Arch Linux User Repository

For the beginners in need of assistance, first take a look at this recommended guide https://github.com/korvahannu/arch-nvidia-drivers-installation-guide - maybe it helps to solve the issues your are having with this version of the driver.

I can confirm that lighterowl's patch works for my old GeForce GTX 760 with 6.14 kernel. I hope that SoftExpert publish that patch.

Thank you

Doesn't compile out-of-the-box with 6.14, thankfully the fix is simple and amounts to ifdefing out a removed field from a struct, see https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/pull/783 for a link to the relevant Linux commit.

Here's the patch I applied locally to build :

diff -u a/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.c b/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.c
--- a/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.c       2024-05-02 16:50:00.000000000 +0200
+++ b/nvidia-drm/nvidia-drm-drv.c       2025-04-09 08:45:50.752546448 +0200
@@ -868,7 +868,9 @@
     .name                   = "nvidia-drm",

     .desc                   = "NVIDIA DRM driver",
+#if LINUX_VERSION_CODE < KERNEL_VERSION(6, 14, 0)
     .date                   = "20160202",
+#endif

 #if defined(NV_DRM_DRIVER_HAS_DEVICE_LIST)
     .device_list            = LIST_HEAD_INIT(nv_drm_driver.device_list),
 .device_list            = LIST_HEAD_INIT(nv_drm_driver.device_list),

Can confirm nvidia-smi, vkcube, and wine+dxvk still work OK with my GT 645M under 6.14.

installing this driver over my nouveau fixed whatever issue i was having when trying to launch dota2 (getting the lack of vulkan error), but i am still having some kind of issues in game now where i freeze and the game will shut down to desktop in 20-30 sec, and one time i got a vulkan error of some sort. Another issue i have found is about half way through a game, so 30+ minutes in, i start to get some kind of screen stuttering that isn't caused by fps or net issues afaik. I'm running the latest Garuda broadwing XFCE with an Asus GTX 660 Ti and an Asus mobo of around the same time period (2011), dual core AMD 3.4ghz (270). I've followed instructions for installing that korvahannu link had. I've did my best to eliminate what i could from too many things running, to removing temperature as a potential issue. I've just begun to learn Linux after being a long time windows user; win7 never had a single crash or freeze in Dota2 for me, but as most probably know by now, win7 is really almost out of support for anything anyone wants, and dota2 was the last straw for me about a month ago when it stopped working as well. i'm gradually trying different video settings in game, although im almost always running it in lowest settings with fps locked at 60 max and 1920x1080 reso but with most anything else turned off that i can. Any ideas about what i can do to make things more reliable? maybe use an older kernel than the latest LTS i have now?

@cerberus1746, I’m also getting the GPU has fallen off the bus error, just like in your logs, along with spontaneous reboots on my desktop GTX 770. This happens with any kernel starting from 6.7 and later. I’m sticking with the 6.6 kernel since it's the last version that works flawlessly with this driver (at least for me), and it's still receiving updates until 2026.

While some users report that the driver still works on newer kernels, there’s no guarantee this will remain the case. If you plan to keep using this driver, I’d recommend sticking with an older kernel.

Before anything, the video card works in Windows. It is not dead, the errors might make you think it is, but it isn't. And also nouveau works, but I need vulkan, and vulkan-nouveau does not support my video card, I tried, even with BROKEN_DRIVER flag

Any time I need to use my video card in my optimus laptop the nvidia driver crashes.

The full logs can be found here: https://pastebin.com/xgKUrveJ

The full specs of the computer are here: https://icecat.biz/en/p/dell/w540210in8/inspiron-laptops-14r+-5421-21966017.html

I tried installing the driver 430 but for some reason the driver dkms build fails with the current 6.12.17-1-lts

Following or not this guide makes no difference: https://github.com/korvahannu/arch-nvidia-drivers-installation-guide

This driver compiles and installs but does not activate 3D support Neither browsers nor software that requires OpenGL work

The module is loaded but programs cannot access 3D

I have been testing this with the LTS kernel I have been using kernel 6.1.0 for a month now.. because the driver works on Debian so I decided to use a kernel that is more similar to the one that Debian 12 has

If changing the kernel works, I don't see that it is a problem with Mesa or the current OpenGL

I had previously mentioned this topic here

The result of updating the grub configuration with grub-mkconfig is unpredictable for multi-boot. On the other hand, it is probable not recommended for beginners to add entries to /etc/grub.d/40_custom or directly to grub.cfg. I don't use grub-mkconfig, adding the entries "nvidia-drm.modeset=1 nvidia-drm.fbdev=1" to grub.cfg solved the 3D performance issue. I never needed these entries before. I am not sure if the early loading of the modules is needed or may cause more trouble.

For the beginners in need of assistance, first take a look at this recommended guide https://github.com/korvahannu/arch-nvidia-drivers-installation-guide - maybe it helps to solve the issues your are having with this version of the driver.