 16 September 2016 08:09:46 UTC+1, almigh...@gmail.com wrote:
> Qubes was working flawlessly on my GTX 670, recently upgraded to a GTX 1070 and now I can't even load the installer

What drivers did you install for the 670?

I'm on a 660 atm, and haven't installed any drivers, but am getting screen tearing when fullscreening netflix/youtube.

[cooloutac]

You sure its not a general linux problem?

[cooloutac]

dual booting another os? That would defeat the purpose. Qubes is for people who want some exra security. not a cool tech experiment.

[Daniel Acevedo]

Using a Sata Switch that plugs in a PCI slot, one can turn on/off
different drives, allowing dual booting without diminishing the
security.

I ordered this one (still waiting for it):
http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/ZBgAAOSwvg9XbqSI/s-l225.jpg

[ZK9]

You have this silly statement for everything, the person above this post has his methods and there are certainly others.

[cooloutac]

You can also unplug the drives, Its not only the drive that you need to worry about though. https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/multiboot/