Thinkpad P70

AN!Wiki :: How To :: Thinkpad P70

Adventures in getting Linux supported on the Thinkpad P70 with the Nvidia M600M .

• So far, Fedora 23 is a bust.

CentOS 7

Note: This is based on Dedoimedo's tutorial, except updated for UEFI and using proper systemd calls.

BIOS;

• Disable Secure Boot, enable UEFI booting (Needs more details). Use Discrete video.

Initial boot;

• Press e and add nomodeset i915.preliminary_hw_support=1.

Install the OS as you wish, reboot, update the OS. Verify that you've got discrete video;

lspci |grep VGA

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM107GLM [Quadro M600M] (rev a2)

If you see a second Intel entry, you're still in 'Hybrid' mode.

• Install the binary Nvidia drivers.

Download the latest Nvidia drivers for the Quadro M600M:

Product Type:	Quadro
Product Series:	Quadro Series (Notebooks)
Product:	Quadro M600M
Operating System:	Linux 64-bit
Download Type:	Linux Long Lived Drivers
Language:	English US

Save the file (NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-361.28.run in this example).

• First, blacklist the nouveau drivers.

vim /etc/default/grub

Change the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX line to:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="rd.lvm.lv=darkmatter_vg1/root i915.preliminary_hw_support=1 rdblacklist=nouveau"

Save it and regenerate the grub.cfg:

Warning: This assumes you are using UEFI! If you are using standard BIOS, use -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg.

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/centos/grub.cfg

Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.10.0-327.10.1.el7.x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/initramfs-3.10.0-327.10.1.el7.x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/initramfs-3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-0-rescue-6f1888c5ea754ab8a78f59f49783ff85
Found initrd image: /boot/initramfs-0-rescue-6f1888c5ea754ab8a78f59f49783ff85.img
done

Then create blacklist.conf:

echo "blacklist nouveau" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Make sure dependencies are installed:

</syntaxhighlight> yum install kernel-devel kernel-headers gcc make

Verify that the active kernel matches the kernel source:

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
uname -r

3.10.0-327.10.1.el7.x86_64

rpm -q kernel-devel

kernel-devel-3.10.0-327.10.1.el7.x86_64

Note that 3.10.0-327.10.1 is the version of both outputs. If they differ, update the OS and reboot before proceeding. Finally, reboot.

Once rebooted, verify that the nouveau drivers are gone.

lsmod |grep nouveau

If you get any output, stop and recheck things. Reboot. Repeat until the drivers are gone.

Note: The next steps are much easier to do over SSH.

Switch to the command-line only (what used to be init 3):

systemctl isolate multi-user.target

PolicyKit daemon disconnected from the bus.
We are no longer a registered authentication agent.

Run the script to install the Nvidia drivers.

/root/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-361.28.run

Verifying archive integrity... OK
Uncompressing NVIDIA Accelerated Graphics Driver for Linux-x86_64 361.28...............................
.......................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
.........

The installer's text menu will open. Follow the instructions. Do not install 32-bit compatibility, do let it configure X11.

Note: Simply re-enabling the GUI didn't work for me (systemctl isolate graphical.target).

When it exits, assuming there were no errors, reboot.

When the system comes back up, you should have working video!

 

Any questions, feedback, advice, complaints or meanderings are welcome.
Alteeve's Niche!	Enterprise Support: Alteeve Support	Community Support
© Alteeve's Niche! Inc. 1997-2024		Anvil! "Intelligent Availability®" Platform
legal stuff: All info is provided "As-Is". Do not use anything here unless you are willing and able to take responsibility for your own actions.