Install Nvidia Firmware Debian

May 30, 2023

how to install nvidia firmware on debian

Installing NVIDIA drivers on Debian requires a few steps, which involve adding the necessary repositories, updating the system, and then installing the drivers. Before you start, make sure that you have a good internet connection and root or sudo access to your system.

Here are the steps:

First, open a terminal window.
Check if you have a Nvidia GPU, enter:
```
bash
lspci | grep -i nvidia
```
This should list your Nvidia card if it exists. If not, you may not have an Nvidia GPU, or it is not recognized by your system.

Now, you need to add the "non-free" component to your package sources. Edit the sources.list file, typing the command:

bash
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Then, append "contrib non-free" to the end of your main and updates repositories, it should look like this:

bash
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye main contrib non-free
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye main contrib non-free

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main contrib non-free
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main contrib non-free

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main contrib non-free

Press CTRL+X then Y then Enter to save and exit.

Update your package list with the command:
```
bash
sudo apt update
```
Then, install the kernel headers. You'll need these to build the Nvidia module:
```
bash
sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
```

Now, you can install the Nvidia driver:

bash
sudo apt install nvidia-driver

After the installation is completed, you can reboot your system:
```
bash
sudo reboot
```
After rebooting, you can check if the Nvidia drivers are being used:
```
bash
glxinfo | grep -i "direct rendering"
```
The output should be "Direct Rendering: Yes" if the Nvidia driver is working correctly.

This is the process for installing the Nvidia driver on a Debian system. Keep in mind that the specific driver version might vary based on your GPU model and the Debian version you are using. For the most accurate results, you should refer to the Nvidia website or your GPU documentation.

Also remember that if you're using a laptop with both integrated and discrete graphics, you might need to install and configure Bumblebee for Nvidia Optimus technology.

glsinfo command not found

The command glxinfo is a part of the mesa-utils package which is not installed by default on most distributions. If the command is not found, you likely do not have mesa-utils installed on your machine.

You can install it using the following command:

bash
sudo apt install mesa-utils

After running the above command, you should be able to use glxinfo. If you're checking to see if direct rendering is working, you can use:

bash
glxinfo | grep -i "direct rendering"

If your Nvidia driver is working correctly, you should see Direct Rendering: Yes as the output.

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