/arch-nvidia-drivers-installation-guide

Arch Linux nvidia drivers installation guide

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Default Prerequisites

This is a quick tutorial on how you can install proprietary nvidia drivers for Arch Linux. Please note if you are using anything other than the regular linux kernel, such as linux-lts, you need to make changes accordingly. All the commands marked with like this are meant to be run on the terminal. Do not reboot before you have finished all the steps below!

Step 1: Installing required packages and enable multilib

  1. Update the system: sudo pacman -Syu
  2. Install required packages: sudo pacman -S base-devel linux-headers git --needed
  3. Install the AUR helper, yay
 cd ~
 git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
 cd yay
 makepkg -si
  1. Enable multilib repository sudo nano /etc/pacman.conf
  • Uncomment lines that have [multilib] and Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist, and then run yay -Syu, to update the system package database. Do not run yay -Syy, as that may cause a partial upgrade.

Step 2: Installing the driver packages

  1. This step might be a bit confusing. First find your nvidia card from this list here
  2. After reading if you still don't know what driver you need, take a look of that list on gentoo wiki here that lists the latest driver that supports your CHIPSET. For example, if you have a GTX 3060, you need to install the latest version of nvidia, so just yay -S nvidia nvidia-utils lib32-nvidia-utils.
  3. Check what driver packages you need to install from the list below
Driver name Base driver OpenGL OpenGL (multilib)
Maxwell (NV110) series and newer nvidia nvidia-utils lib32-nvidia-utils
Kepler (NVE0) series nvidia-470xx-dkms nvidia-470xx-utils lib32-nvidia-470xx-utils
GeForce 400/500/600 series cards [NVCx and NVDx] nvidia-390xx nvidia-390xx-utils lib32-nvidia-390xx-utils
  1. Install the correct packages, for example yay -S nvidia-470xx-dkms nvidia-470xx-utils lib32-nvidia-470xx-utils
  2. I also recommend you to install nvidia-settings via yay -S nvidia-settings

That's a great initiative! I appreciate your efforts to contribute back to the community. Here's an updated section of your guide that includes information on setting kernel parameters for both GRUB and systemd-boot:

Step 3: Enabling DRM kernel mode setting

Setting the Kernel Parameter:

For GRUB users:

  1. Edit the GRUB configuration file:
    • sudo nano /etc/default/grub
    • Find GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT.
    • Append the line with nvidia-drm.modeset=1.
    • Example: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nvidia-drm.modeset=1".
    • Save the file with CTRL+O.
    • Update the GRUB configuration: sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

For systemd-boot users:

  1. Navigate to the bootloader entries directory: /boot/loader/entries/.
  2. Edit the appropriate .conf file for your Arch Linux boot entry.
  3. Append nvidia-drm.modeset=1 to the options line.
  4. Save and exit.

Add Early Loading of NVIDIA Modules:

  1. Edit the mkinitcpio configuration file:
    • sudo nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    • Find MODULES=().
    • Update the line to: MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm).
    • Save the file with CTRL+O.
    • Regenerate the initramfs: sudo mkinitcpio -P.

Adding the Pacman Hook:

  1. Locate the nvidia.hook in this repository and make a local copy.
  2. Open the file with your preferred editor.
  3. Find Target=nvidia.
  4. Replace nvidia with the base driver you installed, e.g., nvidia-470xx-dkms.
  5. Save the file.
  6. Move it to /etc/pacman.d/hooks/:
    • sudo mv ./nvidia.hook /etc/pacman.d/hooks/.

Step 4: Reboot and enjoy!

You can now safely reboot and enjoy the proprietary nvidia drivers. If you have any problems check the Arch Linux Wiki or the forums for common pitfalls and questions.