Linux: The Beginners Guide Author:  Michael Lynch Date:  2008.04.06 Topic:  Software Provider:  AMD Manufacturer:  Ubuntu

Linux: The Beginners Guide

Installing NVIDIA or ATI Video Drivers

Installing video drivers in Linux is simply a pain in the ass.  I have recently came by a program called Envy which has a graphic user interface which makes it easy for the user to install, remove, or change their NVidia and ATI video drivers.

"Envy" is an application for Ubuntu Linux which will:
1. Detect the model of your graphic card (ATI and Nvidia cards are supported). However "Manual installation" is also available
2. Download the right version of the proprietary driver for your ATI or Nvidia card from ATI or Nvidia's websites
3. Handle the dependencies (compilers, OpenGL, etc) (according to your OS version and kernel) required to build the module
4. Install/uninstall the driver
5. Setup your xorg.conf (i.e. the configuration file of the Xserver) for you (according to your system specifications)
6. Restart the Xserver for you (if you wish so) (this feature is available only in the textual interface)

How to get and use Envy:

** Sorry there are no screen shots in this section. **

1. You will need to go to the envy website ( http://albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html ) and download the envy package. For a direct download link, click here (http://albertomilone.com/ubuntu/nvidia/scripts/ubuntu/envy_0.9.8-0ubuntu8_all.deb)
2. Once downloaded, double click the icon to open it, once open it should allow you to press the Install Package button located in the top right of the window. If you do receive an error, then please make sure that you have followed the previous steps exactly because updating your system is a key factor in if this works or not.
3. Press Install Package and let it install by itself.
4. Once the installation is completed then go to Applications-System Tools-Envy
5. A new window will appear for Envy which gives you a few options:
   1. Install the NVIDIA Driver
   2. Uninstall the NVIDIA Driver
   3. Install the ATI Driver
   4. Uninstall the ATI Driver
   5. Install the NVIDIA Driver Manually
   6. Install the ATI Driver Manually
6. It is recommended that you either choose “Install the NVIDIA Driver” or “Install the ATI Driver” because it will be much easier than the manual install, although with the manual install it allows you to install previous drivers.
7. Click Apply and it will install by itself.