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How to Get Linux Ubuntu Working with a GTX970 (Also a F@H starter help at the end too)

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  thestraw0039 
#1 ·
Okay, this is not my process. But was developed by @LanofSong and also tried by me. I did get permission to post this from him and he did not want to do so himself as he didn't have enough time to answer questions if there were any. Hopefully, others have some more methods to add here as this seems to be an issue on these cards.

This fixed my issues with a blackscreen on Ubuntu and my new GTX970.

I had tried about every other process on the web I could find. Nothing worked. This did. So I figure it could help someone else.

Ubuntu14.10install11-30-141.docx 7k .docx file


________________________________________________________________________________________

Make sure to reset all OC - (linux is very sensitive to OC during install).
Use Nvidia 6xx or 7xx series GPU - do not use 9xx yet
Installing UBUNTU 14.10
1. Boot from Disk - approx 3mins to welcome screen.
2. Install Ubuntu.
3. If using wireless, here you will be asked for password.
4. Check on both "Download updates while installing" and "Install third party software".

Aprox 5 mins setup - be patient
smile.gif


5. Choice - Install
Choice - Language
Choice - Password (number pad did not work for me here)
6. Install begins (takes about 10mins depending on CPU)
7. You will be asked to restart the computer.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Updating and Adding software

A green software updater icon may appear in the left margin asking you to update and restart - accept.

After reboot, you will notice several icons on the left margin of the screen
Top one is to search your computer (Ubuntu Icon)
Then comes File Icon.
Next one down is Firefox Icon.
The next three icons are to do with Libre office (think Microsoft office).
7th is Software Center Icon
8th is Amazon Icon
9th is System settings Icon

Click on System settings icon in left margin and select Software and Updates, under Other Software, check both Canonical boxes and save - DO NOT CHANGE DRIVERS YET.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, select Firefox and paste this link: Read all information on this page
http://howtoubuntu.org/things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-14-10-utopic-unicorn.

Next, Select the Ubuntu Icon and search for Terminal - click on result. This resembles a DOS screen
smile.gif


Copy and Paste the commands from Step #2 and paste into Terminal and hit enter. You will be asked for your password. Input password and enter.

Do the same for Step #3, however these commands will be entered one line at a time.

Same for Step 4
Same for Step 5 but will have to answer Y and enter.
Same for Step 6.

Step 7 I had a couple of problems installing some of these so just go ahead and Copy and Paste the following:

sudo apt-get install synaptic vlc gimp gimp-data gimp-plugin-registry gimp-data-extras y-ppa-manager bleachbit openjdk-7-jre oracle-java8-installer flashplugin-installer unace unrar zip unzip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils rar uudeview mpack arj cabextract file-roller

Skip Step 8

Step 9 Copy and paste the commands from step 9 into Terminal and enter (may take a little while)

Step 10 Copy and paste the commands from step 10 into Terminal and enter.

Restart computer
________________________________________________________________________________________

Now we will install the Nvidia Drivers.

Go to the following site in Firefox or Google:
http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2014/11/install-nvidia-driver-346-16-beta/

Next, Select the Ubuntu Icon and search for Terminal - click on result (to pin Terminal to the Task bar, right click on the Icon)

Step 1 Copy and Paste Step 1 from website into Terminal and enter.
Looks like this sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa

Step 2 Copy and Paste line A in Step 2 from website into Terminal and enter.
Looks like this sudo apt-get update

Step 3 Copy and Paste line B in Step 2 from website into Terminal and enter.
Looks like this sudo apt-get install nvidia-346 nvidia-settings

Restart computer (note - can change to 9xx GPU before turning back on)

________________________________________________________________________________________

Using the Ubuntu Search Icon, type in Nvidia and you will see the icon - click on the Icon.
Within the Nvidia program, look at he left side menu and select X Server Information - The window next to it will tell you what drivers you are running. In this case you should be running 346.16.

Next
smile.gif
Goto Terminal and copy and paste the following:
sudo nvidia-xconfig --cool-bits=12

You may see an error message but ignore it. This option allows for fan control and Overclocking via offset.

Restart computer

Go back to the Nvidia program - Under GPU0 you will see settings for Thermal Settings (Fan Control) and Powermizer (OC Offset).

Your drivers for the 970 will hopefully work now...
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Installing Folding Software (if you fold, if not; ignore this section)

Click on:
http://folding.stanford.edu/

1. Click Start Folding
Click on FaHclient with the deb extension (.deb)
You will have the option to install after it has downloaded - do so.

2. Then Click on FaHcontrol with the deb extension (.deb)
again, you will have the option after it has downloaded - do so.

3. Now go to Terminal and type in FAHcontrol and BINGO - There you have it (I hope)
Do not add your information until you have you GPU folding correctly.
Your CPU will be recognized immediately but not your GPU, you will have to add it within the FAH software.

