NVIDIA DRIVER INSTALLATION ON MISTIKA SYSTEMS WITH LINUX


First check which NVidia GPU model and driver are you using,  and write it down in case that you want to reinstall the old driver later.  To check it, just execute this in a console:


nvidia-smi


or


nvidia-settings


(The NVidia tool will appear, you can find your GPU model and current driver information in there)


Now, to install the new driver:


1 - Go to NVidia website www.nvidia.com and download the latest driver for your graphics card (choose the one for Linux 64 bit)


Note: If you are going to install a newer GPU,  best practice is to first download the driver and install it.  Then power off and change the GPU. This will ensure that you keep graphics GUI most of the time.


Note: Dual GPU systems are only possible to build with GPUs that can work with the same driver.


2 - Let's suppose you have downloaded the driver to  /home/mistika/Downloads.  Then execute these commands in a console to install the driver:


su


cd /home/mistika/Downloads


init 3  (at this point you will go into text only mode)


sh NVidiaDriverName.run 


(where NVidiaDriverName.run is the file that you have downloaded. If not sure execute "ls" to see the list of files.)


Now follow instructions answering with the default answers. When it finishes execute:


init 5


At this point the system will go back to graphics mode, already using the new driver.


3 - Check that the new driver is running (use nvidia-settings), and also check it after the next reboot.


4 - Open mConfig a first time. It may offer additional configuration steps (wacom, multiGPU)


NOTE: In some occasions in the past, a particular driver had bugs and was not recommended.  For this reason, in the past there was always a "supported driver".  But due to the way that we collaborate with NVidia nowadays these problems are very rare,  and what we recommend is to use "the latest one"  available for your GPU model.   



TROUBLESHOOTING SYSTEMS NOT REACHING THE GRAPHICS MODE 


In the worst case, if you are experiencing GPU or  driver issues that are not letting the system to reach the graphics mode (then you can  try this other article