On Mon, Jun 19, 2006 at 08:48:42AM -0600, Paul E Condon wrote: > 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, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > On Sun, Jun 18, 2006 at 06:18:03PM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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.
True. But I thought it might help to delete all the files that appeared to be related to the nvidia packages. What I was hoping to find out is whether any of these files definitely belonged to other stuff *before* I risked rendering my machine nonbootable. > > You should consider, for *this* situation, starting an install on a > new partition or new hard disk. I was trying to avoid this. > 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, The problem was pretty likely to have to do with nvidia: specifically that when starting X, the nvidia software complained that its components had inconsistent version numbers. The versions in question were the version I had installed in the past and the version I had installed at the present. It seemed reasonable that some files left from the old installation had survived to cause trouble in the new. I have made another post in this thread speculating how this situation may have arisen. I would appreciate anyone who knows more about how the nvidia-kernel-source package creates the nvidia-kernel package to comment on that; there may be a problem with the instructions in its README file if my theory is correct. > 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. Since I had localised the problem to the presence of inconsistent versions, I thought that wiping all the nvidia stuff would suffice. But, as you point out, that seems to be harder to do than expected. > > 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. Is the question whether I feel in charge of my computer, or whether I actually *am* in charge? > > And if your new nvidia free installation displays the same wrong > behavior as you now experience, perhaps, just perhaps, nvidia is > not the problem. It is doubtful that, without nvidia, it will complain about the versions of nvidia software. > Still, if nothing else works, I suppose I will have to resort to complete reinstallation. There is a spare partition which I left free long ago, just in case. Thanks. -- hendrik > > -- > Paul E Condon > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
