System specs:
OS: Linux Mint 22
Kernal: Linux 6.8.0-110-generic
GPU: GeForce GTX 1070
Driver Version: 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2
When I use the command “nvidia-smi” it returns this message: “NVIDIA-SMI has failed because it couldn’t communicate with the NVIDIA driver. Make sure that the latest NVIDIA driver is installed and running.”
When I check for the driver version, both in the GUI driver manager and with the command “modinfo nvidia | grep ^version” it gives me the correct driver version number I listed above. However, using “inxi -G” it reports the driver as “N/A” which doesn’t make sense to me. What is going on here?
I have already tried reinstalling the driver, including using “sudo apt remove --purge nvidia*” first.
I have attached the nvidia-bug-report.log.gz file.
dpkg -l | grep nvidia returns this:
ii libnvidia-cfg1-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA binary OpenGL/GLX configuration library
ii libnvidia-common-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 all Shared files used by the NVIDIA libraries
ii libnvidia-compute-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA libcompute package
ii libnvidia-compute-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA libcompute package
rc libnvidia-compute-550:amd64 550.163.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA libcompute package
rc libnvidia-compute-580:amd64 580.142-0ubuntu0.24.04.1 amd64 NVIDIA libcompute package
ii libnvidia-decode-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA Video Decoding runtime libraries
ii libnvidia-decode-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA Video Decoding runtime libraries
ii libnvidia-egl-wayland1:amd64 1:1.1.13-1ubuntu0.1 amd64 Wayland EGL External Platform library – shared library
ii libnvidia-egl-wayland1:i386 1:1.1.13-1ubuntu0.1 i386 Wayland EGL External Platform library – shared library
ii libnvidia-encode-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVENC Video Encoding runtime library
ii libnvidia-encode-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVENC Video Encoding runtime library
ii libnvidia-extra-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 Extra libraries for the NVIDIA driver
ii libnvidia-fbc1-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA OpenGL-based Framebuffer Capture runtime library
ii libnvidia-fbc1-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA OpenGL-based Framebuffer Capture runtime library
ii libnvidia-gl-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA OpenGL/GLX/EGL/GLES GLVND libraries and Vulkan ICD
ii libnvidia-gl-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA OpenGL/GLX/EGL/GLES GLVND libraries and Vulkan ICD
ii nvidia-compute-utils-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA compute utilities
ii nvidia-dkms-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA DKMS package
ii nvidia-driver-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA driver metapackage
ii nvidia-firmware-535-535.288.01 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 Firmware files used by the kernel module
ii nvidia-kernel-common-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 Shared files used with the kernel module
ii nvidia-kernel-source-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA kernel source package
ii nvidia-prime 0.8.17.2 all Tools to enable NVIDIA’s Prime
ii nvidia-settings 510.47.03-0ubuntu4.24.04.1 amd64 Tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver
ii nvidia-utils-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA driver support binaries
ii screen-resolution-extra 0.18.3ubuntu0.24.04.1 all Extension for the nvidia-settings control panel
ii xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver
nvidia-bug-report.log.gz (130.2 KB)
Hi there @flashman014, welcome to the NVIDIA Developer Forums.
I think there is still some driver mismatch:
[ 4542.117] (II) NVIDIA dlloader X Driver 550.163.01 Tue Apr 8 12:13:21 UTC 2025
[ 4542.117] (II) NVIDIA Unified Driver for all Supported NVIDIA GPUs
[ 4542.117] (II) NOUVEAU driver Date: Sat Jan 23 12:24:42 2021 -0500
Try somethingn like this for cleanup:
sudo apt purge ^nvidia-* -y
sudo apt purge ^libnvidia-* -y
sudo apt autoremove
And you might want to consider blacklisting the built-in nouveau driver.
Hope that helps.
Hi @MarkusHoHo,
Thanks for the welcome, and for responding so quickly. No luck though.
I tried the commands you mentioned, rebooted and then reinstalled the recommended 535 driver (should I use a different driver for my card? 535-open or maybe 550?) and rebooted again. I then blacklisted the nouveau driver by creating a new conf file in the modprobe.d folder, updated initramfs, and rebooted again.
This didn’t seem to help though, nvidia-smi gives me the same error message.
