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Install Nvidia Drivers on Linux Mint
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The only annoying aspect of installing Nvidia's latest proprietary
drivers is that it must be done after each system update; should the
Mint Display Manager (:command:`mdm`) render the UI differently than usual, it
is a good sign the proprietary drivers have been wiped out and needs to be
reinstalled.

To query which Nvidia GPU you are using, run

.. code:: bash

   lspci | grep VGA

Easy Installation of Limited OS-support Drivers
===============================================

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install nvidia-current
   sudo reboot

To revert, run:

.. code:: bash

   sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
   sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia*

Manual Installation of Proprietary Drivers
==========================================

#. Remove existing Nvidia drivers:

   .. code:: bash

      sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia*

#. Blacklist all the existing drivers to avoid conflicting with Nvidia's drivers
   through appending the following to **/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf**:

   .. code:: bash

      blacklist nvidiafb
      blacklist nouveau
      blacklist rivafb
      blacklist rivatv
      blacklist vga16fb

#. Update the system to reflect the blacklist.  If this step is skipped, then
   the next step may yield a black screen.

   .. code:: bash

      sudo update-initramfs -u

#. Reboot the machine, and then press *Crtl + Alt + F1* to enter
   text-based login.

#. Stop the graphical display manager.

   .. code:: bash

      sudo killall mdm

#. If the next step complains about *gcc-version-check failed*, relink
   **/usr/bin/gcc** to the correct version.

#. Install/uninstall the driver; should DKMS keep failing, it is a good sign
   that older drivers should be used.  Note that building the DKMS requires a
   C/C++ compiler.

   .. code:: bash

      sudo bash NVIDIA-<platform>-<architecture>-<version>.run [--uninstall]
      sudo reboot

CoolBits
========

.. code:: bash

   nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=n

- **n = 1** unlocks Clock Frequencies.
- **n = 2** attempts to initialize SLI.
- **n = 4** unlocks GPU Fan Speed.
- **n = 8** unlocks Performance Level Editing.
- **n = 12 = 8 + 4** activates **n = 4** and **n = 8**.