nVidia Video Card Drivers Configuration in Debian

If you have previously installed NVidia drivers using the NVidia installer you need to remove it before continuing

#nvidia-installer --uninstall

Check that you have "main contrib non-free" in your /etc/apt/sources.list or you can enter the following source list and save the file

 deb ftp://download.xs4all.nl/pub/mirror/debian/ stable main non-free contrib
 deb-src ftp://download.xs4all.nl/pub/mirror/debian/ stable main non-free contrib

Now run the following command to take effect of your new source list

#apt-get update

The NVidia driver requires either a 2.4 or 2.6 Linux kernel. Check that you are running one of these kernels (all current Debian releases do):

#uname -a

Install the required packages as follows

#apt-get install nvidia-kernel-common module-assistant

If you are running a debian kernel also enter the following command

#m-a -i prepare

If you are running a kernel you built yourself ensure you know where the sources are located.

Build and install the kernel module

#m-a a-i -i -t -f nvidia-kernel
#depmod -a

Alternatively if you are using a kernel you built yourself

#m-a a-i -i -t -f -k /usr/src/sourcepath nvidia-kernel
#depmod -a

Replace /usr/src/sourcepath with the location of your kernel source

Install

#apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-glx-dev xserver-xfree86

or if you are running unstable

#apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-glx-dev xserver-xorg

Reconfigure X to use the new drivers. Ensure you select "nvidia" instead of "nv" when asked for your driver

#dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

Users that want to run 3D applications need to be added to the "video" group

#adduser user video

Restart X. If you see the NVidia logo when X restarts you have successfully installed the NVidia 3D drivers.

References

http://home.comcast.net/~andrex/Debian-nVidia/