After upgrade to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 the graphic desktop will not come up.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 (SLED 10) system Upgraded to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (SLED 11)

nVidia or ATI Graphics Card

An existing SLED 10 SP2 system was upgraded to SLED 11.  After the installation, the graphic desktop (or X server) will no longer run.

The key to this problem is if the nVidia or ATI proprietary graphics card driver was installed on the SLED 10 system prior to the upgrade.  Even though the driver may have been installed through the update service on SLED 10 it can still have trouble as you upgrade because the existing driver will not work with the new kernel running under SLED 11.  Since the drivers are not open source they cannot be included in our distribution.

With an upgrade to SLED 11, the registration used for the update service on SLED 10 will continue to work if it is still within the active time limit.  In other words, if your SLED 10 system is still authorized to receive updates through the update service then the upgrade to SLED 11 will also receive updates until the service expires.  The updates for SLED 11 include repositories direct from nVidia and ATI with the proprietary drivers for the SLED 11 kernel.  To install these drivers you will need to have the SLED 11 system activated or registered to enable the update service.  This can be done during the installation but if it was not done then the following command can be used to set it up:

If your SLED 10 system was already registered/activated then you can enter this command to restore the repositories:

suse_register --restore-repos

If this is the first time registering/activating the system then you will need to include your email address and registration code as in this example:

suse_register -a email=user@domain.com -a regcode-sled=code123456

Of course, replace user@domain.com with your email address, and code123456 with your assigned code.

Installing the Driver

Now that the system is registered/activated you are ready to install the appropriate driver packages.

You will need to know what kernel you are running.  At the command line enter:

uname -r

This will show your kernel version similar to one of these:

2.6.27.19-5-default
2.6.27.19-5-pae

The version will most likely be different.  What we are looking for is if your kernel is "default" or "pae".

Now run one of the following commands to see the packages that are available for your graphics card.  You will be looking for "nvidia" or "fglrx" (for ATI).  These are the only two proprietary drivers provided through our update service.  All other supported graphics cards have open source drivers and are already installed:

For "nvidia"

# zypper se nvidia
Retrieving repository 'SLED11-Updates' metadata [done]
Building repository 'SLED11-Updates' cache [done]
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S | Name                     | Summary                           | Type
--+--------------------------+-----------------------------------+--------
  | nvidia-gfx-kmp-default   | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfx-kmp-pae       | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfx-kmp-trace     | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfx-kmp-vmi       | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG01-kmp-default| NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG01-kmp-pae    | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG01-kmp-trace  | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG01-kmp-vmi    | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG01-kmp-xen    | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-default| NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-pae    | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-trace  | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-vmi    | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-xen    | NVIDIA graphics driver kernel modu| package
  | x11-video-nvidia         | NVIDIA graphics driver for GeForce| package
  | x11-video-nvidiaG01      | NVIDIA graphics driver for GeForce| package
  | x11-video-nvidiaG02      | NVIDIA graphics driver for GeForce| package

For "fglrx"

zypper se fglrx
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S | Name                    | Summary                            | Type
--+-------------------------+------------------------------------+--------
  | ati-fglrxG01-kmp-debug  | ATI "fglrx" driver kernel module   | package
  | ati-fglrxG01-kmp-default| ATI "fglrx" driver kernel module   | package
  | ati-fglrxG01-kmp-pae    | ATI "fglrx" driver kernel module   | package
  | ati-fglrxG01-kmp-trace  | ATI "fglrx" driver kernel module   | package
  | x11-video-fglrxG01      | X Window display driver for the ATI| package

Find the "kmp" package that best fits your kernel (default or pae) and graphics card.  For fglrx there is only one selection for either default or pae, but for nvidia there are 3.  One for "GeForce4", G01 for "GeForceFX", and G02 for "GeForce 6xxx and newer".   In the example above it does not include the full Summary.  You will see the GeForce4, GeForceFX, and GeForce 6xxx and newer in the output of your system.  Once you know which package to install run the zypper command to install the package.  As an example, if the package I need to install is "nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-default" then the command would look like this:

zypper in nvidia-gfxG02-kmp-default

zypper will automatically add the appropriate x11-video package to be installed along with the driver.

After the installation is complete, reboot the system by entering the "reboot" command or by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete.  On boot up of the system you should be brought to the graphic login screen and be able to login to the desktop as normal.