Note,
346.16 beta drivers work well for 7xx and 9xx folding not sure for 6xx folding

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was able to use my onboard graphics to install this. I did not use another Nvidia GPU at all with this process. I had tried it once and must have made a mistake or missed a process the first time. It failed. But when I tried it the second time my GPU now shows up and I can dual boot between Windows7 and Ubuntu on my 970 as well as F@H using these instructions. Very, very helpful.

If @Lanofsong would post here he deserves several +1's for this. Huge help.
 

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#2 ·
I would like this to be a help to get GTX970 and Ubuntu working thread, so anyone who has something to add please post it here to help others. Thanks!
thumb.gif
 
#3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by battleaxe View Post

________________________________________________________________________________________

Make sure to reset all OC - (linux is very sensitive to OC during install).
Use Nvidia 6xx or 7xx series GPU - do not use 9xx yet
Installing UBUNTU 14.10
1. Boot from Disk - approx 3mins to welcome screen.
2. Install Ubuntu.
3. If using wireless, here you will be asked for password.
4. Check on both "Download updates while installing" and "Install third party software".

Aprox 5 mins setup - be patient
smile.gif


5. Choice - Install
Choice - Language
Choice - Password (number pad did not work for me here)
6. Install begins (takes about 10mins depending on CPU)
7. You will be asked to restart the computer.
Unnecessary step with swapping hardware. Just set the "nomodeset" flag when booting while using the GTX970, then install your drivers. At least most of the time, and would honestly be my first step before attempting to swap/remove hardware. I don't have my desktop with me to test whether it will work on the 970 or not, but it tends to be the easiest option most of the time. I can test it tomorrow or so when I get home if someone else doesn't by then ( I have free access to just about any hardware that's available at Microcenter ).
Quote:
Originally Posted by battleaxe View Post

________________________________________________________________________________________

Updating and Adding software

A green software updater icon may appear in the left margin asking you to update and restart - accept.

After reboot, you will notice several icons on the left margin of the screen
Top one is to search your computer (Ubuntu Icon)
Then comes File Icon.
Next one down is Firefox Icon.
The next three icons are to do with Libre office (think Microsoft office).
7th is Software Center Icon
8th is Amazon Icon
9th is System settings Icon

Click on System settings icon in left margin and select Software and Updates, under Other Software, check both Canonical boxes and save - DO NOT CHANGE DRIVERS YET.
This here conflicts with steps 4-5-6 below; Might as well leave 1 or the other out. I vote this, details about icons aren't really helpful since most tell you exactly what they are. And you'll end up updating completely below. Less clutter makes for a better, easier to understand tutorial.
Quote:
Originally Posted by battleaxe View Post

________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, select Firefox and paste this link: Read all information on this page
http://howtoubuntu.org/things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-14-10-utopic-unicorn.

Next, Select the Ubuntu Icon and search for Terminal - click on result. This resembles a DOS screen
smile.gif


Copy and Paste the commands from Step #2 and paste into Terminal and hit enter. You will be asked for your password. Input password and enter.

Do the same for Step #3, however these commands will be entered one line at a time.

Same for Step 4
Same for Step 5 but will have to answer Y and enter.
Same for Step 6.

Step 7 I had a couple of problems installing some of these so just go ahead and Copy and Paste the following:

sudo apt-get install synaptic vlc gimp gimp-data gimp-plugin-registry gimp-data-extras y-ppa-manager bleachbit openjdk-7-jre oracle-java8-installer flashplugin-installer unace unrar zip unzip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils rar uudeview mpack arj cabextract file-roller

Skip Step 8

Step 9 Copy and paste the commands from step 9 into Terminal and enter (may take a little while)

Step 10 Copy and paste the commands from step 10 into Terminal and enter.

Restart computer
90% of these steps are useless for most people here. More so for F@H. And most of the programs listed are fine with their current versions and don't need the added repositories, unless you intend to use the additional features added ( note this isn't Windows, and many features get ported/patched into the official release without updating it's version number ). And as above, steps 4-5-6 go about updating which you've already done. The only helpful things are archive utilities ( zip/unzip/p7zip/unrar ). The rest are optional depending on what the person intends to do... VLC, Gimp, etc are not things most people are going to worry about.

Honestly, I would leave out this section, adds nothing useful to your overall goal here. And just say to make sure you're up to date

Code:

Code:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
and to get archival utilities installed ( zip support should be added when checking " install 3rd party software " box during install, as well as flash, mp3 and other codecs that the above section also partially covers, furthering the uselessness of that section ).

Code:

Code:
sudo apt-get install zip unzip rar unrar p7zip
Cuts down the clutter and useless information of that section and the previous by a grand amount. Basically this whole page can basically be cut down to simply installing the xorg-edgers PPA and updated drivers and be that much more clear and precise. In it's current form it's a bit TL;DR.

You also don't need to restart after every single little thing you do, this isn't WIndows that is picky about that type of thing with certain programs, so you could cut all that non-sense out and make things that much easier. Typically the only time you need to restart is for kernel updates and video drivers ( and video drivers can be worked around so that you don't have to restart ). And there's no kernel updates happening here.

