<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta name="generator" content= "HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1 September 2005), see www.w3.org"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= "text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <title>Chapter 6. Configuring X for the NVIDIA Driver</title> <meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.68.1"> <link rel="start" href="index.html" title= "NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver README and Installation Guide"> <link rel="up" href="installationandconfiguration.html" title= "Part I. Installation and Configuration Instructions"> <link rel="prev" href="installedcomponents.html" title= "Chapter 5. Listing of Installed Components"> <link rel="next" href="faq.html" title= "Chapter 7. Frequently Asked Questions"> </head> <body> <div class="navheader"> <table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"> <tr> <th colspan="3" align="center">Chapter 6. Configuring X for the NVIDIA Driver</th> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href= "installedcomponents.html">Prev</a> </td> <th width="60%" align="center">Part I. Installation and Configuration Instructions</th> <td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href= "faq.html">Next</a></td> </tr> </table> <hr></div> <div class="chapter" lang="en"> <div class="titlepage"> <div> <div> <h2 class="title"><a name="editxconfig" id= "editxconfig"></a>Chapter 6. Configuring X for the NVIDIA Driver</h2> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc"> <p><b>Table of Contents</b></p> <dl> <dt><span class="section"><a href= "editxconfig.html#UsingNvidiaxcon2beec">Using nvidia-xconfig to configure the X server</a></span></dt> <dt><span class="section"><a href= "editxconfig.html#ManuallyEditing1ae61">Manually Editing the Configuration File</a></span></dt> <dt><span class="section"><a href= "editxconfig.html#RestoringTheXCof7145">Restoring the X Configuration after Uninstalling the Driver</a></span></dt> </dl> </div> <p>The X configuration file provides a means to configure the X server. This section describes the settings necessary to enable the NVIDIA driver. A comprehensive list of parameters is provided in <a href="xconfigoptions.html" title= "Appendix B. X Config Options">Appendix B, <i>X Config Options</i></a>.</p> <p>The NVIDIA Driver includes a utility called nvidia-xconfig, which is designed to make editing the X configuration file easy. You can also edit it by hand.</p> <div class="section" lang="en"> <div class="titlepage"> <div> <div> <h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name= "UsingNvidiaxcon2beec" id="UsingNvidiaxcon2beec"></a>Using nvidia-xconfig to configure the X server</h2> </div> </div> </div> <p>nvidia-xconfig will find the X configuration file and modify it to use the NVIDIA X driver. In most cases, you can simply answer "Yes" when the installer asks if it should run it. If you need to reconfigure your X server later, you can run nvidia-xconfig again from a terminal. nvidia-xconfig will make a backup copy of your configuration file before modifying it.</p> <p>Note that the X server must be restarted for any changes to its configuration file to take effect.</p> <p>More information about nvidia-xconfig can be found in the nvidia-xconfig manual page by running.</p> <pre class="screen"> % man nvidia-xconfig </pre> <p></p> </div> <div class="section" lang="en"> <div class="titlepage"> <div> <div> <h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name= "ManuallyEditing1ae61" id="ManuallyEditing1ae61"></a>Manually Editing the Configuration File</h2> </div> </div> </div> <p>In April 2004 the X.Org Foundation released an X server based on the XFree86 server. While your release may use the X.Org X server, rather than XFree86, the differences between the two should have no impact on NVIDIA Linux users with two exceptions:</p> <div class="itemizedlist"> <ul type="disc"> <li> <p>The X.Org configuration file is <code class= "filename">/etc/X11/xorg.conf</code> while the XFree86 configuration file is <code class= "filename">/etc/X11/XF86Config</code>. The files use the same syntax. This document refers to both files as “<span class= "quote">the X config file</span>”.</p> </li> <li> <p>The X.Org log file is <code class= "filename">/var/log/Xorg.#.log</code> while the XFree86 log file is <code class="filename">/var/log/XFree86.#.log</code> (where <code class="filename">#</code> is the server number -- usually 0). The format of the log files is nearly identical. This document refers to both files as “<span class="quote">the X log file</span>”.