Illustrative example: Imagine a workstation running Pardus 23.2 with an NVIDIA card and integrated graphics. Its owner wants the NVIDIA GPU available for graphics work while keeping a reliable way to recover if the proprietary driver does not load. This is a hypothetical example, not a report of a tested machine. The steps below use Pardus’s own NVIDIA Driver Installer first, with a terminal route for administrators who need one.
Pardus 23.2 added the Pardus NVIDIA Driver Installer to the software repository and Pardus Software Center. For most Pardus 23 workstation users, start there: the project says its tool detects NVIDIA hardware, suggests compatible driver packages, offers the open-source nouveau driver as a fallback, and can use an optional NVIDIA repository for newer driver versions. See the Pardus 23.2 changelog and the project’s NVIDIA Installer documentation.
Install the proprietary NVIDIA driver when you need its supported graphics stack, CUDA-related workloads, or better performance in software that depends on the NVIDIA driver. Keep nouveau when open-source support and basic desktop display are sufficient, or use it as a fallback while diagnosing a proprietary-driver problem. The right choice depends on the exact GPU generation and the driver branch that supports it.
In the example workstation, first confirm that Pardus detects the discrete card. Open a terminal and run:
lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -iE 'VGA|3D|Display'Look for an NVIDIA device and note whether another display adapter, such as Intel or AMD integrated graphics, is present. On a hybrid laptop, the desktop can continue using integrated graphics even after the NVIDIA driver is installed. That can be normal; it does not by itself mean the driver failed.
Update Pardus before changing graphics packages. Save work, connect the workstation to reliable power, and install pending system updates using Pardus Updater or your normal package-management process. If this is a business-critical workstation, have a recovery route available, such as a known-good kernel entry in the boot menu or a recent system backup.
On Pardus 23.2 or later within the Pardus 23 series, open Pardus Software Center and search for Pardus Nvidia Driver Installer. Install it, then launch the application from the desktop application menu. If your workstation is on Pardus 23.0 or 23.1 and the app is not listed, update the system first; the Pardus 23.2 release notes say the installer was added to the repository and Software Center.
Administrators who prefer a terminal can check the package and install it from the configured Pardus repositories:
sudo apt update
apt policy pardus-nvidia-installer
sudo apt install pardus-nvidia-installerUse the repository package. Avoid downloading an unrelated shell script or manually adding a driver repository just to make the application appear. Pardus’s project lists sudo apt install pardus-nvidia-installer as its package-manager installation method.
The installer is designed to detect the NVIDIA GPU and show driver options that match the hardware. Read the detected model and the offered driver branch before applying changes. If the application offers a proprietary driver and a nouveau fallback, choose based on your needs: proprietary NVIDIA support is generally the intended path for NVIDIA-specific features, while nouveau avoids the proprietary kernel module and may be adequate for simpler display use.
The project also documents an optional NVIDIA CUDA repository for newer driver versions. Enable an additional source only when the installer explains that the GPU requires it or you have a specific need for a newer supported driver. Third-party repositories can change update behavior and introduce version conflicts, so keep the selected source and driver branch consistent. Do not install a driver from one source and then overlay it with NVIDIA’s standalone Linux installer.
For the hypothetical workstation, the owner should accept the compatible option reported by the Pardus tool, rather than guessing a package name from the GPU’s marketing generation. If the app offers no compatible proprietary driver, use the fallback it presents or check the GPU against the driver’s supported-device list before proceeding.
Start the installation and allow the package manager to finish. Driver setup may install a kernel module and supporting libraries; do not interrupt it while packages are being configured. If the installer requests a reboot, save work and restart Pardus. A reboot loads the driver module for the running kernel and refreshes the graphics session.
Secure Boot can affect whether a kernel module loads. Debian’s NVIDIA documentation notes that systems with Secure Boot enabled may require enrolling a Machine Owner Key (MOK) so NVIDIA modules can be signed and verified. If Pardus or the package setup displays an enrollment prompt at reboot, follow its instructions and confirm the enrollment in firmware’s next-startup screen. If no prompt appears and the module remains unavailable, consult Pardus or Debian’s release-specific Secure Boot instructions rather than disabling Secure Boot as the first response.
After signing in again, open a terminal and check whether the driver can communicate with the GPU:
nvidia-smiWhen the driver is active and the utility is installed, it should report an NVIDIA device and driver information. A “command not found” message may mean the utility package is absent; it does not alone prove that the display module failed. You can also inspect the kernel’s device binding:
lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -i NVIDIA
lsmod | grep '^nvidia'Look for a kernel driver in use for the NVIDIA device and NVIDIA modules in the module list. If the machine has hybrid graphics, the NVIDIA GPU may be available for offloading while the integrated GPU drives the desktop. Judge success by the task you need: a detected driver and a working desktop are separate checks from whether a particular application is actually rendering on the NVIDIA card.
If you manage the workstation without the graphical installer, first inspect the package candidate and your enabled repositories:
apt policy nvidia-driver
apt policy linux-headers-$(uname -r)The second command checks whether headers matching the running kernel are available, which can matter when a driver package builds a kernel module locally. On Pardus, use repositories and package versions intended for the installed Pardus release. Pardus’s repository documentation lists the components it uses, while Debian’s NVIDIA page explains Debian’s package choices and driver support. The available packages can differ by architecture, GPU generation, kernel, and repository state.
Do not assume that a bare sudo apt install nvidia-driver is always the best choice on Pardus 23. Debian’s current NVIDIA wiki describes the Bookworm 535 driver series as no longer maintained since June 2026 and lists hardware limitations for that branch. That is a reason to inspect the candidate version and the Pardus installer’s recommendation first, especially for newer GPUs; it does not mean every Pardus system has the same package candidate. If you use the terminal route, choose only a package branch shown as compatible with your GPU and available from repositories appropriate for your release.
Check that the card is enabled in firmware and appears in lspci. On laptops, a firmware graphics mode or a hardware switch may disable the discrete GPU. If the device is absent from PCI output, package installation cannot fix that detection problem.
Check the installer’s completion message, reboot if it requested one, and compare the installed driver branch with the GPU model and running kernel. If Secure Boot is enabled, review whether module signing or MOK enrollment is pending. If the issue began immediately after a driver change, boot a known-good kernel from the boot menu if available, then use Pardus’s installer to select its supported fallback or undo the change.
On hybrid laptops, installing the NVIDIA driver does not necessarily make the discrete GPU the default renderer for every application. Check Pardus’s GPU-selection controls or the application’s documented offload method. Confirm GPU activity while the application is running; a driver utility reporting the card as present is not proof that every program is using it.
Run sudo apt update and review apt policy pardus-nvidia-installer or apt policy nvidia-driver. Confirm that the system uses valid repositories for Pardus 23 and that the package has a candidate version. Do not replace the system’s repository list with a random Debian or NVIDIA configuration; mixed release sources can leave the kernel, libraries, and driver out of sync.
For the example workstation, the setup is ready when Pardus boots normally after the change, the NVIDIA device is detected, the selected driver reports itself correctly, and the desktop or target graphics application behaves as expected. If the proprietary branch does not support the GPU or repeatedly prevents startup, switch to the supported fallback and verify hardware compatibility before trying another branch. The Pardus installer simplifies selection, but it cannot make an end-of-life GPU compatible with a driver that no longer supports it.
Documentation reviewed October 6, 2026. Pardus 23.2 added its NVIDIA Driver Installer; available driver branches and package versions can change as repositories are updated. Debian’s Bookworm NVIDIA guidance was also checked for current package and Secure Boot caveats.
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