I've looked at the other NVIDIA driver questions in these forums, but they seem to deal with specific issues / problems. I just want to learn how to update my NVIDIA drivers. I used Terminal to update and upgrade my system. But when I looked through the entries, I noticed that I didn't see any that said NVIDIA. I went to the NVIDIA website. Although I saw a section on Linux drivers, it looked more like an archive of old software. I have an MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ventus 2X Black 8G OC graphics card. I just bought it at the beginning of 2025.
Solved Updating Nvidia drivers
- Thread starter Skybear
- Start date
Solved issue
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
The safest way, is to click on menu, type in Driver Manager, and click on that.
It will imediately start to scan. Don't interrupt it.
When it finishes, it will tell if any updates etc are available
if an update is available, i would suggest you take a timeshift snapshot before installing it.
I would be surprised if there was an update. As far as I know nvidia updates only come out very occasionally via new kernels. The people maintaining the kernels test any nvidia updates before they include them in the next kernel.
I do not have a gpu. My graphics come to me via : Intel HD Graphics 630 vendor....in other words a chip on the motherboard. No complaints thus far (current pc has had 13 years of use)
From the tales I have read, downloading from the website of nvidia can be a cautionary tale.
Wait for someone better versed in that aspect than me.
It will imediately start to scan. Don't interrupt it.
When it finishes, it will tell if any updates etc are available
if an update is available, i would suggest you take a timeshift snapshot before installing it.
I would be surprised if there was an update. As far as I know nvidia updates only come out very occasionally via new kernels. The people maintaining the kernels test any nvidia updates before they include them in the next kernel.
I do not have a gpu. My graphics come to me via : Intel HD Graphics 630 vendor....in other words a chip on the motherboard. No complaints thus far (current pc has had 13 years of use)
From the tales I have read, downloading from the website of nvidia can be a cautionary tale.
Wait for someone better versed in that aspect than me.
That is a very mixed bag, and a somewhat difficult to answer.
"Most" (not all ) wi-fi, network, audio, USB, drivers are in the kernel.
The AMD Radeon drivers are in the kernel, but the Nvidia drivers are not.
There is a "free open source" nvidia driver called nouveau, it's usually an external driver, not in the kernel (but not always).
Almost all your other updates, libraries, patches, new software, applications, etc... are not included in the kernel,
but often get updated during the update command. How often and how many depends on your distro.
How's that for confusion?
So Nvidia drivers aren't found in the kernel, or at least not usually. So, how do I make sure I have the most recent Nvidia drivers?I'm not a fan of Nvidia. I just want to 1) make sure I have the most recent drivers and 2) learning about this helps me to learn more about Linux.
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
If this were me, and the current driver is working, I would leave it that way.
I deliberately avoid issues with graphics drivers on the forum. They are almost inevitably, a poo pile.
I deliberately avoid issues with graphics drivers on the forum. They are almost inevitably, a poo pile.
I would agree with my Mexican friend ^^^ (he lives south of the border).
If you do choose to pursue this, then I would ask an off-topic question
Do you have your Timeshift snapshot storage facility set up yet on the external SSD?
You can answer that one in your Thread on Timeshift.
In Timeshift, make use of the Comments facility, by taking a snapshot, and commenting eg
"Before updating nvidia drivers"
Then, if you have multiple snapshots, it is easy to identify the one to use if things go wrong.
Avagudweegend
Wizard
If you do choose to pursue this, then I would ask an off-topic question
Do you have your Timeshift snapshot storage facility set up yet on the external SSD?
You can answer that one in your Thread on Timeshift.
In Timeshift, make use of the Comments facility, by taking a snapshot, and commenting eg
"Before updating nvidia drivers"
Then, if you have multiple snapshots, it is easy to identify the one to use if things go wrong.
Avagudweegend
Wizard
CaffeineAddict
Well-Known Member
Wise move, my nvidia notes span 500 lines, I could give you that but the whole procedure is not beginner friendly and if something doesn't work it may be very difficult to fix.
If you're not gamer the default driver you get from Mint is just fine.
@Skybear :-
Yeah, it's a "rat's nest" at the best of times where Nvidia & Linux are concerned.
I've been messing about with these things for well over 40 years. In all that time, I've never bothered with 'discrete', dedicated GPUs - like @Condobloke, above - until very recently.
The year COVID kicked-in, my ancient Compaq desktop rig shuffled off its mortal coil. Blown caps. It was nearly 17 years old, so it hadn't done badly for a machine built at the height of the "capacitor plague" of the early to mid-2000s.
So; new machine. I decided it was high time I tried a discrete GPU for the first time ever; not because I specifically needed one for anything in particular, but simply because I wanted to finally cross it off my "bucket list" and be able to say I'd been there & done it.
