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[Bug 1310023] Re: 14.04: Nvidia Prime is unable to switch to the Nvidia card

 

I was unable to switch to my Nvidia gtx 555m using prime indicator, bumblebee or manually through the nvidia server settings application. When changing with the command "$ prime-select nvidia" the terminal would show that the change occurred however I am positive this wasn't the case as I could not get a frame rate above 15 on  a 64 emulator.
I managed to somehow fix this issue by doing the following: (quotations "" are only containing the contents of the commands I used, as none are used in them, so only enter whats inside them)

1.Remove primus, nvidia server settings and purge nvidia drivers:
"sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*"

2.Install prime, prime indicator through the terminal
"sudo apt-get install nvidia-prime"
"sudo apt-get install prime-indicator
sysinfo with nvidia server settings as an add on through software centre

3. Install Nvidia driver 340.65
(http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2014/12/install-
nvidia-340-65-ubuntu-1504/)

4. Change to Nvidia gpu using terminal command "sudo prime-select
nvidia"

Note prime indicator and server settings both display that they're using
Intel Integrated graphics however I get a solid 60 fps emulating,
video's aren't laggy in general and what once was a black screen for
some graphical programs now work fine.

ps I'm not sure if every install is necessary but I just listed what I
did, I'm not experienced with Linux but no forums were helping me with
my problem and I noticed a lot of people having the same issue. Sorry if
this doesn't help you however I hope to ease your frustration as I did
mine.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop
Packages, which is subscribed to nvidia-prime in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1310023

Title:
  14.04: Nvidia Prime is unable to switch to the Nvidia card

Status in nvidia-prime package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in ubuntu-drivers-common package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in ubuntu-drivers-common source package in Trusty:
  Fix Released

Bug description:
  SRU Request

  On some systems bbswitch requires the "skip_optimus_dsm=1" option in
  order to load properly. So far we have dealt with this problem with
  system specific quirks based on DMI information. This some times gives
  us false positives or doesn't cover all systems (it's hard to quirk
  all systems). We should simply try with and without that option and
  use whatever works best for the system. This should cover all cases
  with no need for additional quirks.

  
  [Impact]
   * Loading bbswitch with the wrong option causes the module to fail from loading which, in turn, prevents hybrid graphics from working properly.

  [Test Case]
   * Install the nvidia binary driver, reboot, and check that the NVIDIA GPU is enabled (attach your /var/log/gpu-manager.log)
      - Expected: the NVIDIA GPU is enabled.
      - Bad behavior: the system switches back to the intel driver and the NVIDIA GPU is not used.

  [Regression Potential]
   * Low. Systems that currently work will keep working as usual, the ones that currently fail should finally work.

  [Other Info]
   * N/A

  --

  I did a fresh install of 14.04 the day it was released. I use a XPS 15z laptop form Dell with hybrid graphics (Intel HD 3000 (probably) and Nvidia Geforce GT 525M). Booting doesn't work out of the box, but by setting
  GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="acpi_backlight=vendor dell_laptop.backlight=0 quiet splash"
  in /etc/default/grub it works. acpi=off when installing, removed that from the grub file when installed.

  I expected that the Prime feature introduced in kernel 3.12 (kernel
  3.13.x here) would let me switch between the Intel and Nvidia cards as
  i like, instead of using Bumblebee, which doesn't work properly with
  everything. I've installed and tried both the nvidia-331 and
  nvidia-304 drivers. Exactly the same result from both.

  Attempting to switch to the Nvidia card in nvidia-settings (tried on almost all of the drivers available, including 331.38) resulted in an error message, in a new window, with no text.
  prime-switch in terminal gives this output: Segmentation fault (core dumped)
  Sudoing the process gives no output at all. No graphical performance boost either, still the Intel card...

  sudo prime-select nvidia gives this output:
  Error: alternatives are not set up properly
  Error: nvidia mode can't be enabled

  I've also tried Bumblebee (not PPA) a few times, but it's also unable
  to switch.

  I'm able to use the Intel card temporary, but I would really like to
  be able to use the full power of my computer...

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
  Package: nvidia-prime 0.6.2
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-24.46-generic 3.13.9
  Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64
  ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3
  Architecture: amd64
  CurrentDesktop: Unity
  Date: Sat Apr 19 20:52:42 2014
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-04-17 (1 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140417)
  SourcePackage: nvidia-prime
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

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