NVIDIA graphics

Octlitch does not include proprietary NVIDIA drivers in the installation image. They can be installed after Octlitch is installed.

Before installing

The Octlitch live environment and initial installation use the graphics support available in the Fedora base.

After installation, users with supported NVIDIA hardware can choose to install the proprietary NVIDIA driver.

Do not use NVIDIA's .run installer

Octlitch uses RPM packages so graphics drivers stay integrated with the Fedora package manager and kernel update process.

Check your graphics hardware

Display the detected graphics adapters and their current kernel drivers:

lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'

Install the NVIDIA driver

Octlitch includes a post-install helper for installing NVIDIA support:

sudo octlitch-install-nvidia

The helper configures the required third-party repositories, installs the NVIDIA driver packages, builds the kernel module and updates the initial RAM filesystem where required.

Follow the instructions shown in the terminal and allow the process to finish before restarting the computer.

Restart the system

After the installation completes:

sudo reboot

Verify the driver

After restarting, check that the NVIDIA driver is available:

nvidia-smi

A working installation should display information about the NVIDIA GPU and installed driver.

You can also check the active kernel driver with:

lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'

Secure Boot

Secure Boot can prevent third-party kernel modules from loading unless they are trusted by the system.

Check whether Secure Boot is enabled with:

mokutil --sb-state

If Secure Boot is enabled, the NVIDIA installation may require additional module-signing or key-enrollment steps.

Read the installer output

The Octlitch NVIDIA helper explains the Secure Boot situation when it detects that additional steps may be necessary.

Kernel updates

Octlitch uses the RPM Fusion akmod packaging method for the proprietary NVIDIA module.

After a kernel update, the NVIDIA module may need a short period to build for the new kernel before the system is restarted.

You can check the build state with:

sudo akmods --force

If the NVIDIA driver does not load

Start by checking the installed packages and loaded kernel modules:

rpm -qa | grep -i nvidia

lsmod | grep nvidia

Check kernel messages related to NVIDIA:

journalctl -b -k | grep -i nvidia

Also verify Secure Boot status:

mokutil --sb-state

Laptops with multiple GPUs

Some laptops contain both integrated graphics and a discrete NVIDIA GPU. In these systems, applications may use different GPUs depending on the hardware and driver configuration.

Both graphics devices can be inspected with:

lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'

Next: AMD and Intel graphics →