Problem installing CUDA 8 on Ubuntu 16.04 - Missing proc/driver/nvidia folder

Question

I am trying to install NVIDIA CUDA 8.0 on my Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, even following the Linux Install Guide from NVIDIA I can not get it working.

Here is the details.

I have a laptop Acer Aspire VX, it cames with Windows 10 and I did a dual boot installation of Ubuntu. The hardware is a Intel Core i5 7300HQ with an NVIDIA GeForce 1050.

The pre-installation actions and their output:

$ lspci | grep -i nvidia
01:00.0 3D controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1c8d (rev a1)


$ uname -m && cat /etc/*release
x86_64
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=16.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=xenial
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS"
VERSION_ID="16.04"
HOME_URL="http://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
VERSION_CODENAME=xenial
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial


$ gcc --version
gcc (Ubuntu 5.4.0-6ubuntu1~16.04.4) 5.4.0 20160609
Copyright (C) 2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

$ uname -r
4.10.0-33-generic

Until here everything was ok. Moreover, I install it following the pass by pass of the guide. I downloaded the file .deb from the NVIDIA site for Linux x86_64 machines.

1. $ sudo dpkg -i /home/marlosdamasceno/Downloads/cuda-repo-ubuntu1604-8-0-local-ga2_8.0.61-1_amd64.deb
2. $ sudo apt-get update
3. $ sudo apt-get install cuda

That was ok as well. Aftet that I installed the Patch 2 (Released Jun 26, 2017). Here are the steps.

1. $ sudo dpkg -i /home/marlosdamasceno/Downloads/cuda-repo-ubuntu1604-8-0-local-cublas-performance-update_8.0.61-1_amd64.deb
2. $ sudo apt-get update
3. $ sudo apt-get upgrade cuda

Everything looks like ok until here. Therefore, I follow the post-installation actions.

$ export PATH=/usr/local/cuda-8.0/bin${PATH:+:${PATH}}

$ nvcc --version
nvcc: NVIDIA (R) Cuda compiler driver
Copyright (c) 2005-2016 NVIDIA Corporation
Built on Tue_Jan_10_13:22:03_CST_2017
Cuda compilation tools, release 8.0, V8.0.61

$ cuda-install-samples-8.0.sh /home/marlosdamasceno/

---

Ok, everything looks ok again, however here was the first problem, when I was checking the driver, there was no folder at all of nvidia.

$ cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version

cat: /proc/driver/nvidia/version: No such file or directory

Here is a print of the folder: https: //ibb.co/cWjpTa

The only thing on the folder is a rtc file.

I tryed to keep going and did the make step of the samples. I got this:

/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lnvcuvid
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
Makefile:381: recipe for target 'cudaDecodeGL' failed
make[1]: *** [cudaDecodeGL] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory '/home/marlosdamasceno/NVIDIA_CUDA-8.0_Samples/3_Imaging/cudaDecodeGL'
Makefile:52: recipe for target '3_Imaging/cudaDecodeGL/Makefile.ph_build' failed
make: *** [3_Imaging/cudaDecodeGL/Makefile.ph_build] Error 2

Moreover, when I ran the deviceQuery, I got this message.

./deviceQuery Starting...

 CUDA Device Query (Runtime API) version (CUDART static linking)

cudaGetDeviceCount returned 35
-> CUDA driver version is insufficient for CUDA runtime version
Result = FAIL

In addition, here are some more commands and outputs to help.

Nothing happens when typing this command.

$ lsmod | grep nvidia

Another command.

$ nvidia-smi
nvidia-smi: command not found

Another command.

$ sudo lshw -c video
*-display               
       description: 3D controller
       product: NVIDIA Corporation
       vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       version: a1
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
       configuration: driver=nouveau latency=0
       resources: irq:318 memory:a3000000-a3ffffff memory:90000000-9fffffff memory:a0000000-a1ffffff ioport:4000(size=128)
  *-display
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: Intel Corporation
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 2
       bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
       version: 04
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pciexpress msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
       configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
       resources: irq:319 memory:a2000000-a2ffffff memory:b0000000-bfffffff ioport:5000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff

---

So here are the questions.

