Trying to update video card

jacatone

Showing the following results. How do I identify the correct driver?

jacatone@jacatone-ghostbsd ~ [1]> pciconf -lv | grep -B4 VGA
vgapci0@pci0:1:0:0: class=0x030000 rev=0xa1 hdr=0x00 vendor=0x10de device=0x06e4 subvendor=0x10de subdevice=0x05cc
vendor = 'NVIDIA Corporation'
device = 'G98 [GeForce 8400 GS Rev. 2]'
class = display
subclass = VGA

jacatone@jacatone-ghostbsd ~> pkg search nvidia
libva-nvidia-driver-0.0.13 NVDEC-based backend for VAAPI
linux-nvidia-libs-570.124.04 NVidia graphics libraries and programs (Linux version)
linux-nvidia-libs-304-304.137 NVidia graphics libraries and programs (Linux version)
linux-nvidia-libs-340-340.108 NVidia graphics libraries and programs (Linux version)
linux-nvidia-libs-390-390.154 NVidia graphics libraries and programs (Linux version)
linux-nvidia-libs-470-470.161.03 NVidia graphics libraries and programs (Linux version)
nvidia-driver-570.124.04.1402000 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering
nvidia-driver-304-304.137.1402000_10 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering
nvidia-driver-340-340.108.1402000_4 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering
nvidia-driver-390-390.154.1402000_1 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering
nvidia-driver-470-470.161.03.1402000_1 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering
nvidia-drm-515-kmod-570.124.04.1402000_1 NVIDIA DRM Kernel Module
nvidia-drm-61-kmod-570.124.04.1402000_1 NVIDIA DRM Kernel Module
nvidia-drm-kmod-570.124.04 NVIDIA DRM Kernel Module
nvidia-secondary-driver-570.124.04.1402000_1 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering on secondary device
nvidia-secondary-driver-390-390.154.1402000_1 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering on secondary device
nvidia-settings-535.146.02_1 Display Control Panel for X NVidia driver
nvidia-texture-tools-2.1.2 Texture Tools with support for DirectX 10 texture formats
nvidia-xconfig-525.116.04 Tool to manipulate X configuration files for the NVidia driver
nvidia_gpu_prometheus_exporter-g20181028_24 NVIDIA GPU Prometheus exporter

brianthehughes

Changing hardware is always interesting.

Review the following to confirm I found the correct driver.
Install the driver.
Update /etc/rc.conf
Restart?
Your X configuration should detect the change, but it may not and you'll be dropped to login prompt.

/etc/x11/xorg.conf
/usr/local/etc/x11/xorg.conf.d/*.conf

If you're setting up multiple displays you'll very likely need to manually edit the xorg.conf to add at least the new device and additional displays connected to it.

Off to the races...

https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/x11/#x-configuration-nvidia

I think it's the 304 version of the driver you need...

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/details/123712/

GeForce 8 Series

GeForce 8800 Ultra, GeForce 8800 GTX, GeForce 8800 GTS 512, GeForce 8800 GTS, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GS, GeForce 8600 GTS, GeForce 8600 GT, GeForce 8600 GS, GeForce 8500 GT, GeForce 8400 GS, GeForce 8400 SE, GeForce 8400, GeForce 8300 GS, GeForce 8300, GeForce 8200, GeForce 8200 /nForce 730a, GeForce 8100 /nForce 720a

Driver Version: 304.1370
Release Date:Tue Sep 19, 2017
Operating System:FreeBSD x64
File Size: 36.47 MB

pkg search nvidia | grep 304
linux-nvidia-libs-304-304.137  NVidia graphics libraries and programs (Linux version)
nvidia-driver-304-304.137.1402000_10 NVidia graphics card binary drivers for hardware OpenGL rendering

Consider installing the driver via Software Station

Per the FreeBSD Handbook with specific regard for versions 304 and 340 of the driver:

Then add the module to /etc/rc.conf file, executing the following command:

The nvidia driver must be used if the packages x11/nvidia-driver-304 or x11/nvidia-driver-340 have been installed.

# sysrc kld_list+=nvidia

vimanuelt

Your system is using a GeForce 8400 GS Rev. 2 (Device ID: 06e4), which is a very old NVIDIA card. This GPU requires legacy drivers, and it will not work with modern NVIDIA driver versions like 470+. You can try this script made for FreeBSD to see whether we can get it to work.

