Nvidia drivers are essential software components for establishing communication between the graphics card and the operating system . If you access various video games from Windows, you’ll notice that using drivers is essential. For this reason, you should download and install Nvidia drivers and keep them updated.
However, it is possible to run video games in Ubuntu without installing drivers, since open source software replaces the use of this type of software. For this reason, it’s important to know how to delete Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu; disable the drivers by following a series of steps explained below.
How to delete Nvidia drivers on Ubuntu? – Disable drivers
Index( )
- What are the requirements for disabling Nvidia drivers on my Ubuntu device?
- What commands should you use to delete Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu?
- With the command ‘dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia’
- Using the command ‘sudo apt remove –purge ‘^nvidia-.*’
- With the command echo ‘nouveau’ | sudo tee -a /etc/modules’
- Why can’t you disable Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu and what to do?
What are the requirements for disabling Nvidia drivers on my Ubuntu device?
The requirements for disabling Nvidia drivers on your Ubuntu device include running a series of commands to search for Nvidia packages installed on your PC, purge those packages, remove the dependency on the Ubuntu-desktop package, and unpin the ‘Nuveau’ driver from the blacklist.
What commands should you use to delete Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu?
There are several commands you can use to remove Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu. In this regard, you need the command ‘dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia’ to determine which Nvidia drivers are installed on your PC before applying any action to them.
Also, you need to use the command ‘sudo apt remove –purge ‘^nvidia-.*’ to uninstall the drivers via a purge flag and use the command echo ‘nouveau’ | sudo tee -a /etc/modules to unblacklist the open source ‘Nouveau’ driver .
With the command ‘dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia’
‘Dpkg -l’ is a command that allows you to confirm whether the Nvidia driver is installed on your Ubuntu distribution. With ‘Dpkg -l’, you can see the list of Nvidia packages stored on your system. To do this, press ‘Ctrl + Alt + T’ to enter the terminal. Then, type dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia and press ‘Enter’.
Using the command ‘sudo apt remove –purge ‘^nvidia-.*’
Next, you need to remove the Nvidia drivers from your Ubuntu distribution using a purge. The ‘Purge’ command will delete all the files included in the Nvidia driver configuration. To do this, open the terminal, type sudo apt remove –purge ‘^nvidia-.*’, and press ‘Enter’.
With the command echo ‘nouveau’ | sudo tee -a /etc/modules’
It’s essential to reinstall the Ubuntu desktop package using the command sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop. Then, use the command echo ‘nouveau’ | sudo tee -a /etc/modules to remove the Nouveau driver from the blacklist. ‘Nouveau’ will automatically create the driver for your Nvidia graphics card.
After removing the open-source driver from the blacklist, it’s recommended that you delete the Xorg configuration file, as it stores your Nvidia graphics card settings. To do this, open a Linux terminal, type sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf , and press Enter.
Go to Search and look for the ‘Software & Updates’ option, then select the ‘Additional Drivers’ tab. This will display all of your PC’s components that require drivers . Check the ‘Use x.Org x server – Nouveau display driver’ box to install an open-source driver for Nvidia, and restart your PC.
Why can’t you disable Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu and what to do?
You may not be able to disable Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu after installing two operating systems on the same PC and having access to GRUB. What you need to do is open the Ubuntu distribution in recovery mode. Choose the ‘root’ option, open the terminal, enter your password, and type sudo apt-get remove –purge nvidia-* .
Next, accept the following on-screen steps before exiting recovery mode . Afterward, restart your computer to apply the change you just made from the terminal and navigate to the login screen of your Ubuntu Linux system.

