NVIDIA Sync not launching

General Help
1

When I try to launch NVIDIA Sync, nothing happens.
I have NVIDIA Sync working on my Mac Studio and it connects to my NVIDIA DGX Spark.
I do the marjority of my development using my Linux machine so any help is appreciated.
Zorin OS 18 Pro.

2

Hi and welcome.

First of all, Zorin defaults to the Wayland display protocol which is known to not play nice with nvidia graphics. To change this, at login when you choose your username a cog appears lower right. Click on this and change it to "Zorin on xorg", then enter your password to login. If you setup Zorin with autologin, logout and follow the steps above.

As Zorin 18 is a fork of Ubuntu 24.04 I used Brave A.I. search via Mojeek, which gives:

" NVIDIA G-Sync not working in Ubuntu 24.04 is a known issue, primarily due to driver and configuration challenges. Here’s how to resolve it:

  • Use the correct NVIDIA driver : The default nvidia-driver-535 may not support G-Sync properly. Upgrade to nvidia-driver-555 via the graphics-drivers PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-555

This version includes improved G-Sync support and fixes for phantom displays.

  • Enable G-Sync in nvidia-settings :
    Open NVIDIA X Server Settings → Go to X Server Display Configuration → Click Advanced → Check "Allow G-SYNC" .
    Ensure your monitor is connected via DisplayPort (DP) , as HDMI 2.1 support is inconsistent.
  • Fix for dual-monitor setups : G-Sync only works on one monitor at a time. Disable the secondary monitor in nvidia-settings or disconnect it to enable G-Sync on the primary.
  • Add Xorg configuration for compatibility :
    Create a config file to force G-Sync support:
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-nvidia-gsync.conf

Add:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "NvidiaCard"
    Driver "nvidia"
    Option "AllowGSYNCCompatible" "true"
    Option "VariableRefresh" "true"
    Option "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration" "true"
EndSection

Save, exit, then restart the display manager:

sudo systemctl restart gdm3
  • Ensure Wayland is disabled (if needed) : Ubuntu 24.04 defaults to Wayland, which has limited NVIDIA support. Switch to Xorg at login (click the gear icon and select "Ubuntu on Xorg").
  • Verify GPU and monitor compatibility :
    • GPU: GTX 650 Ti Boost or newer (Pascal or later for G-Sync Compatible).
    • Monitor: Must support G-Sync or G-Sync Compatible (check NVIDIA’s list).
  • Troubleshooting :
    • Run nvidia-smi to confirm the driver is loaded.
    • If it fails, disable Secure Boot in BIOS.
    • Purge old drivers: sudo apt purge *nvidia* , then reinstall.

For detailed steps, refer to: NVIDIA Ubuntu Driver Guide.

AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."

Lastly, there have been numerous issues related from kernel 6.17. See if you can change back to 6.14, unless your version of Zorin came with 6.17 I would look at either installing an older kernel or perhaps a newer 6.18 kernel. @Aravisian is the expert in this area.

I'd also advise taking a look at this thread in its entirety:

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3

I would recommend two things here, in addition to Swarf's instructions.
One, install as DKMS, since you want Dynamic Kernel Module Support if a newer kernel comes down the pipe - this prevents you needing to reinstall the drivers everytime the kernel upgrades.

Second, depending on What Nvidia GPU you are using... Is to avoid the 560 (550, 555, 565) range Nvidia driver due to a lot of back and forth on them between a standing issue: The Nvidia GPU was dumping as much (offloading) onto the CPU as it could in order to give the illusion of Nvidia seeming faster (This was a trick Nvidia kept trying to do at the time, resulting in many threads on this forum and more than a few headaches for me)

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-575 nvidia-dkms-575

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