I would also suggest utilizing code tags for terminal commands, makes things much more clear to see.

And lastly, something like this would be best kept as an Article, so that you are not the only one that support falls on. It can then be set to be updated by anyone and can be kept up to date over time and freely editable. Makes for an overall better tutorial as well for many reasons, big one of which is if you happen to go inactive for any reason, then it can still be taken care of.
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrak View Post

Unnecessary step with swapping hardware. Just set the "nomodeset" flag when booting while using the GTX970, then install your drivers. At least most of the time, and would honestly be my first step before attempting to swap/remove hardware. I don't have my desktop with me to test whether it will work on the 970 or not, but it tends to be the easiest option most of the time. I can test it tomorrow or so when I get home if someone else doesn't by then ( I have free access to just about any hardware that's available at Microcenter ).
This here conflicts with steps 4-5-6 below; Might as well leave 1 or the other out. I vote this, details about icons aren't really helpful since most tell you exactly what they are. And you'll end up updating completely below. Less clutter makes for a better, easier to understand tutorial.
90% of these steps are useless for most people here. More so for F@H. And most of the programs listed are fine with their current versions and don't need the added repositories, unless you intend to use the additional features added ( note this isn't Windows, and many features get ported/patched into the official release without updating it's version number ). And as above, steps 4-5-6 go about updating which you've already done. The only helpful things are archive utilities ( zip/unzip/p7zip/unrar ). The rest are optional depending on what the person intends to do... VLC, Gimp, etc are not things most people are going to worry about.

Honestly, I would leave out this section, adds nothing useful to your overall goal here. And just say to make sure you're up to date

Code:

Code:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
and to get archival utilities installed ( zip support should be added when checking " install 3rd party software " box during install, as well as flash, mp3 and other codecs that the above section also partially covers, furthering the uselessness of that section ).

Code:

Code:
sudo apt-get install zip unzip rar unrar p7zip
Cuts down the clutter and useless information of that section and the previous by a grand amount. Basically this whole page can basically be cut down to simply installing the xorg-edgers PPA and updated drivers and be that much more clear and precise. In it's current form it's a bit TL;DR.

You also don't need to restart after every single little thing you do, this isn't WIndows that is picky about that type of thing with certain programs, so you could cut all that non-sense out and make things that much easier. Typically the only time you need to restart is for kernel updates and video drivers ( and video drivers can be worked around so that you don't have to restart ). And there's no kernel updates happening here.

I would also suggest utilizing code tags for terminal commands, makes things much more clear to see.

And lastly, something like this would be best kept as an Article, so that you are not the only one that support falls on. It can then be set to be updated by anyone and can be kept up to date over time and freely editable. Makes for an overall better tutorial as well for many reasons, big one of which is if you happen to go inactive for any reason, then it can still be taken care of.
Very helpful, thank you. I'm a Linux Noob obviously. I only started using it this year. But I love the platform and learning about how it works. Thanks for the detailed response! Also, I did this as a fresh install. So that was why I wanted it from the installation and not just an upgrade. Of course doing the upgrade would have been simpler and would have changed the way I went about it. Again though, I'm not that knowledgeable about the details of Linux yet, so it could have escaped me anyway IDK.

I'm going to change this into a "How to" and ask that this thread be deleted. Or maybe a Moderator could do this? Not sure.

Edit:

I started the article here http://www.overclock.net/a/how-to-get-linux-ubuntu-working-with-a-gtx970-also-a-f-h-starter-help-at-the-end-too
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrak View Post

You can comment on articles
thumb.gif


Only thing it doesn't have is rep, but that would get difficult with articles with multiple editors
smile.gif
I see that now. Tanks man.
thumb.gif


Edit: That said I still like the format of these threads better. But I digress.

Also, I set it so anyone can update it. So you can fix the things you mentioned if you so wish.
 
#7 ·
I go to Terminal and type in FAHcontrol and it then says, FAHcontrol: command not found.

It seems I got the 970 drivers installed but I cannot open FAH. Any ideas??
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maintenance Bot View Post

I go to Terminal and type in FAHcontrol and it then says, FAHcontrol: command not found.

It seems I got the 970 drivers installed but I cannot open FAH. Any ideas??
I'm not that good with Linux yet. Someone else will have to help. Outside the scope of this guide I don't know much. This was the only thing that worked for me.

I'm guessing your FAH did not get installed properly though. But I am unsure.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by battleaxe View Post

I'm not that good with Linux yet. Someone else will have to help. Outside the scope of this guide I don't know much. This was the only thing that worked for me.

I'm guessing your FAH did not get installed properly though. But I am unsure.
OK, thanks for the guide though, made it really easy to get the drivers installed
thumb.gif
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maintenance Bot View Post

I go to Terminal and type in FAHcontrol and it then says, FAHcontrol: command not found.

It seems I got the 970 drivers installed but I cannot open FAH. Any ideas??
You probably don't have FAHControl installed. Download it off of the site and install it. I can't link the site since I'm on my phone but can if you have trouble finding it.
 
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