linux-kbuild-2.6.29 - backport your own NOW

The problem with dependencies are that I can never give the correct list, since I compiled it to begin with... Attempt first to install the kernel headers as well, and if that does not work, I will drop a file with all the installed packages on my system. Going to be a large list though... You have the right approach to solving this problem, and I think we will get there soon! Cheers, Quentin

Thanks again for the speedy reply Quentin. I've done just what you said: added deb http://apt.harleystudio.co.za/ hardy main to /etc/apt/sources.list Then using System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager I located and installed linux-image-2.6.31.6-rt19-20100103 linux-source-2.6.31.6-rt19-20100103 I put NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-190.53-pkg2.run on my destop, stopped the gdm, navigated to my desktop folder and ran NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-190.53-pkg2.run. At first there were complaints about a few missing dependencies (gcc among others) so I just went ahead and added those with Synaptic. Finally, however, there was a message I just could not figure a way to get around despite much googling. I don't remember the exact message, but it was something about NVIDIA not being able to find the path to my linux install or source folder or something of that nature, and also that I could try to fix the problem by setting the --kernel-source-path= (I believe this was it). As I said, I tried to get past this error, setting various paths, trying all sorts of stuff from Google, but just hit a dead end. I really do want this to work, and am hoping you know a way to resolve this problem. Just as a point of information, I'm trying to install this on a separate hard disk -- I just pop out the one I am using now, and replace it with the one I'm trying to install 64 Studio on -- so there's no concern about me "breaking" anything permanently. Worst case scenario is that I simply have to re-install 64 Studio, but like I said in an earlier post, I'm getting very good at that! :-) I appreciate your help, and am hoping you can get me over this (hopefully) last bit! Thanks!

I sometimes forget that some need more information ;-)

To install the new kernel you have to:

1) add my repository line to /etc/apt/sources.list

open terminal - and then run

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

append the following line to the end, and save

deb http://apt.harleystudio.co.za/ hardy main

run
sudo apt-get update
(to refresh the repositories)

sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.31.6-rt19-20100103 linux-source-2.6.31.6-rt19-20100103

restart your pc.

download the latest nvidia driver package from the nvidia site, and store somewhere convenient (like your desktop)

now, press , and log in as your user on the terminal

now, run the commands:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop
cd /home/your-user-name-here/Desktop
chmod 777 ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-190.53-pkg2.run
sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-190.53-pkg2.run

This will install the driver.

Reboot when done.

Thanks for the speedy reply, Quentin! I will reinstall (getting VERY good at that part, did it about a dozen time already LOL) and then will try to do as you've said. Meanwhile, can anyone explain EXACTLY what to do to "Install the kernel image and the source"? I've been using linux for over two years now, but much of this is still foreign to me, but I'm trying very hard to follow all of this, ANY help will be VERY appreciated! Thanks again!

It is no longer needed to backport. I built a 2.6.31.6 RT kernel, that I made available on my personal repository. (currently uploading - should be done in one hour from posting) Install the kernel image and the source, and then run the latest NVIDIA installer the normal way. Worked for me. deb http://apt.harleystudio.co.za/ hardy main Cheers, Quentin

Hi there! I really WANT to give 64 Studio a shot as it promises to be exactly what I'm looking for. Normally I'm content to simply install the latest stable release (because I know it's STABLE, of course :-) ) but was unable to install the 2.1 release due to it not detecting my ethernet card (NVIDIA MCP67). So, that lead me to try the 3.0 beta3 version. I was really happy to see that the install went very smoothly, no problems at all. My first task after installing was to attempt to get my NVIDIA GeForce 7000 graphics card working. After MUCH fustration I found that I needed to "backport" in order to do this. Okay...the problem is that I've been trying REALLY hard to follow the backport procedure here, with no success, for a couple of days now. Everything seems to work fine, as far as I can tell, until I enter: sudo apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all Then I get the error message: Couldn't find package linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all I have tried everything I could find in this thread, everything that I could find on the internet, and everything else I could think of, all to no avail. So...I'm BEGGING for help here! Can anyone explain what the problem is? Is it possible that something has changed since the instructions in this thread were written, and that it is no longer possible to backport? Thanks in advance!

Hi uninstalled alsa-firmware so I could install the RT kernel 13, but now my multiface won't load: RME Hammerfall DSP 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A disabled [ 365.506138] RME Hammerfall DSP 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 18 (level, low) -> IRQ 18 [ 367.509233] Hammerfall-DSP: wait for FIFO status <= 0 failed after 30 iterations [ 367.509518] RME Hammerfall DSP 0000:03:00.0: firmware: requesting multiface_firmware_rev11.bin [ 367.511125] Hammerfall-DSP: cannot load firmware multiface_firmware_rev11.bin [ 367.511129] Hammerfall-DSP: couldn't get firmware from userspace. try using hdsploader [ 367.511132] Hammerfall-DSP: card initialization pending : waiting for firmware Trying to use hdsploader doesn't work because the folder is no longer in /lib/firmware since uninstalling. Any idea how to get the firmware to load now that it is in the kernel? If I remove and insert the snd-hdsp I get the same error above...can't find the firmware. Must all of ALSA be reinstalled after the RT Kernel install? jonathan adams leonard

I am sure I missed some thing along the way but I will be darned if I can see my issue. Where to look for missing kernel.h file? I have installed the kbuild-2.6.29, and linux-header-2.6.29-multimedia and see all of the other files in /lib/modules/..... that the nvidia driver is swuaking about but no kernel.h Thanks for any pointers in the right direction Winston Smith of BongFrog Productions

Thanks for reporting, Quentin

After first installing latest Ubuntu Studio 9.04 I got disappointed that with the use of Pulsaudio my 2nd sound card, a M-Audio Delta66 was no longer detected. Could not solve that problem with the workaround found, but also came onto 64 Studio and decided to install the 3.0 beta 3 version on my AMD64. (Ubuntu Studio also suffered from very unpredictable freezes, a reset with the power button was needed to restart the system) Installation went smoothly but then I wanted to have the NVidia driver for my Geforce 7300GS. So i ran into the same problem with installing the headers. First I did not succeed using the method described here. Tonight it suddenly worked to get all the headers needed by only using: deb http://apt.64studio.com/backports hardy-backports main deb http://apt.harleystudio.co.za/ hardy main Where the 2.6.29-1 headers would not install before, it now worked. I noticed that for linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all-amd64, linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia and linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64, the latest version 2.6.29.2 were available, I did not get the error message from yesterday when I started trying to build the NVidia driver. After copying the settings from my openSuse 11.1 xorg.conf file I now have a great looking 64Studio andI must say, it feels rock stable. Ellio

Your method is similar to the one I'm using today. I don't think one way is more difficult than another, just slightly different. I've been trying many variations in the last month or so but your method is very close to the one I'm using today. I'm not sure but you may get a warning when installing 2.6.29.2-rt11.2b3 with 2.6.26.8-rt16 already installed but you can force installation of both. You don't have any problems with the beta3 2.6.29-1-multimedia-686 installed, but the headers are broken. Be nice to know how the 2.6.29.2-rt11.2b3 performs. Cheers! Dave. Oops, posted at the same time...

We are using your exact method on the testing kernels. The stable kernels are built in another way (which I do not know ;-) Ubuntu is only debian remixed, with some small changes to the user policies. Everything else is the same.

I'm at the time using a Molnar RT-patched kernel in my Debian Lenny-beta system, uname -a: Linux debian 2.6.26.8-rt16 #2 SMP PREEMPT RT Is it more difficult to configure a new kernel "the old-fashioned" way in Ubuntu? My method is a fairly simple cd /linux/source && cp /boot/"running-kernel".conf ./config && bzcat ../RT-patch.bz2 | patch -p1 && make menuconfig && make all && make-kpkg --initrd kernel_image kernel_headers So far I have had no hiccups and this old 1,2 GHz Duron PC can use Ardour with < 10 ms. latency - Ardour also configured from source because Debian developers have an argument with Ardour due to some licensing issues. Is Ubuntu completely relying on repos and ready-made .debs?

