Part 1: Debian Lenny 64bit on a Dell Precision M4300 - Nvidia Quadro FX 360M

I had to apply several tweeks to get Debian Lenny installed with the proprietary Nvidia driver (for 3D support and an easy method to get dual screens working with minimal hair pulling) on my Precision M4300 laptop from Dell. Also, I had a few issues with the integrated Intel wireless and the audio package. It took me a couple hours of Google-Fu but I think I've come up with a complete list of steps that I'll split up into 3 parts. I only downloaded and burned disk1 from the Debian torrent link for AMD64. I have a pretty fast connection here at the office so I didn't bother with the DVD or subsequent disks (there are like 28+ CD images) and I plan to use apt for just about everything else once the base install is complete.

The following assumes that you already have a DHCP server and a NAT'd connection to the internet. If you are connecting directly to the internet through your cable/dsl provider, your results may vary.

Remove all external hard drives

Boot with the CD (I chose not to use the gui installer)

Accept defaults - keyboard, region, timezone, etc

Skip the message about wifi firmware as we will install this later in Part 3

Partition as needed (I normally separate /home but chose not to for this exercise)

Enter a sensible root password, local username and local user password

Select "No" to scan another CD/DVD (unless you have the others handy)

Select "Yes" for a network mirror (I use ftp-mirror.internap.com they are fast!)

Enter your proxy if you have one

I chose to participate in the package survery - it's off by default

For software selection, I chose Desktop, Laptop and Standard

Complete installation took about 12 minutes to boot up again to the GDM login


!! If you have an external monitor attached you will notice it flickering badly. This will go away very shortly !!

Press CTRL-ALT-F1 to enter a console and logon as root

# /etc/init.d/gdm stop

Edit /etc/apt/sources.list with pico to include contrib and non-free for your sources, then save with CTRL-X

# apt-get update

# apt-get install module-assistant

# m-a prepare (accept with Y at two prompts to get dependancies)

# m-a update

# m-a a-i nvidia

# apt-get install nvidia-xconfig nvidia-settings

# nvidia-xconfig

!! You will get a VALIDATION error -- this is ok !!

# modprobe nvidia

# /etc/init.d/gdm start

!! Remember to go back to the console you left open with CTRL-ALT-F1 and exit, then CTRL-ALT-F7 to return to gui and login with your local account!!

Open a terminal from the Applications / Accessories drop down and run nvidia-settings

Click on the disabled external monitor, click Configure, select Seperate X Session, then save the config to your home directory.

!! I prefer Seperate X Sessions over twinview for several reasons. First is because I like having independant resolutions and dedicated work spaces, each with their own virtual desktops. Maximizing any window doesn't take up space on both monitors. Some argue it takes up too much RAM but hey, this puppy has 4G of RAM and I haven't felt any difference. Feel free to use twinview at your own discretion !!

Become root in your shell and backup your current xorg.conf file, then copy your saved to production

# cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.orig

# cp ~[your local username]/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf

To activate the config press CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE to restart the X servers


Enjoy your 3D support proprietary Nvidia driver.

UPDATE! If you upgrade the kernel and reboot, the X server will error out and drop you to a console. Perform the following commands:

# Login as root

# apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

# m-a prepare

# m-a update

# m-a a-i nvidia


You should not have to reconfigure X or nvidia-settings as these commands just compile the kernel modules for use with the nvidia driver.