Cant update NVIDIA driver on stable branch

Help
8

If I can read GitHub right, the patch should of been merged by now, but my update still is broken. Is it just taking a while or am I messing something up?

1 Like
9

To avoid full rebuilds the nixos-* channels and branches are updated when hydra finishes evaluating and building the packageset. You can check https://nixpk.gs/pr-tracker.html?pr=286084 to see when it is available in the cache.

4 Likes
10

Thanks for the info!

11

I have an app that I want to install and use but the build is failing because of this error. How can I do install/use the app without nvidia getting updated in the rebuild process?

12

Don’t update your channels/flake inputs when you install it.

If you already have, you can rollback your channels or revert git commits for a flake.

13

I have a similar issue. I tried converting to using Flakes, and in the build process I was met with the same problem.

Since it was my first Flake build, I have nothing to convert back to. How can I do the initial build? Will I somehow have to build using an older Linux kernel? Or, is it the NVIDIA driver that I need to somehow downgrade? Or both?

// disclaimer: i am brand new to nixos

14

I think we just have to wait for Hydra to take its sweet sweet time.

15

It would be possible to get this specific package from unstable.
However in this case I don’t know where to define it.
Pointing hardware.nvidia.package to the unstable version of linuxKernel.packages.linux_6_1.nvidia_x11 didn’t work for me.

The alternative option is to pin the whole flake to a commit before it broke.

2 Likes
16

Yeah, if you’re using a flake, you can change the nixpkgs url to include the exact commit:

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-23.11?rev=14944a4d567c6679e6054b382cf7f309ae880f0c";
    # Or if I misremember, maybe the branch is not allowed if you specify `rev`:
    # nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs?rev=14944a4d567c6679e6054b382cf7f309ae880f0c";
  };
}

That commit is the one that changed to the 6.1.74 kernel version, which is 2 weeks out of date.

You’ll need to remove the rev bit manually later if you want to actually update again. Though frankly, at this point it will likely only take a few hours before hydra finishes, so it might be worth just waiting an evening.

2 Likes
17

You can use this workaround temporarily (source):

In flake.nix:

inputs.nixpkgs_patched.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs/468a37e6ba01c45c91460580f345d48ecdb5a4db";

In configuration.nix:

{ config, pkgs, inputs ... }:

{
  nixpkgs.overlays = [ (self: super: (let
    patched_pkgs = import inputs.nixpkgs_patched {
      inherit (self) system;
      config.allowUnfree = true;
    };
  in {
    linuxPackages = patched_pkgs.linuxPackages;
  })) ];
  hardware.nvidia.package = config.boot.kernelPackages.nvidiaPackages.stable;
  boot.kernelPackages = pkgs.linuxPackages;
}
18

That will require building the kernel, by the way, until hydra publishes a binary, whereas the workaround of sticking to an older commit means you don’t have to do that.

19

I just applied the @Brisingr05 's workaround to my own configs and it definitely did not rebuild the full kernel. So i guess hydra already has binaries for that.

20

looks like the patch there is applied to the nvidia package, not the kernel. So that just means rebuilding nvidia.

1 Like
21

Thanks for the input, guys. I am trying @Brisingr05’s workaround (my system is now downloading and building a lot of stuff).

One noob question: How do you know what URL to use in the setting below?

22

the number is the commit hash of the Pull Request that fixed the nvidia issue, linuxPackages.nvidiaPackages: add common patch for new kernel releases by Kiskae · Pull Request #286058 · NixOS/nixpkgs · GitHub

You could also put a branch or tag name.

Normally you would have a branch name in there, i.e. nixos-unstable

Also glad to see my super hacky fix was useful, considering it was quoted here lol

2 Likes
23

OK, I understand. However, when I look at the referenced pull request, I only see two related commits.

I see f649a4a4b749bb2b55cc3a7afc815d8df9dd62db and ca149f54a9a89414388dd97c2334ad8b8ad2bc8b. I do not see 468a37e6ba01c45c91460580f345d48ecdb5a4db.

Am I looking at the wrong place?

1 Like
24

nah I cant find in anymore on there either. Maybe they added another commit or something idk. ima make sure my fix even still works rn XD

1 Like
25

you have to follow more links to find the specific one I used now…

You could use the most recent one in that pr too though, nothing special about the one I chose other than that it was after the patch

1 Like
26

Thanks again, @Birdee.

I found the commit you chose. Makes sense, any commit after the patch was implemented will do. So, I guess I could use the latest one from the list of all the commits. Very good to know, if I run into these type of issues again later.

27

Flakes are amazing for pinning like this.

I use it often for neovim plugins especially.

Btw if you use neovim, I made this :slight_smile: