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Questions tagged [drivers]

For questions related to modules, the ones that control and orchestrate how the kernel should communicate with the hardware

For questions relating to:

  • Questions related to driver problems/troubleshooting
  • Questions on how to wrap drivers (for cross platform use)
  • Questions on which driver to use

Drivers generally fall into two categories:

  • Device/Software driver - A program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device.

  • Hardware Device - (examples) Graphics Card, Sound Card, NIC, etc.

The Operating System, or other programs will use drivers to communicate with the Hardware on the computer. These drivers give information on how to access the device, often with specific ways of communicating (interrupts, how to access).

Related links:

17060 questions
392
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43 answers

Installing Broadcom Wireless Drivers

I'm having serious problems installing the Broadcom drivers for Ubuntu. It worked perfectly on my previous version, but now, it is impossible. What are the steps to install Broadcom wireless drivers for a BCM43xx card? I'm a user with no advance…
Fer1805
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6 answers

How can I find what video driver is in use on my system?

I would like to try a different video display driver, but I'm not sure which one I'm currently using. What's the simple way to see what driver my system is using currently?
belacqua
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14 answers

How do I install the Nvidia drivers?

I just ordered the Nvidia GTX card. I have a dilemma, though. Should I keep using the driver which is available in "additional drivers" in Ubuntu, or should I install the driver from the Nvidia site? So which driver is the best for me?
Frantisek
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175
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16 answers

How to install NVIDIA.run?

I have a Nvidia Ge force Ge6150 SE graphics card. I am running ubuntu 12.04. When I try to install the .run file it fails. It shows the message like this: I tried to install it after uninstalling the old driver.still same message. Here is the log…
Kiranraj
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Is there a way to "restart" the touchpad driver?

I use Ubuntu 14.04 on a laptop, usually with an external usb mouse and keyboard and screen connected. Sometimes, however, I unplug all of them and move the laptop and keep using it with the builtin keyboard and screen and touchpad. At random times…
matteo
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8 answers

How do I check if Ubuntu is using my NVIDIA graphics card?

The reason I'm asking is that none of the games I've installed through software center that require 3D accelartion like TORCS for instance will run. When I try to run then, nothing happens. I have a Dell Inspiron N5110 with a nVidia GeForce GT…
Nic
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108
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30 answers

External monitor not detected on Ubuntu 18.04

After upgrading to Ubuntu 18.04, my laptop has been unable to detect/use an external monitor attached via HDMI. Even when plugged in, the "detect displays" button within the default settings app doesn't do anything. Here is the output from…
PullJosh
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4 answers

Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/i915

I upgraded my laptop to have the 4.8 kernel and during the process the following warnings came up. update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-4.8.0-040800-generic W: Possible missing firmware /lib/firmware/i915/kbl_dmc_ver1_01.bin for module…
Malachi
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91
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1 answer

Unknown Additional Driver: Processor microcode firmware for Intel CPUs for intel-microcode

After upgrading to 15.04, I have one additional driver (it did not appear in 14.10). What is the purpose of this driver and should I enable it?
Ljiljan Veselinovic
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6 answers

"W: Possible missing firmware for module i915_bpo" when updating initramfs

When I run a kernel or NVIDIA driver update on my 16.04, this triggers an initramfs rebuild which outputs the warning below: Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.122ubuntu8.1) ... update-initramfs: Generating…
Byte Commander
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4 answers

How do I install additional drivers?

I've just installed Ubuntu and I need either video, wireless, or some sort of other manufacturer (non-opensource) driver. How can I run the tool that will fetch all of these for me? I'd like graphical instructions. Related: Can I install extra…
Jorge Castro
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6 answers

How can I check the information of currently installed WiFi drivers?

When I clicked on additional drivers on Ubuntu 12.04, I could not see any drivers.. How can I check what drivers are installed for WiFi on Ubuntu environment.
Inderjeet
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5 answers

Can I install extra drivers via the command prompt?

Since I can't seem to open the Additional Drivers program? And how do I know what driver I need to install?
TheXed
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dpkg-deb: error: paste subprocess was killed by signal (Broken pipe)

On Ubuntu 18.04 I am getting this when I want to install the recommended Nvidia driver. sudo apt install nvidia-340 Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done The following packages were…
Nitescu Lucian
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9 answers

How do I install the Nvidia driver for a GeForce GT 630

I recently installed 14.04. But now I need a new driver for my nVidia GeForce GT 630. The former driver was rejected as not compatible with the 64-bit. I found that other driver and when I wanted to install it in the terminal with sh I was called…
Horst Seeger
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