It should be fine if you install 2.6.29.2-rt11.2b3.090503 kernel & headers. Remove alsa-firmware first as the kernel provides these. If you try to install the kernel without removing the alsa-firmware package first you'll get an error. Cheers! Dave.

where can i get "linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-686"? i need to get ndiswrapper to run. what i found on "deb http://apt.harleystudio.co.za/ hardy main" was headers for version 2.6.29.2-rt11.2b3.090503. how can i get ndiswrapper to work? can i install the Linux kernel image for version 2.6.29.2-rt11.2b3.090503?

A quick answer on the 32bit 64bit thing (TM) Yes, 64 Studio was born because of the availablility of 64bit machines, but no real multimedia distro for it, but since than the 64 Studio team has worked on a couple of 32bit OEM projects as well. The 32 bit "Old School" version is here to stay, but I think the repos will be a bit messy for the next while until 3.0 is released. Thanks for the heads up on the package availability. We have tickets for it already, and should close those as soon as possible. Cheers, Q

Hi Chris, It is not a great idea to mix hardy and sid, but for the headers it should be ok. Just keep in mind that those packages are build under a different environment, and might need different compilers and packagers as well. We had the headers all in the 64 Studio hardy-backports repository (promise) but something went awry in the chain. Free will tend to it as soon as he has some time to do it (which may take a while unfortunately) Cheers, Quentin

Hi Quentin, I added your repository and tried to download linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all-amd64. I was warned by synaptic that the headers-common file was not authenticated as expected. Howeldver, when I try to proceed with the installations I get a similar error message to the ones I was getting before: Could not mark all packages for installation: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all-amd64: Depends: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 but it is not going to be installed When I try to manually select the headers-multimedia package I get: Error: Depends: linux-kbuild-2.6.29 but it is not installable When I search for the linux kbuild package the only result I get is the kbuild for 2.6.26 (not 2.6.29) Thanks for your help

Hi Quentin, I have just joined the forums and looking forward to closing a few issues that i had with the new 2.6.29 kernel on 3.0 beta3 32bit version. I would like to say that 64studio rocks and is much better than Ubuntu studio. Latency is much better and less bloat etc. however, i was upset when you went to hardy base but that is life. I realized that i can just install your kernel on lenny, so i am doing that right now. However, i still have the same problem. I have got all the kernel packages from your repo installed 2.6.29-5 I have tried installing the nvidia driver by grabbing the kbuild, linux-source etc. however, when i run the install using sh NVIDIA-Linux..... it cannot find the kernel.h file. Apparently the new kernel has affected symlinks? please clarify. Do i need to run this with a specific switch? I have heard that the nvidia-kernel-source is now fixed in the sid/unstable debian repo http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=37596&start=15 This is version 180.44. Should i install instead? if so, please can you make a guide! and is also fixed in svn:- http://svn.debian.org/wsvn/pkg-nvidia/packages/nvidia-graphics-drivers/trunk/ I noticed everyone here is using 64 bit, so is 32 bit doomed to never work? Another quick question, is bigmem enabled by default on 32 kernel and also HPET? Also please can you include wvdial and the ability to load a custom wvdial.conf file? I tried to install the 64studio x64 3 master.iso but said their was no kernel and i could not connect to the internet using my ruddy hdspa modem, so I had to cancel the install :( Another reason i am on 32 bit. Please feel free to correct any errors and i will update my post. Cheers, Chris

The -common- headers somehow got lost... I will write Free about it. Cheers, Quentin

Hi Pablo, No problem:) The 2.6.26-1-multimedia-686 is a fine kernel. The latest testing kernel is very interesting indeed, but that's what testing is about. The upgrade path is the main ToDo but this is due to a bug upstream. Also maintaining the good performance and stability of the beta3 kernel as the kernel progresses is vital. I'm getting mixed results with the various kernel flavours all without the nvidia drivers installed. They certainly can be difficult and effect audio performance but some users do need them. Another issue is the default xorg.conf in the beta3, as you'll know by using Jaunty the xorg.conf is empty in Jaunty so it's important to know how to configure one yourself to suit your needs. Have fun with your Jaunt into Jaunty Jackalope:) Cheers! Dave.

Hi Dave, I have the original kernel of 64studio alpha in my working partition. pablo@64studio:~$ uname -r 2.6.26-1-multimedia-686 In my testing partition, I installed 64studio beta with the 2.6.29 kernel. I was able to install the headers and the Nvidia driver, following Quentin's instructions. Then I wrote a more detailed howto. But now, my testing partition is running jaunty jackalope (2.6.28-generic) so I can't test and report what you are asking me, sorry. You are doing a wonderful work to get a state of the art Linux realtime kernel but I need a stable DAW in my working partition for music. I don't have much time for testing kernels. I can't catch up with your work! And I need that linux-headers are easy to install! 2.6.26 is working very well in my desktop. I have the last jack, the last ardour... I wish we could forget about proprietary drivers so we could test kernels with no hassle. Anyway, it seems that the new kernels are doing better with the graphics, no? Thanks a lot, Dave. Cheers! Pablo

But the nv driver is working for me now! It wasn't before! Hurray! At last I have a working system! I have some more exclamation marks I could use but I'll restrain myself. Michael Pacey

So I looked in here: http://apt.64studio.com/backports/dists/hardy-backports/main/binary-amd64/Packages and I can see linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 and it's dependency on the -common- package but I can't see the -common-package itself. Looks to me like the state of the repo is broken. So I guess we just have to wait. Michael Pacey

OK I'm in the same boat as Thomas and Francis. I have been trying to install the proprietary nVidia drivers and I had got into a situation where they would not install, so I rebuilt my 3.0 beta installation. I did an apt-get upgrade after installation. Then I followed the instructions here to backport linux-kbuild, that went OK. Then I tried to install the linux-headers package and I get the same error: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64: Depends: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia (= 2.6.29-2) but it is not installable I have tried this both with and without sid in my sources.list. I get the same ouput as Thomas running the commands Dave gave him. Any clues? Michael Pacey

Hi Thomas, Thomas wrote: Again the error message is: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64: Depends: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia (=2.6.29-2) but it is not installable $ apt-cache policy linux-image-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 linux-image-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64: Installed: 2.6.29-2 Candidate: **2.6.29-2** Dave> When I run: $ apt-cache policy linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia: Installed: (none) Candidate: **2.6.29-5** Version table: 2.6.29-5 0 500 http://apt.64studio.com hardy-backports/main Packages So your kernel is 2.6.29-2 but the available linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia = 2.6.29-5 Run: $ apt-cache policy linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia To confirm there's no 2.6.29-2 version to match your kernel. The numbers are the package versions 2.6.29-2 = beta3 default version 2.6.29-5 = beta3 testing version uname -r *-1* is the kernel build identity number. Cheers! Dave.

Hi Dave, Here is the output from the commands you susggested. thomas@64studio:~$ uname -r 2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 thomas@64studio:~$ sudo dpkg -l |grep 2.6.29 ii linux-image-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 2.6.29-2 Linux 2.6.29 image on AMD64 ii linux-kbuild-2.6.29 2.6.29-1~hardy1 Kbuild infrastructure for Linux 2.6.29 ii linux-rt 2.6.29-2 Linux kernel 2.6 image on amd64-class machin thomas@64studio:~$ sudo apt-cache policy linux-image-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 linux-image-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64: Installed: 2.6.29-2 Candidate: 2.6.29-2 Version table: *** 2.6.29-2 0 500 http://apt.64studio.com hardy-backports/main Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status thomas@64studio:~$ sudo apt-cache policy linux-kbuild-2.6.29 linux-kbuild-2.6.29: Installed: 2.6.29-1~hardy1 Candidate: 2.6.29-1~hardy1 Version table: *** 2.6.29-1~hardy1 0 500 http://apt.64studio.com hardy-backports/main Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status Thanks for your help! Thomas PS I'm kinda confiused. What do these numbers mean? I thought they were a version number but why does uname -r give me -1 but other commands -2? I'd just like to know what's going on so that I don't have to ask dumb questions in the future.