I have Secure Boot enable, it is possible to be that?

The path file from the command export PATH=/usr/local/cuda-8.0/bin${PATH:+:${PATH}} always keep erasing it self. So when I do the command $ nvcc --version, I got the message.

The program 'nvcc' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing: sudo apt install nvidia-cuda-toolkit 

How can I set the path and keep it that way?

Am I missing a step?

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

Solution 1

After a lot of effort for a new fella on Ubuntu I got it working!!!

@ubfan1 helped me when he said the command lshw -c video the hint I needed to know that I was not running on NVIDIA's driver.

After that I tried to install without success (the secure boot was off). I got this error: The system is running in low-graphics mode” (see this question). Therefore, I boot using the command **Alt+Ctrl+F1* and removed all files from NVIDIA using the command below.

sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*

With that I could come back to my Desktop, where I could use the System Settings tool from Ubuntu to install the drivers (Software & Updates ->Addtional Drivers->Using NVIDIA binary -version 375.82 from nvidia-375 (open source). See the print:

I reboot the system and everything was installed!!! After that I tested the command ./deviceQuery from the bin inside the samples and the test PASS!

./deviceQuery Starting...

 CUDA Device Query (Runtime API) version (CUDART static linking)

Detected 1 CUDA Capable device(s)

Device 0: "GeForce GTX 1050"
  CUDA Driver Version / Runtime Version          8.0 / 8.0
  CUDA Capability Major/Minor version number:    6.1
  Total amount of global memory:                 4041 MBytes (4237426688 bytes)
  ( 5) Multiprocessors, (128) CUDA Cores/MP:     640 CUDA Cores
  GPU Max Clock rate:                            1493 MHz (1.49 GHz)
  Memory Clock rate:                             3504 Mhz
  Memory Bus Width:                              128-bit
  L2 Cache Size:                                 524288 bytes
  Maximum Texture Dimension Size (x,y,z)         1D=(131072), 2D=(131072, 65536), 3D=(16384, 16384, 16384)
  Maximum Layered 1D Texture Size, (num) layers  1D=(32768), 2048 layers
  Maximum Layered 2D Texture Size, (num) layers  2D=(32768, 32768), 2048 layers
  Total amount of constant memory:               65536 bytes
  Total amount of shared memory per block:       49152 bytes
  Total number of registers available per block: 65536
  Warp size:                                     32
  Maximum number of threads per multiprocessor:  2048
  Maximum number of threads per block:           1024
  Max dimension size of a thread block (x,y,z): (1024, 1024, 64)
  Max dimension size of a grid size    (x,y,z): (2147483647, 65535, 65535)
  Maximum memory pitch:                          2147483647 bytes
  Texture alignment:                             512 bytes
  Concurrent copy and kernel execution:          Yes with 2 copy engine(s)
  Run time limit on kernels:                     Yes
  Integrated GPU sharing Host Memory:            No
  Support host page-locked memory mapping:       Yes
  Alignment requirement for Surfaces:            Yes
  Device has ECC support:                        Disabled
  Device supports Unified Addressing (UVA):      Yes
  Device PCI Domain ID / Bus ID / location ID:   0 / 1 / 0
  Compute Mode:
     < Default (multiple host threads can use ::cudaSetDevice() with device simultaneously) >

deviceQuery, CUDA Driver = CUDART, CUDA Driver Version = 8.0, CUDA Runtime Version = 8.0, NumDevs = 1, Device0 = GeForce GTX 1050
Result = PASS

---

Lesson learned

Before to install CUDA, make sure all drivers of NVIDIA are running OK! You may install them like @ubfan1 suggest in this link.

Execute the following commands to check if the installation is the default and it is running.

$ cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version
NVRM version: NVIDIA UNIX x86_64 Kernel Module  375.82  Wed Jul 19 21:16:49 PDT 2017
GCC version:  gcc version 5.4.0 20160609 (Ubuntu 5.4.0-6ubuntu1~16.04.4)

$ sudo lshw -c video
[sudo] password for marlosdamasceno: 
  *-display               
       description: 3D controller
       product: NVIDIA Corporation
       vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       version: a1
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
       configuration: driver=nvidia latency=0
       resources: irq:321 memory:a3000000-a3ffffff memory:90000000-9fffffff memory:a0000000-a1ffffff ioport:4000(size=128)
  *-display
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: Intel Corporation
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 2
       bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
       version: 04
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pciexpress msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
       configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
       resources: irq:318 memory:a2000000-a2ffffff memory:b0000000-bfffffff ioport:5000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff

$ lsmod | grep nvidia
nvidia_uvm            647168  0
nvidia_drm             45056  2
nvidia_modeset        790528  5 nvidia_drm
nvidia              12701696  85 nvidia_modeset,nvidia_uvm
drm_kms_helper        151552  2 i915,nvidia_drm
drm                   352256  6 i915,nvidia_drm,drm_kms_helper


$ nvidia-smi
Fri Sep  8 19:47:17 2017       
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 375.82                 Driver Version: 375.82                    |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name        Persistence-M| Bus-Id        Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan  Temp  Perf  Pwr:Usage/Cap|         Memory-Usage | GPU-Util  Compute M. |
|===============================+======================+======================|
|   0  GeForce GTX 1050    Off  | 0000:01:00.0     Off |                  N/A |
| N/A   49C    P0    N/A /  N/A |    536MiB /  4041MiB |      0%      Default |
+-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes:                                                       GPU Memory |
|  GPU       PID  Type  Process name                               Usage      |
|=============================================================================|
|    0       996    G   /usr/lib/xorg/Xorg                             271MiB |
|    0      1827    G   compiz                                         177MiB |
|    0      2351    G   ...el-token=FDDD25D3486FDA0AB5CD0952493279C6    86MiB |
|    0     14381    G   unity-control-center                             1MiB |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Just to check the secure boot you can run.

$ mokutil --sb-state
SecureBoot enabled

Solution 2

For permanently setting the path:

$ gedit ~/.bashrc

the file will load. In that file go to bottom and paste this::

export PATH=/usr/local/cuda-8.0/bin:$PATH

save and close.

Comments

[ubfan1]

You don' seem to be running the Nvidia driver, what do you get when you run lshw -c video ?

[Marlos Damasceno]

Hi @ubfan1, here is what I get when running the command. Well the output is to long for a comment, I will edit and post on the question.

[ubfan1]

You are running the nouveau driver, not the nvidia driver. Take a look at askubuntu.com/questions/953446/… for the recommended installation steps. Lots more detail on Nvidia if you search here and the forums. Your PATH modification should made in .profile to persist across logins. LD_LIBRARY_PATH need modification too.

[Marlos Damasceno]

Ok, I just try to install the and run the Nvidia driver, but I got more errors than before hahaha I could not boot again because it gives me the error "The system is running in low-graphics mode". So I had to use Ctrl+Alt+F1 to purge all NVIDIA files. Then, I could come back to my Desktop. Why it is so complex to install a driver?

[ubfan1]

You also need to turn off secure boot for 16.04. There are lots of instructions on installing Nvidia, but many jump immediately to suggesting a ppa, which is unnecessary these days. You are also running a Hardware Enablement stack, for the 4.10 kernel, which may affect things.

[Marlos Damasceno]

Thanks @ubfan1, after a lot of time and trys it worked (even with secure boot on). After I come back to my Desktop I use the graphic config os Ubuntu to update the graphics drivers to NVIDIA's one. Doing that the Ubuntu just got everything done after a reboot! Therefore, I tested again the /.deviceQuery and had pass it =) Thanks for the helping with the command line lshw -c video, that helped a lot!

[Marlos Damasceno]

Just to inform the permanent config that I have used was: export PATH="/usr/local/cuda-8.0/bin:$PATH"