[ubuntu-za] nvidia graphics

[Raoul Snyman]

Hi Miles,

On Tuesday 03 November 2009 15:59:45 miles sharpe wrote:
> Hi guys. I downloaded what I  think was the correct graphics driver for
> nvidia riva tnt2
> When I went to system preferences display it said run nvidia-xconfig
> which I did. sudo nvidia-xconfig then it says restart your xserver.
> I dont know how so restarted pc. now it says there is a graphics error
> and wants to run in low definition mode.
> I am lost.
> Can you please help me

Firstly, you don't need to install Envy, it just makes things worse in the 
long run. Stick to using Synaptic for installing display drivers.

Secondly, let's get you back to some usable graphics:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F2 and you'll get to a login prompt.
2. Login with your normal username and password.
3. Type in: sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf (type in your password when prompted).
4. Type in: sudo reboot
5. Hopefully now you should be back to a normal login screen.

Thirdly, do a bit of investigation and a bit of reading. The Riva TNT2 card is 
quite an old card, and as such, it's drivers are in the xserver-xorg-video-nv 
package. This should be the default driver that your GUI system uses.

And last of all, a little bit of explanation... Ubuntu's GUI system works 
differently to Windows. There's a piece of software called X.org, or X, which 
runs the whole graphical interface. When people talk about X, they're talking 
about the graphics system.

I hope this helps.

-- 
Raoul Snyman, B.Tech IT (Software Engineering)
Saturn Laboratories
m: 082 550 3754
e: raoul.snyman at saturnlaboratories.co.za 
w: www.saturnlaboratories.co.za 
b: blog.saturnlaboratories.co.za