Uninstall Nvidia Driver Linux

Removing an Nvidia driver from a Linux system can be a bit tricky, but it’s a task that can be accomplished through the terminal. The process might vary slightly depending on your Linux distribution, but the general steps should be applicable across most distributions. Here’s how you can uninstall an Nvidia driver on a Linux system:

Method 1: Using the Package Manager

First, you need to identify which package manager your Linux distribution uses. The most common ones are apt (for Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives), dnf or yum (for Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL), and pacman (for Arch Linux).

For Debian/Ubuntu and Derivatives

1. Open a Terminal: Press Ctrl+Alt+T or use your distribution’s method to open a terminal.
2. List Installed Nvidia Packages: Before uninstalling, it’s useful to see what Nvidia packages are installed. You can do this by running:

   
   dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia
   

   This command lists all installed packages with “nvidia” in their name.
3. Uninstall Nvidia Packages: To remove the Nvidia drivers, you can use the following command. Replace package-name with the actual name of the Nvidia package you wish to remove, as identified in the previous step:

   
   sudo apt remove --purge package-name
   

   Alternatively, if you want to remove all Nvidia packages and their configurations, you can use:

   
   sudo apt remove --purge ^nvidia
   

4. Autoremove Unused Packages: After uninstalling, you can remove any packages that were automatically installed to satisfy dependencies but are no longer needed:

   
   sudo apt autoremove
   

For Fedora/CentOS/RHEL

1. Open a Terminal.
2. List Installed Nvidia Packages:

   
   dnf list installed | grep -i nvidia
   

   or for older systems using yum:

   
   yum list installed | grep -i nvidia
   

3. Uninstall Nvidia Packages: Replace package-name with the actual package name:

   
   sudo dnf remove package-name
   

   or for yum:

   
   sudo yum remove package-name
   

   To remove all related Nvidia packages (using dnf), you might need to explicitly list and remove them.

Method 2: Using Nvidia’s Uninstall Script

If you installed the Nvidia driver using the .run file provided by Nvidia, you can uninstall it by running the installer again with the --uninstall option.

1. Open a Terminal.
2. Navigate to the Directory where the Nvidia installer is located (if you still have it):

   
   cd /path/to/nvidia-installer
   

3. Uninstall the Driver:

   
   sudo sh./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-xxx.xx.run --uninstall
   

   Replace ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-xxx.xx.run with the path to your actual Nvidia installer file.

Final Steps

• Reboot Your System to ensure the changes take effect:

  
  sudo reboot
  

• After uninstalling the Nvidia driver, your system will likely default to using the open-source Nouveau driver if available, or a fallback VESA driver. If you wish to install a different version of the Nvidia driver or switch to the Nouveau driver, you’ll need to do that separately.

Remember, the specific commands and steps can vary slightly depending on your Linux distribution and how you originally installed the Nvidia driver. Always refer to your distribution’s documentation for the most accurate and up-to-date information.