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I am a developer and I need to install Nvidia drivers 455.38 on my device (exactly that version) on Ubuntu 18.04. Before, I was using the following commands:

sudo apt-get update && apt-get install -y software-properties-common ubuntu-drivers-common lshw
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt install -y nvidia-driver-455

However, nvidia-driver-455 has been updated. Now it installs a different version of the drivers. Is there a way I can still install the 455.38?

Some more info:

root@81bdf70bf4f0:/# apt-cache policy nvidia-driver-455
nvidia-driver-455:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 460.91.03-0ubuntu0.18.04.1
  Version table:
     460.91.03-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/restricted amd64 Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/restricted amd64 Packages
        500 http://ppa.launchpad.net/graphics-drivers/ppa/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages

root@81bdf70bf4f0:/# apt-cache search nvidia-driver-455
nvidia-driver-435 - Transitional package for nvidia-driver-455
nvidia-driver-455 - Transitional package for nvidia-driver-460

root@81bdf70bf4f0:/# apt search nvidia-driver-455
Sorting... Done
Full Text Search... Done
nvidia-driver-435/bionic-updates,bionic 455.45.01-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64
  Transitional package for nvidia-driver-455

nvidia-driver-455/bionic-updates,bionic-security,bionic 460.91.03-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64
  Transitional package for nvidia-driver-460

Note: I know Nvidia drivers can be installed by downloading .run file from Nvidia website. However, I am having issues following that path. That's why I am asking about a possible apt solution.

user1315621
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  • Does this answer your question? How to install specific Ubuntu packages, with exact version?. If you need to downgrade to a specific package version for development purposes, it might be best to do this in a VM. Downgrading packages can cause all sorts of problems on your installed system, especially packages like these that have their fingers in a lot of different aspects of your operating system. – Nmath Aug 11 '21 at 17:53
  • I am not downgrading, instead I need to setup a new machine. The problem is that I am not sure if these old drivers are still available on apt. Is it possible that they have been removed? – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 19:07
  • If you are asking for a package version that is below the maintained version in repository, this is a downgrade. The old version is probably no longer available in apt, and if so, you will need to obtain it from the developer. The Nvidia packages are proprietary and come from Nvidia – Nmath Aug 11 '21 at 20:22
  • Is there a way I can retrieve the desired package from another machine where the package had been installed with apt? This post https://askubuntu.com/questions/408608/saving-a-apt-get-file-for-future-installations-how-do-i-do-it suggests to look into /var/cache/apt/archives but there's nothing there. – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 21:11
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    This is all I see in Nvidia's archives for Unix drivers: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/unix/ | are you 100% certain that you need this exact driver version? I can't think of any reason why that would be necessary. Perhaps this is an XY problem? You might do better to ask a question about the actual problem you are experiencing instead of trying to implement your perceived solution which may not be possible or appropriate – Nmath Aug 11 '21 at 21:16
  • I need that exact version because I am developing software that requires cuda and docker. Are you familiar with docker? – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 21:22
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 21:23
  • This doesn't make any sense to me. The people who are presumably going to use the software aren't going to use this version. Is this something you just think you need or are you actually experiencing a problem? If the former, just use the maintained package version, if the latter, you should ask another question about that problem – Nmath Aug 11 '21 at 21:26
  • If you are familiar with Docker, the answer is that I need the docker image to match the exact version of the drivers running in the host os in order to use cuda within the docker image. – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 21:28
  • What is the correct way to install this https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-455/455.38-0ubuntu1 ? – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 21:28
  • If you found an archive that contains the deb file: https://askubuntu.com/questions/40779/how-do-i-install-a-deb-file-via-the-command-line – Nmath Aug 11 '21 at 21:30
  • No, it looks like the archive contains only a .run file. However, when running it, I encounter the same issue I have when running the installer downloaded from nvidia (it's probably the same installer). See here https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/an-nvidia-kernel-module-nvidia-uvm-appears-to-already-be-loaded-in-your-kernel/186056 – user1315621 Aug 11 '21 at 21:49

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