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GPU switcharoo & GUI fubar

Somewhere around kernel 6.9 my Artix/Plasma started throwing fits, I don't really remember what GPU I was using then, it may have been my nvidia gt640. Somewhere along the line I replaced that GPU with a used AMD in anger but that AMD soon went kaput so I had no option but to reinstate the gt640. I had near identical issues with Tumbleweed as both it and my Arttix have been bootable but drop dead to a black screen before thge WM"s log-in dialog. My currently 3 other distros were I guess using only the nouveau driver so they have remained usable throughout this nightmare (Slackware, Devuan, VoidLinux).

I tried a new maneuver by chrooting into the 2 sick installs  (both Plasma BTW but one with systemd and one without), launching a WM and logging in, then doing an update. Unfortunately I still cannot make meaningful use of these installs. I can chroot in and log in, I'm writing this from my chrooted Artix but when I boot these systems all I get is a black screen instead of the WM's login dialog.

I 'suspect' that the problem is my GT640 card but don't really know (perpetual 101 level user). Message ID  <[email protected]> on the suse newsgroup gives more details.

The difference is that chrooted into Tumbleweed I can log in only as one of those users whose homes are on the root partition, with Artix I can log in even if my home is on a remote data drive (if I mount it before trying to log-in as that user).

How do I get the system set up to use only nouveau?  My next card will be an AMD but it may be a while before I find one to my liking.

Thanks for any guidance.
      
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Re: GPU switcharoo & GUI fubar

Reply #1
How do I get the system set up to use only nouveau?
Remove every nvidia package while chrooted and un-blacklist nouveau, if blacklisted. This should be enough, a mkinitcpio may or may not be needed. If Xorg doesn't find nvidia, it'll automatically fallback to nouveau, if no .conf in /etc/X11 instructs it otherwise.

Re: GPU switcharoo & GUI fubar

Reply #2
How do I get the system set up to use only nouveau?
Remove every nvidia package while chrooted and un-blacklist nouveau, if blacklisted. This should be enough, a mkinitcpio may or may not be needed. If Xorg doesn't find nvidia, it'll automatically fallback to nouveau, if no .conf in /etc/X11 instructs it otherwise.

I don't remember reading this or of having received a notification; regardless, I installed another old ATI card and everything is back to normal. The chances of me ever installing another nvidia GPU are less than zero.
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Re: GPU switcharoo & GUI fubar

Reply #4
Good.
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