NVidia "550" Driver Missing after OS Update

[arsthaumaturgis]

@ericmarceau

You could check on the UbuntuMATE forum. There has been a lot of discussion there related to issues with the 580 drivers and how to circumvent/backtrack to resolve issues.

Ah, thank you for that!

Also, interesting to note that the 580 drivers appear to be a common issue…

[edit]
Oh, and since looking at those results reminded me, I’ve run that “hold” command for the “535” drivers, as they seem to be working well on my system…
[/edit]

@ericmarceau

Beyond that, have you thought to check the Forums on the NVIDIA site itself?

I hadn’t, actually! So thank you for pointing me in that direction!

I suppose that I’d mainly been focussing on the Ubuntu side, as I imagine that this isn’t an issue for, say, Windows users. (But also that they have other issues that we don’t have.)

[adamayus-123]

Hi, I ran into the exact same issue recently, so I wanted to share what fixed it for me.

On my system (Ubuntu 24.04 on a hybrid GPU laptop with an RTX 3060), driver 550 was the last stable NVIDIA driver. After an OS update, 550 vanished from the Additional Drivers menu, and the system pushed me toward 570/580 instead. Performance and stability were much worse on those newer versions.

What I eventually learned is that Ubuntu 24.04.2 switched the HWE kernel to 6.14.x, and that kernel no longer supports NVIDIA driver 550. In other words, once you boot into kernel 6.14.x, Ubuntu will only show 570 or 580 as available drivers. Even if you try to install 550 (or anything lower than 570) manually through apt, it will say “sure, installing 550,” but if you watch the console logs, it silently brings in driver 580 instead. Basically 550 is impossible to install while you’re on the 6.14 kernel series.

What I did to fix it:
I booted back into the older 6.8 kernel (under GRUB’s “Advanced options for Ubuntu”). Once on kernel 6.8, driver 550 works again because that kernel still has compatible modules.
Then I installed NVIDIA 550 manually from NVIDIA’s official archive, since it no longer appears in Additional Drivers.

NVIDIA Driver Archive:
https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/

The specific version I used:
https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/550.163.01/

(Download the file NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-550.163.01.run)

Installation:

chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-550.163.01.run
sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-550.163.01.run

After doing that, I removed the unwanted newer kernels (6.11 and 6.14) so GRUB would stop auto-selecting them. GRUB tends to boot the newest kernel available, so if those kernels are installed, the system may flip back into 6.11 or 6.14 without you noticing, and then the NVIDIA driver will break again. Once I removed the newer kernels, 6.8 automatically became the default boot entry and everything stayed stable.

The result:
I’m now running kernel 6.8.0-87 with NVIDIA 550.163.01, and everything is working correctly again. Ubuntu no longer tries to upgrade the driver to 580, because the kernels that require 580 are gone.

If you want to replicate this, you basically have two paths:

Option A: Stay on kernel 6.14 and use NVIDIA 580. This is the officially supported route, but for me 580 performed very poorly.

Option B: Boot back into kernel 6.8 and reinstall driver 550 manually. This is what fixed the issue on my machine.

Disclaimer: This was a summary from the ChatGPT thread I was using to resolve this issue not long before I decided to leave a breadcrumb trail to follow by others stuck in a similar situation. I reviewed it, and it accurately depicts what I did to get the 550 working. Getting the 535 on the new kernel also works. I might try that later.

[arsthaumaturgis]

So, the post above mine raises a question for me:

I’ve seen it said a few times, I think–here and elsewhere–that the older drivers are no longer supported on the newer kernels, with attempts to install older drivers resulting in the “580” being installed anyway.

But then… How is it that I (seem to) have the “535” driver installed?

Now, it might be that it’s as the poster above me states: that directing the system to install the older driver just installs the newer one in its place.

But then… If that were the case, should I not have the same results as I had with the “580” driver…? And yet, I don’t–I seem to have better results.

It’s almost as if it’s the “550” driver, specifically, that has been removed, with both newer and older drivers being still available. o_0

[adamayus-123]

Yup-- they removed pretty much whatever is in-between 535 and 570 for newer kernels. That’s my understanding. Dunno why.

[steventhompson-2204]

@arsthaumaturgis

It’s almost as if it’s the “550” driver, specifically, that has been removed, with both newer and older drivers being still available. o_0

550 was a “Production Branch” release which aged out in support by Nvidia (no further bug or security fixes). 470, 535 and 580 are LTSB (long term support branch) which are still supported by Nvidia (470 still has limited Enterprise support, but regular support has ended) . 570 is a production branch and will age out in Jan. 2026. After which time, installing or upgrading it will probably automatically bump it up to 580. 575 already does that now.

It looks like Ubuntu is trying to sync up with Nvidia by offering the ability to only install drivers which are currently supported by Nvidia. And that makes sense as far as security fixes go.

But I’m not sure about the policy of automatically upgrading (or downgrading in your case) to a different driver version without prior notification. That choice should be left for the user to decide.

[arsthaumaturgis]

@steventhompson-2204

550 was a “Production Branch” release which aged out in support by Nvidia (no further bug or security fixes). 470, 535 and 580 are LTSB (long term support branch) which are still supported by Nvidia …

Aaah, I see! That’s very interesting–thank you for so clarifying!

