Ubuntu 20.04 does not start when trying to install nvidia driver

Introduction

I put Ubuntu 20.04 in a slightly old notebook PC and reused it, but when I changed the settings several times, the GUI disappeared (I couldn't reach the login screen), so I had a lot of troubles, so I made a memo.

environment

Vaio VPCZ1 (Geforce GT 330M, Core series 1st generation fossil PC) Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS

phenomenon

I tried to install the nvidia driver from the GUI like this (Recently, they found the necessary driver without permission and can install it with GUI ...)

Installation fails with the following error

The next time I restart, the login screen does not appear Underscore (caret) flashes on a black screen

Cause

The nVidia 340 driver (latest 340.108) does not support running on Linux kernel 5.4 and above [^ patch]. Due to this effect, it seems that the GUI cannot be displayed if it is forcibly installed. Support timeframes for Unix legacy GPU releases

[^ patch]: As you can see in here, it seems that you are developing a patch for volunteers to use, but as of January 2021 linux kernel 5.8 is not working?

Coping

Press Esc at startup to start in recovery mode Select "root" from the menu and enter the following to remove the nvidia driver.

$ sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
$ sudo service lightdm stop

Right now (January 2021) it doesn't seem to work with Linux kernel 5.8, so either give up installing the driver or consider using an older version of the kernel.

Summary

Especially when installing the nvidia driver on an old PC Make sure that the driver corresponds to the version of the Linux kernel used.

reference

What to do if Ubuntu GUI doesn't boot due to Nvidia driver

The installation of the NVIDIA display driver 340 fails in Kubuntu 20.10 It was easy to understand here.