How to set up nVidia proprietary driver with 3D features enabled on Lenovo T61p laptop which is running Ubuntu Gutsy or Hardy

The nvidia driver does not work out of the box in Ubuntu Gutsy, Ubuntu Hardy boots to graphical UI but with 3D features disabled. To get everything working properly you need to do the following steps:

Initial installation

1. Download nVidia driver for Quadro FX570M from nVidia web site:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Select

Quadro
Quadro FX Mobile Series
Quadro FX 570M
Linux 32 bit (if you are using 32 bit Linux)

Click search. A page for the latest driver appears now.
Click the download link.
You can burn the driver (named for example):
NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run
to a corner of a CD for convenient install on Ubuntu where graphical user interface may not work.

2. Install Ubuntu. You may need to use Alternate install CD in case of Gutsy, with Hardy you can use
the normal desktop installer through the Live-CD. Install development environment:

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev gcc g++

3. Disable the preinstalled NV-driver:

To deal with that, first temporary cure was to disable restricted modules alltogether, and then the (proposed) final solution was
to edit the following file:

/etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common

The following line had to be added:

DISABLED_MODULES=\"nv\"

I added also to /etc/modules a following line:

nvidia

Remove the NV-driver from system:

sudo dpkg --purge xserver-xorg-video-nv

4. Go to text terminal by pressing CTRL+ALT+F2 for example (to have the virtual terminal 2).

Log in with your username.
Then:

sudo su
/etc/init.d/gdm stop

put the CD on the drive, after it gets mounted (assuming it is in /media/cdrom).

cp /media/cdrom/NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run ./
chmod a+x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run
./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run

Accept license.
Answer to the question if you want the installer to download the compatible kernel module from nVidia site “no”.
The installer now compiles a kernel module for you.

Let the installer modify your xorg.conf.

Everything done ->

/etc/init.d/gdm start

nVidia logo should appear and you are in X. You can log in to your Gnome or KDE desktop now.
Desktop effects work, Clutter works (along with the desktop effects, multiple GL context works in other words), X-plane flight sim works, ppracer works. Everything is as nice as it gets.

Everything keeps ok as long as you don’t update your kernel. When you do that e.g. with dist-upgrade, you need to stop gdm (/etc/init.d/gdm stop) from text mode, and then run the nVidia installer again. And it works.

To change mode, e.g. for projector etc. or second display, use the Applications-System tools-nVidia X server settings.
I use twin view so that the laptop screen is the left screen at 1680×1050 and the right screen is the 30 inch dell at 2560×1600.
All that work out of the box.

If you encounter bugs in the nvidia driver, please report them to nvidia, someone reads the reports there and acts on them.

After kernel update (which comes in system update on Ubuntu), reinstalling the driver

If you update your kernel, you need to run the nVidia installer again. To do so do the following:
Press CTRL + ALT + F1 for virtual terminal 1 in text mode. Log in and type:

sudo su
/etc/init.d/gdm stop

Then you can run the nVidia installer again with

./NVIDIA-Linux-x86-169.12-pkg1.run

Of course the nVidia driver changes from time to time, so it is advisable to check nVidia page if a new driver has appeared there. Just put executable flag on the installer and run it while gdm (and X) is stopped (from text mode) and it works.

I have written a dedicated page which contains this information:
http://www.karoliinasalminen.com/blog/?page_id=264. In the future, when this post gets below visibility, please look at this page instead, it has all the same information.

These instructions apply with minor modifications for installing Ubuntu Gutsy or Hardy in any nVidia equipped computer (desktop or laptop).