Boot problem after (Kernel) upgrade, more info

[Keith]

On 9/20/21 5:28 AM, Grizzly via ubuntu-users wrote:
> 19 September 2021  at 14:06, Keith wrote:
> Re: Boot problem after (Kernel) upg (at least in part)
>
> Thanks Keith
>
>> On 9/19/21 7:02 AM, Grizzly via ubuntu-users wrote:
>
>>> As mentioned I all was well with 20.04.3 (5.8.0-59) the I ran dist-upgrade, and
>>> did not reboot (apparently) when I did boot again it would not work
>>>
>>> AFAICT it was an nvidia driver
>
>> It sounds like your problem is this:
>
>> nvidia-340 kernel module failed to build (ERROR: Kernel configuration is
>> invalid)
>>
>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-340/+bug/1938978
>>
>> You have a few options:
>
>> 1. Upgrade your card to a model Nvidia officially supports.
>
>> 2. Continue to use 5.8 kernel
>
>> 3. Install a 3rd party 340 driver package from an external source. This
>> option has all the usual caveats that come from installing software from
>> untrusted and unsupported sources. In the bug report I linked above,
>> someone in the comments mentioned installing a package from a PPA to get
>> the driver working.
>
>> 4. Uninstall proprietary Nvidia driver and use the open source nouveau
>> driver.
>
> I did this in prep for third party driver install,
> 5.11.0-27 lost all conectivity no NIC shown (RealTek RTL)
> 5.8.0-59 is unusable
> both lost backup so I'm a bit stuck
>

I would have thought adding the third party PPA containing the modified
340 driver would have been just an update to the currently installed
package. Add the PPA and then run "apt full-upgrade" and that would be
it. You'd only want to remove the Nvidia driver if you were going with
the 4th option to exclusively use the nouveau driver.

When you say 5.8 is unusable, are referring to the low res display you
got previously when you tried the nouveau driver? Can you switch to a
virtual terminal (ctl-alt-f3)? If so and you have network access, then I
would go ahead and reinstall the 340 driver from the Ubuntu repository
with the "ubuntu-drivers" command. If that works and your normal display
is restored, then try again with the PPA if you're going with option 3.
But before doing that, BACKUP YOUR DATA and then create a bootable cd or
usb drive with a 20.04.2 (not .3, it has the 5.11 kernel) image so that
you have rescue disk on hand if things go wrong.

I don't know why your NIC is not showing up in the 5.11 kernel. I looked
at the packages that get installed with the 340 driver and nothing
stands out that would affect a RealTek NIC when you remove them.

According to the nouveau driver website,
https://nouveau.freedesktop.org/FeatureMatrix.html, your GeForce 8300
(grouped under the NV50 class) is fairly well supported - certainly for
regular desktop use - so it may be just a issue of configuration if you
decide to go with the nouveau driver in the future, i.e when upgrading
to a new release.

--
Keith