# Can't start x. nVidia device not found

## Rolf007

Hi all,

 I've been stuggling with this for a long time now, and really need you help.

I emerge'd world for the first time in about 100 days and realized that I was not able to reboot because CONFIG_DEVTMPFS was now required to be set to 'y' in my kernel. Unfortunately the makefile from my kernel 3.0.6 had mysteriously disappeard.

So I installed the newest kernel 3.8.13 but I had to configure it.

When I try to start x, `startx` i get this:

```
modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'nvidia': No such device

NVIDIA: failed to load the NVIDIA kernel modul.

Fatal server error:

no screens found
```

I would expect modprobe to look here:

```
/lib/modules/3.8.13-gentoo/kernel/drivers/
```

an no wonder, all I see here is

```
gpu/drm/gma500/gam500_fx.ko
```

Could that be my problem?

I followed the guide from here

```
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xorg-config.xml
```

So I have set this is the kernel config

```
Device Drivers  --->

    Graphics support  --->

        <*> Direct Rendering Manager (XFree86 4.1.0 and higher DRI support) --->

            <*> Nouveau (nVidia) cards
```

and this in my make.conf:

```
VIDEO_CARDS="vesa nvidia"
```

(unchanged from when it worked)

I should also mention that I moved my make.conf from /etc/ to /etc/portage/.

my graphics card is a NVIDIA GT218

My question is where do I go from here? I think I have tried everything now.

----------

## gerard27

The nVidia driver has to be installed separately.

Just do

```
 emerge nvidia-drivers
```

Gerard.

----------

## Rolf007

I have already done that...

----------

## Rolf007

lsmod show this:

```
Module Size   Used by

jme     31911  0
```

which also looks wrong to me...

----------

## Rolf007

/var/log/Xorg.0.log say this:

```
(EE) NVIDIA: Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module. Please check your

(EE) NVIDIA:     system's kernel log for additional error messages.

(II) UnloadModule: "nvidia"

(II) Unloading nvidia

(EE) Failed to load module "nvidia" (module-specific error, 0)

(EE) No drivers available.
```

If "system's kernel log" means `dmesg`, then it says:

```
NVRM: No NVIDIA graphics adapter probed!

NVRM: The NVIDIA probe routine was not called for 1 device(s)

NVRM: This can occur when a driver such as nouveau, rivafb,

NVRM: nvidiafb, or rivatv was loaded and obtained ownership of

NVRM: he NVIDIA device(s)

NVRM: Try unloading the conflicting kernel module (and/or

NVRM: reconfigure your kernel without the conflicting

NVRM: driver(s)), the try loading the NVIDIA kernel module

NVRM: again.
```

Not sure what that means, but I will try.

----------

## John R. Graham

The nvidia-drivers package (among others) is external to the kernel source. When you build a new kernel, you must re-emerge nvidia-drivers. There's a handy set to rebuild exactly what's needed:

```
emerge --oneshot @x11-module-rebuild
```

  :Wink: 

- John

----------

## Rolf007

Thanks a lot Gerard and John,

It turned out that the problem was that I nvidia in both my kernel and the emerged ones.

I removed kernel support for nouveau (nVidia) and then it worked. Only took 22 hours to figure that out  :oops:

----------

## augury

Remove the Nouveau from your kernel config entirely (unless you like to suck, no offence).  Vesa graphics support is ok but nothing else.  The nvidia driver will be in /lib/modules/{kernel version}/drivers.  You may need to "modprobe nvidia".

----------

## augury

Oh yeah you got that.  WTG!  Mark this solved.

----------