Hi Pablo, The beta3 default kernel is **2.6.29-2** The beta3 testing kernel is 2.6.29-5 $ sudo apt-cache search 2.6.29 The kernel packages in the repositories are the new ones: $ sudo apt-cache policy linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all: Installed: (none) Candidate: **2.6.29-5** Version table: 2.6.29-5 0 500 http://apt.64studio.com hardy-backports/main Packages What kernel are you running pablo? what do these return? $ sudo dpkg -l |grep 2.6.29 $ sudo apt-cache policy linux-image-2.6.29-1-multimedia-686 $ sudo apt-cache policy linux-kbuild-2.6.29 Cheers! Dave.

Hi, Sorry but I don't know how to solve this. I installed the header and the nvidia driver once and I haven't looked back. I have a spare test partition but these days I'm testing other GNU/Linux releases, so I can't reproduce the problem. I should have said before that I did those steps with a X86 (32 bit) Linux software but anyway, I suspect the problem is caused by changes in the repos. This is a Beta version. Repositories can't be considered stable! These good people are preparing a fine final version. Patiente is a virtue. You can't expect a beta version to be ideal without suffering from Linux headaches. The free driver is not so bad while waiting for 3.0. Someone can help better? Cheers! Pablo.

Hi everybody from France! I've just installed the 64Studio 3.0 Beta3 for amd64. I'm working on an Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz and the uname -a gives: 2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT RT Thu Feb 26 16:18:05 UTC 2009 x86_64 GNU/Linux Pablo's howto worked well for me, but when launching step 6) sudo apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all I get: Construction de l'arbre des dépendances Lecture des informations d'état... Fait E: Impossible de trouver le paquet linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all Indeed, when looking in Synaptic for linux-headers, there is no such package, but only: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all-amd64 or linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 and when I try to mark these packages for installation, I have the following error messages: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-all-amd64: Dépend: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64 but it is not going to be installed or linux-headers-2.6.29-1-multimedia-amd64: Dépend: linux-headers-2.6.29-1-common-multimedia (=2.6.29-2) but it is not installable For sure, I'm forgetting something, but I can't figure precisely what thing right now. Any more clues? Thanks a lot in advance! Francis ;o)

Our Devs are working feverishly to complete two OEM projects at the moment, and when done we will probably see either the last beta or the first release candidate. Cheers, Q

Hi guys I've alway installed nvidia driver by source file with .sh with no problem. Ok apt it's not informed , but driver incled in repo not support all voìideo cards expecially most recent . If you want you can use for install module-assistant , if interested here there a tutorial http://www.debianclan.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=38 This is an italia web site about debian. bye Guido

I can confirm that a clean install and Pablo's instructions worked for me flawlessly. On a side note, any word on when we'll be out of beta?

The problem installing the .run from the nvidia site is that APT is not informed of this installation. It's not a correct way to do on a Debian based system, it could be the cause of big dependencies problems in the future. I guess the best is to wait that the drivers will be included in the distribution.

Hello Alex and Guido, First off, THANK YOU! Alex, I don't know if I'm booting into the root command prompt correctly. What I do is hit esc and then select recovery mode. I then choose: Root Drop to root shell But when I try to run the installation file I get this message: You appear to be running in runlevel 1; this may cause problems. For example: some distributions that use devfs do not run the devfs daemon in runlevel1, making it difficult for nvidia-installer to correctly setup the kernel module configuration files. It is recommended that you quit installation now and switch to runlevel 3 before installing. Quit installation now? Is this a problem?? I just continued the installation anyway. Also, during the installation I answered yes to: "Install NVIDIA's 32-bit compatibility OpenGL libraries" is this ok? EDIT: SUCCESS! It seems to have worked. I'm still curious about the prompts I received during the install but as long as it works I'm happy. thanks tb