</p> </li> </ul> </div> <p>In order for any changes to be read into the X server, you must edit the file used by the server. While it is not unreasonable to simply edit both files, it is easy to determine the correct file by searching for the line</p> <pre class="screen"> (==) Using config file: </pre> <p>in the X log file. This line indicates the name of the X config file in use.</p> <p>If you do not have a working X config file, there are a few different ways to obtain one. A sample config file is included both with the XFree86 distribution and with the NVIDIA driver package (at <code class="filename">/usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/</code>). The <span><strong class="command">nvidia-xconfig</strong></span> utility, provided with the NVIDIA driver package, can generate a new X configuration file. Additional information on the X config syntax can be found in the XF86Config manual page (<strong class= "userinput"><code>man XF86Config</code></strong> or <strong class= "userinput"><code>man xorg.conf</code></strong>).</p> <p>If you have a working X config file for a different driver (such as the “<span class="quote">nv</span>” or “<span class="quote">vesa</span>” driver), then simply edit the file as follows.</p> <p>Remove the line:</p> <pre class="screen"> Driver "nv" (or Driver "vesa") (or Driver "fbdev") </pre> <p>and replace it with the line:</p> <pre class="screen"> Driver "nvidia" </pre> <p>Remove the following lines:</p> <pre class="screen"> Load "dri" Load "GLCore" </pre> <p>In the <code class="computeroutput">Module</code> section of the file, add the line (if it does not already exist):</p> <pre class="screen"> Load "glx" </pre> <p>If the X config file does not have a <code class= "computeroutput">Module</code> section, you can safely skip the last step if the X server installed on your system is an X.Org X server or an XFree86 X release version 4.4.0 or greater. If you are using an older XFree86 X server, add the following to your X config file:</p> <pre class="screen"> Section "Module" Load "extmod" Load "dbe" Load "type1" Load "freetype" Load "glx" EndSection </pre> <p>There are numerous options that may be added to the X config file to tune the NVIDIA X driver. See <a href="xconfigoptions.html" title="Appendix B. X Config Options">Appendix B, <i>X Config Options</i></a> for a complete list of these options.</p> <p>Once you have completed these edits to the X config file, you may restart X and begin using the accelerated OpenGL libraries. After restarting X, any OpenGL application should automatically use the new NVIDIA libraries. (NOTE: If you encounter any problems, see <a href="commonproblems.html" title= "Chapter 8. Common Problems">Chapter 8, <i>Common Problems</i></a> for common problem diagnoses.)</p> </div> <div class="section" lang="en"> <div class="titlepage"> <div> <div> <h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name= "RestoringTheXCof7145" id="RestoringTheXCof7145"></a>Restoring the X Configuration after Uninstalling the Driver</h2> </div> </div> </div> <p>If X is explicitly configured to use the NVIDIA driver, then the X config file should be edited to use a different X driver after uninstalling the NVIDIA driver. Otherwise, X may fail to start, since the driver it was configured to use will no longer be present on the system after uninstallation.</p> <p>If you edited the file manually, revert any edits you made. If you used the <span><strong class= "command">nvidia-xconfig</strong></span> utility, either by answering "Yes" when prompted to configure the X server by the installer, or by running it manually later on, then you may restore the backed-up X config file, if it exists and reflects the X config state that existed before the NVIDIA driver was installed.</p> <p>If you do not recall any manual changes that you made to the file, or do not have a backed-up X config file that uses a non-NVIDIA X driver, you may want to try simply renaming the X configuration file, to see if your X server loads a sensible default.</p> </div> </div> <div class="navfooter"> <hr> <table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"> <tr> <td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href= "installedcomponents.html">Prev</a> </td> <td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href= "installationandconfiguration.html">Up</a></td> <td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href= "faq.html">Next</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="40%" align="left" valign="top"> Chapter 5. 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