Well, I’m very glad that the “535” driver is under long-term support, then! o_o

@steventhompson-2204

It looks like Ubuntu is trying to sync up with Nvidia by offering the ability to only install drivers which are currently supported by Nvidia. And that makes sense as far as security fixes go.

Yeah, I can understand that desire…

@steventhompson-2204

But I’m not sure about the policy of automatically upgrading (or downgrading in your case) to a different driver version without prior notification. That choice should be left for the user to decide.

But here I do agree with you: it should be my choice whether I want to switch over, or forgo future security updates, I feel. Especially for something as potentially system-undermining as a graphics driver!

[arsthaumaturgis]

Minor updates:

• I’m now seeing crash reports appearing. When I look at their details, they indicate that something is trying to build the 550 driver in the background and install it; naturally, both of those actions are failing. Is there some way to discover what’s making the attempt, so that I can perhaps stop it on this kernel…?
• I’ve now posted this issue to the “ubuntu-devel-discuss” mailing list, primarily to raise my feeling that the updater shouldn’t be changing drivers of its own accord. At time of writing, I believe that it’s being held for moderation (as I’m not a member of the list)

[heynnema]

@arsthaumaturgis I’ve seen this kind of Nvidia mess before. Do this:

Assuming that you’ve got an Intel video card, and one Nvidia video card:

Disclaimer: Know what all my instructions do. Check for typos or errors.

$ prime-select (note the options)
$ prime-select intel (this will disable any active Nvidia software)
$ dpkg -l *nvidia* (list ALL Nvidia software on this system)
Remove ALL Nvidia software…
$ sudo apt-get purge *nvidia* (remove all Nvidia software)
$ dpkg -l *nvidia* (confirm that all Nvidia software is gone)
$ dkms status (confirm no Nivdia drivers, in any state)
$ start “Additional Drivers” and select the most current “non-server” Nvidia package (580)
$ reboot

[arsthaumaturgis]

I appreciate

@heynnema

@arsthaumaturgis I’ve seen this kind of Nvidia mess before. Do this:
…

I appreciate the advice, but choosing ‘the most current “non-server” Nvidia package (580)’ is what got me into this mess, not out of it. :/

In short, the “580” driver doesn’t seem to work well on my system, so it’s to be avoided for me. (And I’ve seen others online likewise having problems with it, as I recall.)

I had been successfully using the “550” driver, but that suddenly vanished after the update.

I eventually found that the “535” driver seemed to work for me. (If anything, perhaps a little better than the “550” driver!)

So, beware of just choosing the latest driver! Sometimes it is not the best!

[edit] Corrected the number of the driver that worked for me

[heynnema]

@arsthaumaturgis Yes, I understand your concern about using the latest Nvidia driver, be it 580 or otherwise. With all of the things that you’ve tried, I’ll bet that you have 3-4 bits and pieces of older Nvidia installed, and that may cause a problem. Try using the “dpkg” command that I give in my posting, and see what you have. Try looking at the output of the “dkms” command and look for some nvidia drivers that are incomplete. Also check that your Dell motherboard BIOS is up to date (use sudo dmidecode -s bios-version). Now, 580 MAY have some problems, I don’t know, but right now you’re 3-4 versions behind that. I’m running on 580 with no problems on my Dell on 25.10.

[arsthaumaturgis]

Oh, I usually do an NVidia purge when I change drivers. I learned that lesson a while ago!

And mind that it’s not just me having trouble with the “580” driver; I’ve seen others with similar problems, which are generally solved by going back to an older driver!

I’d rather an older driver that actually works properly than a newer driver that gives trouble.

[heynnema]

@arsthaumaturgis Just do the “dpkg”, “dkms”, and “dmidecode” commands to verify your understanding of what you really have. I don’t write these answers for my health. Give me your Service Tag number… I wish to check for a newer BIOS version.

[arsthaumaturgis]

Let me ask: Is this aimed at stopping the crashes from attempts to build the “550” driver, or at getting the “580” driver installed?

The former I’m more on-board with–although I’d rather not mess with a working driver (e.g. by uninstalling it), and thus would prefer to not go through the whole purge-and-reinstall business.

Plus, as the main problem is, as far as I’m concerned, solved (via the use of the “535” driver), I really don’t want to spend too much more time and effort on this.

The latter… I’m not interested in installing the “580” driver. It has caused trouble for both me and others. The older driver works, which is what I care about.

[heynnema]

@arsthaumaturgis I’m not going to spend a whole lot more of my time on this either, as you seem pretty hard set on not finding the real cause of the 580 problem. Show me the output of “dkms status”, and give my your service tag number so I can check your BIOS.

[arsthaumaturgis]

Instead, let me link you to this thread over on the MATE forums (already linked above, but linked again as a courtesy), from someone else having trouble with the “580” drivers:

https://ubuntu-mate.community/t/hold-your-nvidia-drivers-if-they-are-stable/30853

(And indeed, as that person has advised, I’ve “held” my “535” driver.)

[heynnema]

@arsthaumaturgis You haven’t given me a single bit of anything that I’ve asked for. You’d rather tell me about why you don’t want to do anything. 25 minutes ago I asked for some really simple stuff… the output of “dkms status”, and your “service tag” number. To make sure that I get notified, start any reply with @heynnema.

[rubi1200]

Topic was marked as solved.

Thanks to all who participated, this is what community is all about.

Closed.