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Install Nvidia Driver 331.79 in Ubuntu 14.04/12.04

Last updated: May 24, 2014

Nvidia ubuntu 14.04

The latest proprietary driver Nvidia 331.79 for Linux has been announced. According to the changlog, the new release only fixed below bugs:

  • Fixed a bug that caused nvidia-installer to crash in environments where /proc is not mounted.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented module signing from working correctly for the NVIDIA Unified Memory kernel module when using module signing keys generated by nvidia-installer.
  • Fixed a bug that caused blank screens and flickering when rotating displays in a Base Mosaic layout.
  • Fixed a bug that caused BadRRCrtc or BadRROutput errors for big-endian X11 clients making certain XRandR requests.
  • Fixed a bug that corrupted certain software rendering, notably the stippled text used to represent disabled entries in xterm’s pop-up menus.

Below is how to install this driver in Ubuntu 14.04 or Ubuntu 12.04:

1. It’s recommended to remove previous installed proprietary driver and install the latest updates-dev package before getting started.

To do that, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install nvidia-331-updates-dev

2. Restart your computer.

3. Download the official Nvidia packages: 32 bit Linux | 64 bit Linux | 32 bit ARM

4. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 (or F2 ~ F6) on keyboard to switch to command console and login.

5. Stop the graphical session:

sudo service lightdm stop

For Gnome GDM or Linux Mint MDM, you may replace lightdm with gdm or mdm in the command.

6. Now give executable permission and run the official package to start installing Nvidia 331.79:

chmod +x ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.79.run && sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.79.run

Tips:You may keep the installer file so that you can remove this driver via below command if for some reason it does not work properly:

sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.79.run --uninstall
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    2 responses to Install Nvidia Driver 331.79 in Ubuntu 14.04/12.04

    1. RexwynNohay June 11, 2014 at 3:01 pm

      I did exactly what the you said here. I ended up having a black screen on startup. I can’t even open a terminal using CTRL+ALT+F1 (even F2 to F12). Please help me fix this problem. I don’t want to reinstall the system. I moved away from windows because of this.

      • Ji m June 12, 2014 at 4:40 am

        Sorry @RexwynNohay, restart your computer and select recovery mode when you’re at boot menu. Then drop to root shell prompt.

        1. run command to remount your file system:

        mount -o rw,remount /

        2. List your user folder:

        ls /home

        3. If you saved the Nvidia installer in downloads folder, run command to navigate to that directory:

        cd /home/USERNAME/Downloads

        4. Uninstall the driver:

        sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.79.run --uninstall