Introduction
So
today I decided to install the CUDA 5 toolkit on my linux machine so
that I can test my OpenCL applications on it. This turned out to be
much more of a pain than I had originally thought as there is no
definitive guide on how to install CUDA under linux and also the
installer is quite finicky and really needs a rethink. So I'm posting
some tips on how to install the toolkit so that other people don't
make the same mistakes I did. Just so you guys know the linux version
that I use is Kubuntu 12.10. The main issue with installing the
toolkit is that the driver they package with it requires you to have
gcc version 4.7 but the toolkit installation requires that you have
version 4.4, I'm sure you can all see why this would be an issue.
Before reading this guide I advise watching these videos:
So
the first piece of advice I have for you guys is to install the
driver FIRST and then the toolkit/samples after.
DISCLAIMER:
This guide is offered without any guarantees, I am not responsible if
you end up bricking your install. You have been warned!
1. Installing the
Driver
First
install the following libraries & Tools:
sudo
apt-get install freeglut3-dev build-essential libx11-dev libxmu-dev
libxi-dev libgl1-mesa-glx libglu1-mesa libglu1-mesa-dev
Next
we will blacklist some modules(drivers), in terminal enter:
sudo
kate
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
Add
the following to the end of the file(one per line like so):
blacklist
amd76x_edac
blacklist
vga16fb
blacklist
nouveau
blacklist
rivafb
blacklist
nvidiafb
blacklist
rivatv
Save
the file and close the editor.
Now
we want to get rid of any nvidia residuals, in terminal:
sudo
apt-get remove --purge nvidia*
Next
you need to restart your machine (sudo reboot). At
this point, if you log back it to your machine you may find that the
window manager isn't working correctly (window borders are missing
etc.). Before worrying about that I advise installing the driver
portion of the toolkit
0)
Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 at login screen(you don't have to login, we'll have
to restart later anyway), then log in.
1)
sudo service lightdm stop
2)
cd Downloads
3)
chmod +x <cuda>.run
(your toolkit
filename)
4)
sudo ./<cuda>.run
When
asked if you wish to install the driver enter y, but do NOT install
the toolkit or samples. After the installation execute “sudo
service lightdm start” to restart the x server. Log in to the
machine, if your window manager is still screwed I solved this by
running “sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop”. If you are
running another version of linux this command will differ from mine.
Round
about here you've installed the driver and (hopefully) your system is
running fine. Now for the easy bit, installing the toolkit and
samples.
2.
Making
GCC 4.4 the default version
In
this section we are going to use update-alternatives to make gcc-4.4
the default version on your system. In
the terminal execute the following commands
sudo
apt-get install gcc-4.4
sudo
update-alternatives --remove-all gcc
sudo
update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-4.7 10
sudo
update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-4.4 20
sudo
update-alternatives --config gcc
Choose
gcc-4.4
gcc
--version
You
should have gotten some output saying your version number is 4.4.x
3.
Installing the Toolkit/Samples
Now
you are ready to install the toolkit. All you need to do is navigate
to your downloads folder(from
the terminal of course)
and run “sudo ./<cuda>.run” the same as before but this
time when it asks if you want to install the driver select no and
install the toolkit and samples instead. This installation worked for
me first time but I have heard of some people getting error messages
about missing glut libraries (and
possibly others),
if this happens you will need to find out
where the
glut library is on your computer
and make a symbolic link to /usr/lib using ln (the link tool).
Anywhoooo... assuming your install was a success you have very little
else to do apart from set up your environment variables and test the
install.
Add
Environmental variables:
export
PATH=/usr/local/cuda/bin:$PATH
#for 64-bit machines:
export
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda/lib64:/usr/local/cuda/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
#for
32-bit machines:
export
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
Now we
want to test did the toolkit install properly:
nvcc --version
If
you get some output telling you the version number of nvcc then
congrats! You are now ready to develop for CUDA and OpenCL!!!
