[lintek]

Long story, I'll try to make it short.

Dual boot system.  Linux Mint, Linux Lite.  

The updated Nvidia drivers messed up my MINT, and through some help from their forum I was able to repair it.  But now when I try to boot to LITE I am unable because of a problem with Nvidia drivers.  I am totally lost and hope that I might get help repairing it so I don't have to do a fresh install.

I CAN access the LITE file system using MINT.

Thank you

[stevef]

Long story, I'll try to make it short.

Will need more information than you've provided so far before we go much further.

What was the exact Nvidia update that broke Mint ?
Did you apply the same Nvidia update that broke Mint to Lite ?
What was the fix for Mint ?
What version of Lite is it ?
When you are unable to boot Lite because of a Nvidia problem what exactly happens ?
Do you keep backups of the Lite installation using 'System Restore Utility' aka Timeshift or other mechanism ?

What is your system spec ? Run this command on the other OS.

Code:

inxi -Fz

[lintek]

What was the exact Nvidia update that broke Mint ?   NOT SURE
Did you apply the same Nvidia update that broke Mint to Lite?  NO, I DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO LITE
What was the fix for Mint?  I THINK THAT WE REMOVED AND UPDATED DRIVERS USING COMMAND LINE - I JUST COPIED AND PASTED - THAT'S ALL I EVER DO...  
What version of Lite is it ?  I THINK 7.8
When you are unable to boot Lite because of a Nvidia problem what exactly happens ?  I CAN PROVIDE A SCREEN SHOT LATER
Do you keep backups of the Lite installation using 'System Restore Utility' aka Timeshift or other mechanism ?  I BELIEVE SO.

I may be able to uninstall the Nvidia card and boot up with a single monitor and do a system restore...?

Code:

System:   Kernel: 6.8.0-124-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64   Desktop: Cinnamon v: 6.6.7 Distro: Linux Mint 22.3 Zena Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Dell product: OptiPlex 7010 v: 01     serial: <superuser required>   Mobo: Dell model: 0GY6Y8 v: A02 serial: <superuser required> BIOS: Dell     v: A29 date: 06/28/2018 CPU:   Info: quad core model: Intel Core i5-3570 bits: 64 type: MCP cache:     L2: 1024 KiB   Speed (MHz): avg: 2148 min/max: 1600/3800 cores: 1: 1596 2: 1596 3: 3800     4: 1600 Graphics:   Device-1: NVIDIA GK208B [GeForce GT 710] driver: nvidia v: 470.256.02   Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X:     loaded: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa gpu: nvidia     resolution: 1: 1920x1200~60Hz 2: 1920x1200~60Hz   API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: kms_swrast,nvidia,swrast     platforms: gbm,x11,surfaceless,device   API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 470.256.02     renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GT 710/PCIe/SSE2   API: Vulkan v: 1.3.275 drivers: N/A surfaces: xcb,xlib Audio:   Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio     driver: snd_hda_intel   Device-2: NVIDIA GK208 HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel   API: ALSA v: k6.8.0-124-generic status: kernel-api   Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active Network:   Device-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network driver: e1000e   IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>   Device-2: Realtek RTL8188EUS 802.11n Wireless Network Adapter     driver: rtl8xxxu type: USB   IF: wlx7c8bca131f76 state: down mac: <filter> Drives:   Local Storage: total: 1.47 TiB used: 332.87 GiB (22.1%)   ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Kingston model: SA400S37120G size: 111.79 GiB   ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD10EADX-22TDHB0     size: 931.51 GiB   ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Toshiba model: MQ01ABD050V size: 465.76 GiB Partition:   ID-1: / size: 456.88 GiB used: 59.49 GiB (13.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc3   ID-2: /boot/efi size: 512 MiB used: 7.1 MiB (1.4%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sdc2 Swap:   ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 2 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) file: /swapfile Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 38 C   Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 50% Info:   Memory: total: 24 GiB available: 23.43 GiB used: 4.98 GiB (21.2%)   Processes: 272 Uptime: 1h 56m Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.34 What was the exact Nvidia update that broke Mint ? Did you apply the same Nvidia update that broke Mint to Lite ? What was the fix for Mint ? What version of Lite is it ? When you are unable to boot Lite because of a Nvidia problem what exactly happens ? Do you keep backups of the Lite installation using 'System Restore Utility' aka Timeshift or other mechanism ?

[stevef]

I THINK THAT WE REMOVED AND UPDATED DRIVERS USING COMMAND LINE - I JUST COPIED AND PASTED - THAT'S ALL I EVER DO...

If it is public, can you provide a link to the forum thread which helped you ?
It may help us understand what changes you made.

NO, I DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO LITE

That's good, but this statement below implies something has changed - which I don't understand if you left Lite alone.

when I try to boot to LITE I am unable because of a problem with Nvidia drivers.

On a dual boot set up, the two systems should only be sharing the boot mechanism.
After the boot decision is made the two should be independent.

We really need to know exactly what happens when you try to boot Lite - any problem there should not be related to the Mint driver change - but who knows.  An accurate description of the Lite boot sequence is necessary. A screenshot may help but we need the sequence of events.

I may be able to uninstall the Nvidia card and boot up with a single monitor and do a system restore...?

Don't change anything at this time.  You have a working Mint set up and Lite in an unknown state.  A system restore might be part of the solution but we don't understand the problem yet.

Thank you for the system information, I'll look through it.

[lintek]

Actually , to fix the MINT driver issue I removed the Nvidia board, used a single monitor to boot up and then restored to an earlier version using Timeshift.

-------------------------


Here is a screenshot of what happens when I boot LITE - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/k6i4494hm...gizgv&dl=0

Posting link because apparently I can't upload images for some reason.

[stevef]

I assume that sequence just cycles round.  From what you've disclosed so far, it is not clear how the Lite system got the 535.309.01 driver which appears to be incompatible with your normal hardware.

If the optiplex has an onboard video you may be able to use it to boot Lite without the Nvidia driver - perhaps  your BIOS settings allow this.  Without knowing your set up, it's hard to provide guidance, but it sounds like you've done it before.

This link describes something similar.
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/gt-730-gk...iver/83755

[lintek]

I was thinking, like with MINT, I can remove the Nvidia card, boot up with the single monitor, and then use Timeshift to revert to a usable system.

Otherwise, worst case, I simply reinstall LITE and end up with 8.0

Thanks for your help

[zaphroth]

I've noticed problems with Nvidia on LL it fails to create a Seat whether you are using Wayland or xorg. Essentially your driver may actually be running, but it doesn't know how to send it to the display device. I did it manually having to define everything piece by piece, but there should be an easier method especially for new users or those unfamiliar with having to wade through the CLI.

[lintek]

...there should be an easier method especially for new users or those unfamiliar with having to wade through the CLI.

I would have to take a year's worth of classes to elevate my status to "beginner"...

I LOVE Linux, both MINT and LITE, especially because I HATE WINDOWS and even more I hate APPLE.  

Thanks to the helpful people on these forums I (as a complete computer idiot) have been able to use nothing but Linux for almost 10 years now.

I am grateful for these forums and for this these OS.  Thank you!

I keep a (cheap) running PC and use cheap parts to keep it running.  I like having two (old, vga) monitors.  If you have a suggestion for a different way for me to run two monitors then I'd love to hear it.  Better graphics card?  Another method?