[Solved] Nvidia after kernel update

Question

The nvidia wiki clearly states that: "Every time the kernel26 package is updated, it is a requirement to reinstall the nvidia package and rebooting afterwards. "
But my question is, why? I mean, if the module was to be recompiled, that would make sense. But what does just reinstalling the driver accomplish? In my system, pacman -Ql nvidia shows:
$ pacman -Ql nvidia
nvidia /etc/
nvidia /etc/modprobe.d/
nvidia /etc/modprobe.d/nouveau_blacklist.conf
nvidia /lib/
nvidia /lib/modules/
nvidia /lib/modules/2.6.35-ARCH/
nvidia /lib/modules/2.6.35-ARCH/kernel/
nvidia /lib/modules/2.6.35-ARCH/kernel/drivers/
nvidia /lib/modules/2.6.35-ARCH/kernel/drivers/video/
nvidia /lib/modules/2.6.35-ARCH/kernel/drivers/video/nvidia.ko
From what I've read, I think the kernel update process copies the compiled modules into the proper folder (inside /lib) named by the kernel version. Should this not be the case with nvidia? If it is not, then is this why the reinstall is needed?
Thanks in advance (and my apologies if I've glossed over something that's patently obvious --- while I've searched for the answer before posting, I am still quite the novice at tinkering with the kernel)
EDIT: just after posting I've realized that maybe this post belongs in "Kernel and Hardware Issues" subforum. But the truth is this isn't really an "issue"... it's more a question from, well, a newbie :-)
Last edited by gauthma (2010-09-28 21:53:04)

Answer 1

gauthma wrote:
Thank you for the feedback.
ngoonee wrote:Of course, if you're using nvidia-beta or some other AUR nvidia driver, you need to reinstall it.
Running the risk of asking what might be obvious to some, why?
The driver speaks to the kernel. When the kernel updates, the language used might have changed in various ways. Since nvidia is closed-source, its not always obvious whether what has changed affects it. The same applies to xorg-server, when it updates you should recompile your nvidia driver. Its SOMETIMES not needed, but when it is, would you rather be solving it from the tty?
quathma wrote:
ngoonee wrote:That's what the wiki is referring to. Even if the kernel major version has not updated (for example 2.6.35.5 to 2.6.35.6 is only a minor version bump) the driver may need to be recompiled. Safer to just do it everytime and restart the machine.
Now I'm confused. Are you saying that the safest approach is to recompile and (re)install the nvidia module after each kernel update? And does this only apply to modules from beta & AUR, or [extra] as well? And shouldn't all this issue of recompiling modules also apply to every other module installed in the system?
Yes that's the safest approach. [extra] is taken care of by the devs, the simple way is to assume they'll bump it if needed (and you don't need to do anything).
The same thing applies to almost any kernel module (AFAIK). It applies to virtualbox's modules, for sure, as well as phc-intel (the only other 2 external modules I use). Most kernel modules are actually compiled in to the kernel26 package anyway, so its not very many. I just automatically recompile the ones I use whenever I notice a kernel/xorg update.