[BUG] Nvidia_drm.modeset=1 is not properly set, based on nvidia module names in /lib/modules/[your-kernel-version]/updates/dkms

[Klusio19]

Describe the bug If nvidia modules in /lib/modules/[your-kernel-version]/updates/dkms are named different than nvidia for example I have (and there will be plenty of people which will have the same name) nvidia-current-drm.ko, nvidia-current-modeset.ko, nvidia-current-peermem.ko, nvidia-current-uvm.ko, nvidia-current.ko, which is basically nvidia-current, instead of nvidia the nvidia_drm.modeset=1 will not be applied, thus you won't be able login to Wayland session, etc.

To check if nvidia_drm.modeset is loaded, I run: sudo cat /sys/module/nvidia_drm/parameters/modeset. If the answer is 'Y' it is loaded. If it's 'N', it's not.

To Reproduce Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Run sudo envycontrol -s nvidia (or sudo envycontrol -s hybrid)
2. Nvidia_drm is not loaded if you have different nvidia modules names as described earlier.

Expected behavior Properly load nvidia_drm.

System Information:

• Model: Lenovo Legion Y540 17"
• Distro: Debian GNU/Linux trixie/sid x86_64
• Kernel: 6.5.10-x64v3-xanmod1
• DE/WM and Display Manager (if applicable): KDE Plasma
• EnvyControl version: 3.3.0
• Nvidia driver version: 525.125.06-2
• lspci output:

  00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 8th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers (rev 07)
  00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6th-10th Gen Core Processor PCIe Controller (x16) (rev 07)
  00:04.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor Thermal Subsystem (rev 07)
  00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6 / E3-1500 v5 / 6th/7th/8th Gen Core Processor Gaussian Mixture Model
  00:12.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH Thermal Controller (rev 10)
  00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH USB 3.1 xHCI Host Controller (rev 10)
  00:14.2 RAM memory: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH Shared SRAM (rev 10)
  00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH CNVi WiFi (rev 10)
  00:15.0 Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH Serial IO I2C Controller #0 (rev 10)
  00:15.1 Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH Serial IO I2C Controller #1 (rev 10)
  00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH HECI Controller (rev 10)
  00:17.0 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake Mobile PCH SATA AHCI Controller (rev 10)
  00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH PCI Express Root Port #9 (rev f0)
  00:1d.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH PCI Express Root Port #14 (rev f0)
  00:1e.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH Serial IO UART Host Controller (rev 10)
  00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM470 Chipset LPC/eSPI Controller (rev 10)
  00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH cAVS (rev 10)
  00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH SMBus Controller (rev 10)
  00:1f.5 Serial bus controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Lake PCH SPI Controller (rev 10)
  01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation TU116M [GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile] (rev a1)
  06:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. XPG SX8200 Pro PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (rev 03)
  07:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)

Additional context To properly load nvidia_drm, (if you have different nvidia modules names like described earlier, in my case nvidia-current) change line generated by EnvyControl in file located in /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf from options nvidia-drm modeset=1 to options nvidia-current-drm modeset=1. After that regenerate your initramfs image by running: sudo update-initramfs -u -k all and reboot. Every time you change mode via EnvyControl, it overrides that file, so you have to repeat that every time you need.

[bayasdev]

@Klusio19 just checked my Ubuntu 23.10 with Nvidia 535.129.03 install and the kernel module is named nvidia-drm (not sure if this is a Debian specific caveat).

I'm not sure how we can reliably detect the appropriate name if we're into the following situation:

Integrated mode --> Hybrid/Nvidia mode

Since the Nvidia modules are not loaded in this mode.

However I can implement an opt-in CLI flag like --use-nvidia-current.

Let me know what you think.

[Klusio19]

@bayasdev I found out about the Nvidia modules naming scheme here in the forum: (https://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=154344), the guy says it's because of DKMS. So I don't think it is Debian-specific, however it doesn't really matter here.

You are correct about the fact that in situations where switching from integrated -> hybrid/Nvidia there is no way to determine what the names of the Nvidia modules are. At the moment I can't think about anything better, than the solution provided by you. I think a simple CLI argument would be enough.

Also if you decide to implement that, a small update in the readme about that situation with Nvidia modules naming scheme would be helpful. But I'm sure you are aware of that 🙂

[bayasdev]

@Klusio19 please test the new 3.3.1 release

[Klusio19]

@Klusio19 please test the new 3.3.1 release

Uppgraded, using the flag works flawlessly, nvidia_drm module is properly loaded now!