Re: occult nvidia kernel version skew -- getting desperate
I haven't been following this thread, but this approach to a problem
seems to me to be overly complicated.
On Mon, Jun 19, 2006 at 09:26:42AM -0400, hendrik@topoi.pooq.com wrote:
> On Sun, Jun 18, 2006 at 06:18:03PM -0400, hendrik@topoi.pooq.com wrote:
> > Guessing that my problems probably resulted from a faulty upgrade (and
> > there was plenty of that in the xorg6.9->7.0 transition), my next step
> > would seem to be to purge *all* nvidia-specific packages, remove their
> > .debs from apt-cache, reconstruct the locate database, look for any
> > remaining files with a reasonable facsimile of "nvidia" in their names
> > and delete them, look for any stray files not part of any package and
> > delete any that look suspicious, and then begin to install the stuff
> > again from scratch, downloading .debs, compiling kernel modules, etc.
>
> I have now purged every package that contains 'nvidia' as part of its
> name, and cleared the apt-cache so that if I ever start installing such
> packages I can be sure of getting a fresh download.
>
> But I still find nvidia-related files:
> /lib/modules/2.6.12-1-amd64-generic/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia
> /lib/modules/2.6.12-1-amd64-generic/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia/nvidiafb.ko
> /lib/modules/2.6.15-1-amd64-generic/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia
> /lib/modules/2.6.15-1-amd64-generic/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia/nvidiafb.ko
>
> These should have vanished when I purged
> nvidia-kernel-2.6.12-1-amd64-generic and the corresponding package for
> 2.6.15, shouldn't they have?
>
> Can I delete them? I am desperately trying to clean everything out
> before I start a reinstall.
>
> The nvidia-kernel-2.6.15... package has disappeared from aptitude's list
> of packages, by the way, but nvidia-kernel-2.6.12-1-amd64-generic is
> still in the list, marked 'p S' as purged but (I presume) from a
> suspicious source.
>
>
> There;s also a lot of nvidia stuff in /usr/src/linus-headers...
>
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-1-amd64-generic/include/config/fb/nvidia
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-1-amd64-generic/include/config/fb/nvidia/i2c.h
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-1-amd64-generic/include/config/fb/nvidia/module.h
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-1/drivers/video/nvidia
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.12-1/drivers/video/nvidia/Makefile
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.15-1-amd64-generic/include/config/fb/nvidia
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.15-1-amd64-generic/include/config/fb/nvidia/i2c.h
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.15-1-amd64-generic/include/config/fb/nvidia/module.h
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.15-1/drivers/video/nvidia
> /usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.15-1/drivers/video/nvidia/Makefile
>
> and a huge file tree under /usr/src/modules/nvidia-kernel
>
> Can I just delete all this /usr/src stuff?
>
> -- hendrik
>
IMHO, you will never be sure that *all* files pertaining to a particular
package have been removed from a malfunctioning computer, whatever the
issue or malfunction.
You should consider, for *this* situation, starting an install on a
new partition or new hard disk. Preferably, a new clean hard disk. This
way there cannot be any 'nvidia' or whatever. After you have solved
the problem that you attribute to nvidia, you can try installing old
files from backups, if you really need them. Install them a few at
a time, always checking that you have not broken you new, nvidia free,
environment.
All this might not be necessary if you felt you were really in charge
of what is on your computer, but IMHO you display a serious lack of
confidence on this point. So do something that puts you in control
again.
And if your new nvidia free installation displays the same wrong
behavior as you now experience, perhaps, just perhaps, nvidia is
not the problem.
--
Paul E Condon
pecondon@mesanetworks.net
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