Uninstalling NVIDIA Drivers on Ubuntu 19: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you looking to remove the NVIDIA drivers from your Ubuntu 19 system? In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to uninstall NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu 19, ensuring that your system is free from any unnecessary software.

Before proceeding, it's essential to detect the model of your NVIDIA graphic card and the recommended driver. The output and recommended driver may vary depending on your system configuration. To do this, open a terminal window and run the following command:

`lspci -k | grep -A 2 VGA`

This will display the modalias, pci vendor ID, device ID, and other information about your NVIDIA graphic card.

For example, my output looks like this:

`Modalias : pci:v000010DEd00001C03sv00001043sd000085ABbc03sc00i00`

`river : nvidia-driver-418 - distro non-free recommended`

`river : nvidia-driver-390 - distro non-free`

`river : xserver-xorg-video-nouveau - distro free builtin`

From the output, we can conclude that my current system has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphic card installed and the recommended driver to install is `nvidia-driver-418`. Please note that your output and recommended driver will most likely be different.

Now that we have detected our NVIDIA graphic card model and recommended driver, let's proceed with uninstalling the drivers. There are two methods to uninstall NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu 19: using a standard Ubuntu repository and manually removing the files. In this guide, we will focus on the first method, which is the easiest and most recommended approach.

Method 1: Uninstalling NVIDIA Drivers Using a Standard Ubuntu Repository

To uninstall NVIDIA drivers using a standard Ubuntu repository, follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal window as a non-privileged user.

2. Run the following command to remove the NVIDIA drivers package:

`sudo apt-get purge nvidia-driver-418`

Replace `nvidia-driver-418` with the recommended driver you detected earlier.

3. Run the following command to remove any remaining configuration files:

`sudo apt-get autoremove`

4. Finally, run the following command to update your package list:

`sudo apt-get update`

That's it! The NVIDIA drivers should now be uninstalled from your Ubuntu 19 system. If you encounter any issues during the uninstallation process, you can try restarting your system or seeking help from the Ubuntu community.

After installation, optionally run Nvidia graphic card test by following our Benchmark Your Graphics Card On Linux guide to ensure that your graphics card is functioning properly.

In conclusion, uninstalling NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu 19 is a straightforward process. By following these steps, you should be able to remove any unnecessary software and free up space on your system. Remember to detect the model of your NVIDIA graphic card and the recommended driver before proceeding with the uninstallation process.

Uninstall nvidia drivers ubuntu 19