Zorin and nvidia drivers

[freshjeff]

This is certainly not the first time i have had issues with drivers. I've been playing video games for so long now without having any issues.

I've been playing Factorio for the past month or so and its been working fine, 60 fps at no stutters. I know for a fact it has been using my graphics card, which is a RTX 3060.

When i started Factorio an hour ago, it was crashing and asked me to report it. I clicked no and tried to remove mangohud from the steam launch option, i was then able to launch the game. I was getting probably 5 frames or so, it was incredibly laggy. I got the feeling that the game was using built-in graphics.

After investigating, it was using llvmpipe something. This info was found in the About page in Zorin settings.

Some time later, i figured this had to be related to the nvidia driver. As i have had issues with this in the past, i proceeded with caution. I found a how-to/tutorial guide on how to do this. I read through the entire thing and saw that it wasn't too bad.

I followed [How to] Reinstall NVIDIA Graphics Driver. After getting rid of my old driver(s) and installing a new one, the issue was not resolved. I reboot the computer and i am not able to get back in.

Let me elaborate:
When the computer starts now - it does get past the boot, as it displays the zorin logo, and even shows me the grub menu where that thin line goes - i believe thats the last step before it boots into zorin.

Beware that i do not run a dual-boot setup, i use zorin as a daily-driver.
Is it possible that the guide just might be outdated? oh, and here's the version i used:
nvidia-driver-570

Hopefully i can get some answers here.

[Aravisian]

This may seem repetitive... but let's try this way:

sudo apt remove --purge '^nvidia-.*'

sudo apt --fix-broken install && sudo apt clean && sudo apt update

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-570 nvidia-dkms-570

[freshjeff]

Hmm this is all very odd. With a 3rd attempt of starting the PC, i did a hard reset and started it up - it did take a while but it eventually did it.

For a first time ever, i got a crash report. Zorin is pointing its fingers towards nala, which is something i used a while back. I have gone ahead and purged it as i no longer use it. I've decided to get better at apt instead of using nala.

I used the command below and it was removed without any issues.
sudo apt remove --purge nala

[freshjeff]

Correct me if im wrong, but i believe there's no need to do that again. Since some things are working again.

I just checked Settings > About section and it shows my graphics card there now.

[Ponce-De-Leon]

After purging nala, do You have made a sudo apt autoremove? I would suggest the following:

Make again sudo apt purge nala and after that sudo apt autoremove but look in the List of the Stuff what will be deleted before You delete it.

[freshjeff]

I'll go ahead and go through with what you first mentioned, it looked okay at first but there's a bunch of stuttering in the OS itself actually as well as in Factorio now. We're talking 30 fps in addition to stutters where the entire machine freezes for about 2 seconds every 10-12 seconds.

I'll report back in a little bit.

[freshjeff]

First thing i noticed now is that mangohud reports 2 GPUs, which is odd. I suppose maybe the first one could be the built-in graphics, but not in use?

There are still some stutters in factorio, and zorin is reporting a weird graphics name lol

[Aravisian]

ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

[freshjeff]

Both commands in output below:

kriss@cypher:~$ ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d
1password.list                                vivaldi.list.save
1password.list.save                           vscode.list
graphics-drivers-ubuntu-ppa-jammy.list        vscode.list.save
mozilla.list                                  zhangsongcui3371-ubuntu-fastfetch-jammy.list
mozilla.list.save                             zorin.list
nodesource.list                               zorin.list.save
nodesource.list.save                          zorinos-ubuntu-apps-jammy.list
obsproject-ubuntu-obs-studio-jammy.list       zorinos-ubuntu-apps-jammy.list.save
obsproject-ubuntu-obs-studio-jammy.list.save  zorinos-ubuntu-drivers-jammy.list
signal-xenial.list                            zorinos-ubuntu-drivers-jammy.list.save
signal-xenial.list.save                       zorinos-ubuntu-patches-jammy.list
spotify.list                                  zorinos-ubuntu-patches-jammy.list.save
spotify.list.save                             zorinos-ubuntu-stable-jammy.list
vivaldi.list                                  zorinos-ubuntu-stable-jammy.list.save
kriss@cypher:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list
# deb cdrom:[Zorin-OS 17.2 Core 64bit]/ jammy main restricted

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy main restricted
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates main restricted
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy universe
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates universe
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu 
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to 
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in 
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy multiverse
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates multiverse
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-updates multiverse

## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
# deb-src http://no.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-backports main restricted universe multiverse

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security main restricted
# deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security main restricted
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security universe
# deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security multiverse
# deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security multiverse

# This system was installed using small removable media
# (e.g. netinst, live or single CD). The matching "deb cdrom"
# entries were disabled at the end of the installation process.
# For information about how to configure apt package sources,
# see the sources.list(5) manual.

[Aravisian]

@freshjeff

signal-xenial.list                            
signal-xenial.list.save    

Well, these can go...

I do not see anything there that would cause problems with graphics.
What about kernel?

uname -r

Are you on Wayland?

Is Secure Boot enabled in your BIOS Settings?

[freshjeff]

@Aravisian

What about kernel?

uname -r

kriss@cypher:~$ uname -r
6.8.0-52-generic
kriss@cypher:~$

@Aravisian

Are you on Wayland?

No, x11.

@Aravisian

Is Secure Boot enabled in your BIOS Settings?

It is not.

kriss@cypher:~$ sudo mokutil --sb-state
SecureBoot disabled

[Aravisian]

Well, at this point you can try a different kernel / different Nvidia driver - maybe the 565... The 560 had quite a few problems.

[freshjeff]

I'll give the 565 a go then

[freshjeff]

yeah okay, i think i need to try upgrading the kernel. Can you provide me with some info about that? I've never done something like this before.

Though i won't be doing this tonight, I'll give it a go tomorrow.

[Aravisian]

It is very easy. And if it does not work out, just boot to grub menu > Advanced Options and revert to the earlier kernel by selecting it from the list.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tuxinvader/jammy-mainline

sudo apt update && sudo apt install linux-generic-6.12

To undo:

sudo apt remove --purge linux-generic-6.12

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:tuxinvader/jammy-mainline

[freshjeff]

oooh, i've always thought this was a 1 hour process haha

thank you, kernel is now on version Kernel: 6.12.3-061203-generic. I'll do some more testing and see if it was resolved.

[freshjeff]

All good, the performance is back! Thank you @Aravisian!

If Zorin had awards, you'd be employee of the month

[freshjeff]

I've got some bad news.

After using the OS for a few hours, i still get stutters. The performance while gaming is okay, as expected. Every now and then i get freezes/stutters.

What else can we try? lol

At this point I've been considering another distribution.

[Ponce-De-Leon]

How are Your display Settings are set up? I mean Resolution, Refresh Rate and is fractional Scaling active?

[freshjeff]

primary monitor was set to 3440x1440 @ 144hz and secondary was set to 2560x1440 @ 144hz. Fractional scaling was not active.

I decided to give endeavour os a try, and after finding out the lack of support for arch i ended up just heading back to good ol ubuntu.

I'm sure I'll return to Zorin at a later time, for now i just need stability.