Ubuntu Server 20.04 NVIDIA driver packages
Ubuntu Server 20.04 NVIDIA driver packages
Hello there. I need some guidance on installing the NVIDIA Quadro drivers on Ubuntu Server 20.04. I’m experiencing system freezes after updating the drivers, and I’m trying to understand what might be going wrong. My Linux experience is basic, and I’ve read a few methods online. Here’s a brief summary of the approaches I found:
- Download the drivers directly from NVIDIA’s site using a file like "NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-450.66.run".
- Use Ubuntu-Drivers to install them.
- Use apt to manage package installation, for example: "apt install nvidia-driver-xxx".
I’m currently running a clean Ubuntu Server 20.04 with OpenSSH and Docker enabled. I recently added an NVIDIA Quadro P600 to help with Plex transcoding. After installing the drivers via the recommended method, the server works fine for a short time before freezing again—usually around 20 to 30 minutes. It needs a power cycle to reset.
My hardware includes a Supermicro X8DTL server with 96GB ECC RAM, Intel Xeon X5570 processors, and a RAID controller. The Quadro P600 uses 4x 4TB WD Red drives in hardware RAID.
Could you help me figure out the best way to get this working smoothly? Thanks!
Back in the forum, Nvidia issues with Linux have been a challenge. The standard new drivers often don't function properly. ArchWiki provides details that should apply to Ubuntu, though some sections are limited to Arch. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA
Thank you for your response. The issue with Plex not using the default drivers and the unexpected locking behavior after updates is concerning. I’ll proceed with a clean installation of Ubuntu Server 20.04, cache, and PMS, but won’t install any NVIDIA drivers until further research clarifies the problem. Best regards.
The new driver probably won’t back up hardware encoding on the P600. NVIDIA drivers are essentially their own, usually either functioning or not, and you just need to downgrade if a version fails. Look for errors and monitor temperatures (sensors). Check logs with dmesg | grep error, then sensors watch, and journalctl for recent changes. NVIDIA doesn’t typically offer top-tier drivers yet, though they’ve improved. If something breaks during installation, you can restart into a live installer, mount the root drive, enter chroot, and revert your changes.