Install NVIDIA in Debian

Debian GNU/Linux OS comes with built-in open-source graphics driver to make use of your graphics device, which decent enough to display graphical appearance on your monitor. But, this driver is not suitable or has a poor quality if you want to see more than just basic graphics, such as for displaying 3D graphics and other effects.

Recently I wrote an article about how to install the NVIDIA driver in LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition), which is a distro based on Debian pre-configured with some additional proprietary applications sources. Basically, installing the NVIDIA driver in Debian is not too different from doing it in LMDE, except that you have to activate some non-free repository in Debian's software sources, because unlike LMDE, it is only pre-configured with purely open-source apps repository.

Here I want to show you how to activate non-free repo and then install the NVIDIA graphics driver in Debian.

1. Activate the Non-Free Repository
   
   • Via Software Sources
     Make sure you have checked the non-free and contrib section (see screenshot above), close the window, and then reload the software database.
   • Via Terminal:
     Run this command:
     
     • For Debian Squeeze:
       

       echo "deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze non-free contrib" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list && sudo apt-get update

     • For Debian Wheezy:
       

       echo "deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy non-free contrib" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list && sudo apt-get update
   .
2. Install the NVIDIA Graphics Driver
   
   • Via Synaptic Package Manager
     Search for nvidia-glx, nvidia-kernel-dkms, nvidia-xconfig, and nvidia-settings packages and mark them for installation, and then click Apply button to begin installation.
     
   • Via Terminal
     Simply run this command:
     

     sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-kernel-dkms nvidia-xconfig nvidia-settings

   .
3. Set up Configuration File for NVIDIA
   After completing the installation, run this command in Terminal, to allow the newly installed NVIDIA driver to write necessary configuration file so that it will be activated upon reboot:
   

   sudo nvidia-xconfig

Now, you can restart your Debian machine to use the NVIDIA driver.

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Install NVIDIA in Debian by fanDigital

PS: Still, sorry for my English :)