I got another bug report file that I’ve attached here. I’ll also paste in the results from dpkg -l | grep nvidia, though I don’t know if this helps or not. If there’s any other info you need, please let me know. I really appreciate your expertise on this.
nvidia-bug-report.log.gz (129.7 KB)
ii libnvidia-cfg1-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA binary OpenGL/GLX configuration library
ii libnvidia-common-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 all Shared files used by the NVIDIA libraries
ii libnvidia-compute-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA libcompute package
ii libnvidia-compute-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA libcompute package
ii libnvidia-decode-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA Video Decoding runtime libraries
ii libnvidia-decode-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA Video Decoding runtime libraries
ii libnvidia-egl-wayland1:amd64 1:1.1.13-1ubuntu0.1 amd64 Wayland EGL External Platform library – shared library
ii libnvidia-egl-wayland1:i386 1:1.1.13-1ubuntu0.1 i386 Wayland EGL External Platform library – shared library
ii libnvidia-encode-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVENC Video Encoding runtime library
ii libnvidia-encode-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVENC Video Encoding runtime library
ii libnvidia-extra-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 Extra libraries for the NVIDIA driver
ii libnvidia-fbc1-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA OpenGL-based Framebuffer Capture runtime library
ii libnvidia-fbc1-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA OpenGL-based Framebuffer Capture runtime library
ii libnvidia-gl-535:amd64 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA OpenGL/GLX/EGL/GLES GLVND libraries and Vulkan ICD
ii libnvidia-gl-535:i386 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 i386 NVIDIA OpenGL/GLX/EGL/GLES GLVND libraries and Vulkan ICD
ii nvidia-compute-utils-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA compute utilities
ii nvidia-dkms-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA DKMS package
ii nvidia-driver-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA driver metapackage
ii nvidia-firmware-535-535.288.01 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 Firmware files used by the kernel module
ii nvidia-kernel-common-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 Shared files used with the kernel module
ii nvidia-kernel-source-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA kernel source package
ii nvidia-prime 0.8.17.2 all Tools to enable NVIDIA’s Prime
ii nvidia-settings 510.47.03-0ubuntu4.24.04.1 amd64 Tool for configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver
ii nvidia-utils-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA driver support binaries
ii screen-resolution-extra 0.18.3ubuntu0.24.04.1 all Extension for the nvidia-settings control panel
ii xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-535 535.288.01-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 amd64 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver
Well, then I am at a loss. The log still shows nouveau kernel modules as loaded for the GPU, that might be one thing to double check.
The other thing I don’t get is why the NVIDIA kernel modules cannot be found early on:
[ 16.494] (EE) Failed to load module "nvidia" (module does not exist, 0)
Regarding driver version, the latest official one for the 1070 is 580.159.03.
Do you have secure boot enabled?
How do you install the driver?
I do have secure boot enabled. I’ve seen it recommended that I should disable it, but haven’t tried it yet. I might later tonight. Is disabling that something you’d recommend?
Also, do you happen to know a command or something that will show me proof that my disabling of nouveau actually worked? Some way to view what’s currently active on the init table? I wasn’t able to find anything viable with google-fu.
I install the driver using this command:
“sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535”
I know Ubuntu and it’s offspring can use “ubuntu-drivers install” , but my understanding is that it effectively does the same thing, and my brain keeps telling me to make sure I only download the version I want by being specific. That might be unnecessary though lol.
I chose 535 because my OS recommends it through “ubuntu-drivers devices.” I also read that the newest driver isn’t always the best for older cards, so I thought I would err on the side of the OS. I did consider 550 as a sort of compromise between the two, but I’ll be honest, I don’t really know the difference. I’m happy to be corrected on that though. I’m here to learn.
At this point I’m thinking maybe something I tinkered with at some point broke part of the kernal and I should just wipe and reinstall my OS. Not crazy about that idea, but it’s not that big of a deal.
And I don’t know if this matters to you, but the primary use of this card is video transcoding for my media server. The PC sees the card and it seems to work (my monitor works through it at least, games run fine), but Plex can’t see it. Digging into this problem lead me to this driver issue, so I’m hoping fixing one will solve the other.
Again (and again) I really appreciate your input here. I’m pretty savvy with this stuff, but far from an expert.