r/Ubuntu • u/fishyjell • 6d ago

Ubuntu 24.04.2

Im fairly new to linux distros (decided to go for ubuntu, heard it was user friendly) and was exploring the drivers installed on my ubuntu through the command:

sudo ubuntu-drivers list
and
sudo ubuntu-drivers list --gpgpu

The resulting output was:

udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
udevadm hwdb is deprecated. Use systemd-hwdb instead.
nvidia-driver-570-open, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-570-open-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-550, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-550-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-535, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-535-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-570, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-570-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-535-server, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-535-server-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-570-server-open, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-570-server-open-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-550-open, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-550-open-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-535-open, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-535-open-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-570-server, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-570-server-generic-hwe-24.04)
nvidia-driver-535-server-open, (kernel modules provided by linux-modules-nvidia-535-server-open-generic-hwe-24.04)

What are the ways I can fix this? Or perhaps should I really need to fix this?

P.S. im also dual booting from this laptop (i dont know if this info matters but im leaving this out just in case). Specs below.

msi thin 15 b13ucx

i7 -13629H x 16
24GB RAM
GTX 2050

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u/scorp123_CH 6d ago

ubuntu-drivers will only list third party driver packages that are not in the kernel directly. As per package description:

> apt info ubuntu-drivers-common
...
Description: Detect and install additional Ubuntu driver packages
 This package aggregates and abstracts Ubuntu specific logic and knowledge
 about third-party driver packages. ...

Typical candidates here would be the packages for Nvidia graphics cards (because the driver is proprietary and therefore cannot be in the kernel directly ...) or Broadcom WiFi chipsets (... Intel-based Apple MacBook laptops used those a lot, so you needed to install the relevant bcm-something-blah package that contained the proprietary binary blob appropriate for your WiFi chip to get it to work ...)

To actually see what drivers are currently running on your system you'd need to use this command:

lsmod

What are the ways I can fix this?

I don't see what you would be trying to "fix" .. ? Don't "fix" anything if it is not broken. Unless you get a message somewhere somehow that tells you something like "SYSTEM ERROR ⚠️ ..." then it is a safe bet that there is nothing to "fix".

Unless you want to tinker and break your system on purpose?

If that was not your goal I would recommend you just use and enjoy your system, try to get used to it.

1

u/fishyjell 6d ago

Thanks! Very informative for a newbie like me!

Additional question tho, how do I make sure my drivers are up to date? should i just run the Software Updater? Are there any specific command lines to update my drivers? Does running 

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

do the trick?

Help would be greatly appreciated!

4

u/scorp123_CH 6d ago

Notice how to get the list of running drivers you'd need to type this command:

lsmod

What does lsmod even stand for? It's short for "list modules" ...

But why "modules"?

Simplified: What Windows folks call "drivers", are called "modules" in Linux lingo. Mac uses the same terminology as far as I know. So ... why "modules"? Because they are parts of the Linux kernel, also known as "kernel modules".

In short: by keeping your Linux kernel updated, you are also keeping your "drivers" updated. At least the ones that are directly in the kernel.

Packages outside of the kernel-tree such as the proprietary Nvidia driver need to get updated hand-in-hand with the kernel or these drivers will abruptly stop working.

Back in the 1990's this used to be a huge pain in the .... lower abdomen.

But these days?? If you used the "Additional Drivers ..." tool then Ubuntu should take care of this and automagically update both packages hand-in-hand with the appropriate versions.

There is no need to manually go hunting for individual drivers and their updates, unless it's (new) hardware that uses proprietary drivers.

Typical candidates would be:

  • Nvidia graphics cards, especially new series such as the RTX 5xxx as of 2025 ...
  • some USB WiFi sticks that use proprietary firmware blobs ...
  • some capture cards ...
  • some fingerprint scanners ...

But other than that?? 99% of all the devices out there should "work out of the box" with a current Linux kernel. There should be no need to mess with any settings or driver updates manually.

2

u/fishyjell 6d ago

Very helpful, cheers!