Many of our 'Puppy' members were quite positive about their Nvidia experiences, and one of our Japanese members had written an installer that made use of the Nvidia .run files that came from their main website. So that's what I went with.....just for "the experience".
I will say this, though; I've updated the drivers a couple of times since installing the card(s) - I treated myself to an upgrade before Xmas! - but in general, if a driver works well for me it'll be a LONG time before I bother updating it.
It's all down to the individual, really. Personally, not being a demanding user I've been very happy with the performance of my 2 Nvidia GPUs this last few years.
Mike.
Yeah, it's a "rat's nest" at the best of times where Nvidia & Linux are concerned.
I've been messing about with these things for well over 40 years. In all that time, I've never bothered with 'discrete', dedicated GPUs - like @Condobloke, above - until very recently.
The year COVID kicked-in, my ancient Compaq desktop rig shuffled off its mortal coil. Blown caps. It was nearly 17 years old, so it hadn't done badly for a machine built at the height of the "capacitor plague" of the early to mid-2000s.
So; new machine. I decided it was high time I tried a discrete GPU for the first time ever; not because I specifically needed one for anything in particular, but simply because I wanted to finally cross it off my "bucket list" and be able to say I'd been there & done it.
Many of our 'Puppy' members were quite positive about their Nvidia experiences, and one of our Japanese members had written an installer that made use of the Nvidia .run files that came from their main website. So that's what I went with.....just for "the experience".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will say this, though; I've updated the drivers a couple of times since installing the card(s) - I treated myself to an upgrade before Xmas! - but in general, if a driver works well for me it'll be a LONG time before I bother updating it.
It's all down to the individual, really. Personally, not being a demanding user I've been very happy with the performance of my 2 Nvidia GPUs this last few years.
Mike.
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@dos2unix :-
Ya gotta remember, 'Puppy's operating model is utterly different to mainstream Linux. It loads fully into RAM from read-only files, and the user has the choice of saving the session OR allowing it to evaporate into cyberspace at session's end.
And every Puppy release is like a frozen snapshot in time. There IS no ongoing, dynamic, real-time updating happening periodically in the background. You want newer dependencies, etc, you "upgrade" to the next Pup in the series.
I wouldn't like to say if it's any "safer" than conventional distros. All I CAN say is that in more than 12 years of using her I've never yet had a minute's trouble with anything.
Fluke? Sheer dumb luck? No idea. It all sounds very "dicey", doesn't it? But she works for us.....despite our seeming disregard for convention!
At the end of the day, I'm the only one who's got to "worry" about MY setup. And I ain't worried.....over a decade of experience has conclusively proved I have nowt to worry about.
Mike.
Yeah, I can understand that, Ray. You and about a million others.....who've always been taught that to remain safe & secure, you MUST run the very newest of everything all the time.
Ya gotta remember, 'Puppy's operating model is utterly different to mainstream Linux. It loads fully into RAM from read-only files, and the user has the choice of saving the session OR allowing it to evaporate into cyberspace at session's end.
And every Puppy release is like a frozen snapshot in time. There IS no ongoing, dynamic, real-time updating happening periodically in the background. You want newer dependencies, etc, you "upgrade" to the next Pup in the series.
I wouldn't like to say if it's any "safer" than conventional distros. All I CAN say is that in more than 12 years of using her I've never yet had a minute's trouble with anything.
Fluke? Sheer dumb luck? No idea. It all sounds very "dicey", doesn't it? But she works for us.....despite our seeming disregard for convention!
At the end of the day, I'm the only one who's got to "worry" about MY setup. And I ain't worried.....over a decade of experience has conclusively proved I have nowt to worry about.
Mike.
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Bingo. Linus himself went on record saying "NVIDEA SUCKS"! I would never own an Nvidia card, I've seen too many Linux users with unsolvable driver problems.
AMD and Nvidia both have their issues, my last experience with my previous AMD gpu was the worst experience I've had with a gpu since I started using Linux.
Everyone’s experiences with Nvidia and AMD cards vary, which is natural. However, the majority of issues with discrete GPUs tend to stem from Nvidia products.
@f33dm3bits :-
Like I said, Maarten, I've been pretty happy with both my cards.....but then, they're both down the low end of the scale, and I'm NOT a very demanding user.
If I'm honest, I could probably get away with the on-die Intel UHD graphics for what I do with 'em. As I said above, I simply wanted to cross this one off my "bucket list", so's I could say I had at least tried out the whole process.....given that I'd done without a discrete GPU for nearly 40 years!
Mike.
Like I said, Maarten, I've been pretty happy with both my cards.....but then, they're both down the low end of the scale, and I'm NOT a very demanding user.
If I'm honest, I could probably get away with the on-die Intel UHD graphics for what I do with 'em. As I said above, I simply wanted to cross this one off my "bucket list", so's I could say I had at least tried out the whole process.....given that I'd done without a discrete GPU for nearly 40 years!
Mike.
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