#!/bin/sh
# Name: install-nvidia-legacy.sh

set -eu

if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "[ERROR] This script must be run as root. Use: sudo $0"
    exit 1
fi

log() {
    echo "[INFO] $*"
}

error() {
    echo "[ERROR] $*" >&2
}

exit_with_error() {
    error "$1"
    exit 1
}

log "Checking FreeBSD version..."
version=$(freebsd-version | cut -d- -f1)
major_version=$(echo "$version" | cut -d. -f1)

if [ "$major_version" -ge 14 ]; then
    log "FreeBSD $version detected. NVIDIA 340 compatibility may be limited."
fi

log "Detecting NVIDIA GPU..."
gpu_info=$(pciconf -lv | grep -B4 VGA | grep -i nvidia || true)
if [ -z "$gpu_info" ]; then
    exit_with_error "No NVIDIA GPU detected."
fi
log "NVIDIA GPU detected."
echo "$gpu_info"

log "Checking currently loaded kernel modules..."
loaded_modules=$(kldstat | awk '{print $5}' | grep -E 'nvidia|nouveau' || true)
if [ -n "$loaded_modules" ]; then
    log "Currently loaded GPU modules: $loaded_modules"
else
    log "No GPU module currently loaded."
fi

set_kld_list() {
    module="$1"
    if grep -q '^kld_list=' /etc/rc.conf; then
        sed -i '' "s/^kld_list=.*/kld_list=\"$module\"/" /etc/rc.conf
    else
        echo "kld_list=\"$module\"" >> /etc/rc.conf
    fi
}

unload_conflicting_modules() {
    desired="$1"
    for mod in $loaded_modules; do
        if [ "$mod" != "$desired.ko" ]; then
            log "Unloading conflicting module: $mod"
            kldunload -f "${mod%.ko}" 2>/dev/null || true
        fi
    done
}

pkg_name="nvidia-driver-340"
fallback_to_nouveau="no"

log "Checking for NVIDIA legacy driver: $pkg_name"
if pkg search "^${pkg_name}$" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    if ! pkg info "$pkg_name" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        if ! pkg install -y "$pkg_name"; then
            error "Failed to install $pkg_name."
            fallback_to_nouveau="yes"
        fi
    fi
else
    error "$pkg_name not found in repository."
    fallback_to_nouveau="yes"
fi

if [ "$fallback_to_nouveau" = "no" ]; then
    unload_conflicting_modules "nvidia"
    log "Loading NVIDIA kernel module..."
    if ! kldload nvidia; then
        error "Failed to load NVIDIA kernel module."
        fallback_to_nouveau="yes"
    else
        set_kld_list "nvidia"
        conf_file="/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/driver-nvidia.conf"
        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$conf_file")"
        if [ ! -f "$conf_file" ]; then
            cat > "$conf_file" <<EOF
Section "Device"
    Identifier "NvidiaCard"
    Driver "nvidia"
EndSection
EOF
            log "Created NVIDIA X11 config: $conf_file"
        else
            log "NVIDIA X11 config already exists. Skipping."
        fi
    fi
fi

if [ "$fallback_to_nouveau" = "yes" ]; then
    log "Installing drm-legacy-kmod for Nouveau..."
    if ! pkg info drm-legacy-kmod >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        if ! pkg install -y drm-legacy-kmod; then
            exit_with_error "Failed to install drm-legacy-kmod. Nouveau unavailable."
        fi
    fi

    unload_conflicting_modules "nouveaukms"
    log "Loading Nouveau kernel module..."
    if ! kldload nouveaukms; then
        exit_with_error "Failed to load Nouveau kernel module."
    fi

    set_kld_list "nouveaukms"
    conf_file="/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/driver-nouveau.conf"
    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$conf_file")"
    if [ ! -f "$conf_file" ]; then
        cat > "$conf_file" <<EOF
Section "Device"
    Identifier "NouveauCard"
    Driver "nouveau"
EndSection
EOF
        log "Created Nouveau X11 config: $conf_file"
    else
        log "Nouveau X11 config already exists. Skipping."
    fi
fi

log "GPU driver configuration complete."
read -p "Reboot now to apply changes? [y/N]: " ans
case "$ans" in
    [yY]*) reboot ;;
    *) echo "Please reboot manually later to apply changes." ;;
esac