[pkg-nvidia-devel] Bug#596471: Bug#596471: [nvidia-glx-legacy-71xx] Incompatible with current X.Org server

[Filipus Klutiero]

  On 2010-09-17 00:37, Russ Allbery wrote:
> FIlipus Klutiero<chealer at gmail.com>  writes:
>
>> X doesn't start when configured to use nvidia using nvidia-glx-legacy-71xx
>> 71.86.14-1 due to the current X.Org server video driver API not being
>> supported by the 71xx series:
>> dlopen: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.so: undefined symbol:
>> AllocateScreenPrivateIndex
>> (EE) Failed to load /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.so
> Indeed, that looks bad.
>
> Unfortunately, this is also the latest release upstream of the 71.*
> version of the drivers.  Since this is a non-free binary driver, there
> isn't really anything that we can do about this except hope that upstream
> releases a new version to fix it.
>
> At this point, it's probable that we'll have to release squeeze without
> this package.  In the longer term, I think the only way to get a fix will
> be to convince upstream that someone is still using an older card with the
> new X.org server.  The best way to do that is to report your problem to
> the upstream forums and ask there if a new release is planned.
Heh. It must have been a long time ago if I ever had enough trust in 
NVIDIA to ask them for anything, in particular to update their Linux 
driver for 10 year old cards. Actually, I have no card that only works 
with 71xx, I'm just reporting this package is broken so it can't get 
back in testing.

Pretty much the only thing you can do is to request the removal of these 
packages; see 
http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-nvidia-devel/2009-September/001925.html

The situation has partly changed since then, partly thanks to your work. 
The first paragraph should now read:

The following packages are broken in unstable and testing:

nvidia-graphics-legacy-96xx-modules-amd64, nvidia-graphics-legacy-96xx-modules-i386



Of course, the situation might change as you say, but the odds that 
NVIDIA would support these cards on Linux until ~2013, and that at this 
point there would be enough Debian users willing to use non-free 
packages for 3D acceleration on cards more than 10 years old to motivate 
a Debian maintainer to take care of such a difficult package are, IMO, 
insignificant weighed against the cost of removal.