Arch Wiki

Appearance

Deprecated Nvidia Driver Installation Methods ​

INFO

Stay updated with modern practices! Here’s a quick overview of deprecated methods for installing or configuring Nvidia drivers on Arch Linux.

TIP

For Modern Nvidia drivers streamline configuration. Use the MODULES array in mkinitcpio.conf, update GRUB for kernel settings, and let auto-configuration handle the rest!

Manual modprobe for Nvidia Modules ​

  • What it did: Manually loaded Nvidia kernel modules like nvidia or nvidia_drm.
  • Why deprecated: Modern systems automatically load these if added to the MODULES array in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf. Regenerate the initramfs with mkinitcpio -P, and you're good to go!

Nvidia Hook in mkinitcpio.conf ​

  • What it did: Added an explicit nvidia hook to include Nvidia modules in the initramfs.
  • Why deprecated: Just list the modules in the MODULES array of /etc/mkinitcpio.conf. The hook is unnecessary.

Adding kms Hook for KMS ​

  • What it did: Ensured early Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) during boot.
  • Why deprecated: Because of the MODULES array in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf. The kms hook is no longer needed.

Using /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf for Modesetting ​

  • What it did: Set nvidia-drm.modeset=1 in a configuration file.
  • Why deprecated: Add nvidia-drm.modeset=1 to the kernel command line in GRUB (/etc/default/grub). This method is cleaner and applies during boot.

Custom xorg.conf for Nvidia ​

  • What it did: Manually configured Nvidia via /etc/X11/xorg.conf.
  • Why deprecated: Modern systems auto-configure Nvidia, especially on Wayland. Xorg configurations are rarely needed anymore, and a minimal /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ directory is typically sufficient.

Manually Enabling PCIe Gen 3 ​

  • What it did: Forced PCIe Gen 3 with nvidia.NVreg_EnablePCIeGen3=1.
  • Why deprecated: Modern systems automatically enable the highest supported PCIe generation. This setting is unnecessary unless working with legacy hardware.

Manually Blacklisting nouveau ​

  • What it did: Prevented the open-source nouveau driver from interfering with Nvidia.
  • Why deprecated: The Nvidia driver package automatically blacklists nouveau. No need for manual blacklists!

Nvidia Hook for Suspend/Resume ​

  • What it did: Used nvidia.NVreg_PreserveVideoMemoryAllocations=1 to avoid issues during suspend/resume cycles.
  • Why deprecated: Modern Nvidia drivers handle suspend/resume better. This option is usually redundant unless specific issues arise.