I am slowly getting more comfortable with all this. I for one love to work from a command line. I would like to get better though. I appreciate everyone' s help. James

James, sorry i didn't get back here earlier, but my method was simply add the sid repo, install Kbuild and source, then remove Sid from the etc/sources.list. Mad, another way to install the NVIDIA driver is to boot into a root command prompt, then type: sh run (without the arrows) That way you're installing the driver without having the Xserver running. Stick the D/L driver on the Desktop, then navigate to it from the terminal, and away you go. As far as the kernel build request during the driver install cycle, it said the same to me, told me it couldn't find it, then promptly built one anyway. All's sweet, and the 26" monitor never looked so good. Just as an added tip here, unless you REALLY need it, turn off all the eye candy, and 3d stuff. I haven't found an audio/midi app yet that needed those options. Save the CPU cycles for music, yes? :) Alex.

Hi contractcooker how I did above I have downloaded driver for nvidia and install it in this way: 1- download proper driverfor your card and put in hoem directory for example 2-sure you have installed these: nstall binutils build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r` pkg-config xserver-xorg-dev , if not you can install by apt 3-go out from session by press ctrlalt-F1 4-login wit your user and password 5-stop gdm typing : sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop 6- then launch from terminal nvidia installer typing: sudo sh drivername.run 7-Compile the drivers answering no when the installer wants to download the precompiled Internet version, 8-finally again no when it asks if you want to reconfigure the X server manually ( sudo dpkg.reconfigure xserver-xorg )or yes if you want automatic reconfigure xserver 9- then finally restart xserver by : sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start This the manual way to install driver I always use this .Be careful that if you use ths way you can't use another to uninstall , to uninstall you use the same way: -point 1-3-4 -launch sudo sh drivername.run uninstall -point 9 I hope this is helpful for you bye Guido

That's Great, Thank you so much for putting in all this work Quentin. It makes the learning curve a little less steep for us newbs. Thanks again, Thomas EDIT: Also thanks to pablo and everyone else in this thread. It's been very useful.

It seems there is a chance we can backport the nvidia-non-free drivers from Debian sid for Hardy as well. I am currently away form my studio, but the moment I am back I will start collecting packages for backporting. When done it should be a little easier... Thanks Pablo for your nice adapted how-to! Cheers, Q

Hello Everyone, I've read this thread but can't get the nvidia driver to work. I went to the nVidia website but all I see is a black rectangle with some small grey "selection" rectangles in the corner. I think it might be because I don't have flash installed correctly (I went into synaptic and installed flashplugin-nonfree. Is there anything else I need to do to install flash correctly for firefox? Or could this be a completely different problem? thanks Thomas

Hi, I do remember this is a beta release but interestingly, I came to 64Studio because I was having trouble getting UbuntuStudio 8.04 to run well. I had as much trouble getting it to work well as I have this one. On the audio side, this beta is more complete it was just the video side that made it hard. Now, I need to learn how to use Rosegarden and am deeply interested in using .gig files. I have a ton of samples from over the years and now that GigaStudio is dead (thanks Tascam), I have to find a way to continue to use them. I am definitely not used to Jack and it will take a while to get it under my skin. By then, hopefully the beta will be a release. Thanks again, James

Hi James, I'm glad to hear you are up and running! Remember this is a Beta release, I mean, for your article. I hope 64studio 3.0 will be not so tricky to get it going! Cheers! Pablo.

Hi Pablo and Quentin and Alex, I finally got it working. I had to make several tries at getting the right Nvidia driver and I did as Pablo suggested in updating/upgrading immediately. What was happening with the Nvidia installer was that it asked me if I wanted to use the xorg configuration tool. I originally said yes and it was all bad. This time, I said no and simply put "nvidia" in the right spot. Now, I can use my whole screen and get on to making some music. BTW, I have been in the PC World for a long while at www.pcrecording.com. I will be writing about the transition from Win to Linux for the site Thanks so much for your help and excellent advice James