Issue Report: Steam won't check for driver updates

[Brinehaart]

Whenever I ask steam to check for video driver update it gives me an error saying: "Steam is unable to perform video driver detection on your system"

 Processor Information:
    Vendor:  GenuineIntel
    Speed: 1600 Mhz
    2 logical processors
    2 physical processors
    HyperThreading:  Unsupported
    FCMOV:  Supported
    SSE2:  Supported
    SSE3:  Supported
    SSSE3:  Supported
    SSE4a:  Unsupported
    SSE41:  Unsupported
    SSE42:  Unsupported
    
Network Information:
    Network Speed:  
    
Operating System Version:
    Ubuntu 12.10 (32 bit)
    Kernel Name:  Linux
    Kernel Version:  3.5.0-20-generic
    X Server vendor:  The X.Org Foundation
    X Server release:  11300000
    
Video Card:
    Driver:  NVIDIA Corporation GeForce GT 430/PCIe/SSE2

    Driver Version:  4.3.0 NVIDIA 310.14
    Desktop Color Depth: 24 bits per pixel
    Monitor Refresh Rate: 75 Hz
    VendorID:  0x10de
    DeviceID:  0xde1
    Number of Monitors:  1
    Number of Logical Video Cards:  1
    Primary Display Resolution:  1280 x 1024
    Desktop Resolution: 1280 x 1024
    Primary Display Size: 13.35" x 10.67"  (17.09" diag)
                                            33.9cm x 27.1cm  (43.4cm diag)
    Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x
    Primary VRAM: 1023 MB
    Supported MSAA Modes:  2x 4x 8x 16x 
    
Sound card:
    Audio device: Realtek ALC888
    
Memory:
    RAM:  3535 Mb
    
Miscellaneous:
    UI Language:  English
    LANG:  en_US.UTF-8
    Microphone:  Not set
    Total Hard Disk Space Available:  258832 Mb
    Largest Free Hard Disk Block:  50181 Mb
    
Installed software:
    
Recent Failure Reports:
    Tue Dec 11 08:02:13 2012 GMT: file ''/tmp/dumps/crash_20121211100158_1.dmp'', upload yes: ''CrashID=bp-7324b7b0-eac3-4192-a66a-713172121211'' 

[Sindwiller]

I doubt that this is of any importance right now. You can update your drivers yourself (if the ones in the official Ubuntu repositories aren't as up-to-date as you want them to be, grab the .sh from the official Nvidia site or add a PPA). Besides, Steam shouldn't mess around with distro-internals (and the different ways distros handle driver updates is distro-internal).

[Rapunzel]

I have the same issue.

GeForce gtx560

[Brinehaart]

Yes I know I can update the drivers myself and I've done it quite a bunch of times already. I am only reporting a broken feature as a beta tester. That is all.

[thedarknite]

Before I updated to the latest drivers I would get a dialog telling me that I wasn't using the latest version and should upgrade. So there is some code in there checking the driver version, it just doesn't seem to be linked to the menu command.

[Retrouve]

I personally think that driver updates should be removed from Steam for Linux entirely, considering how they're already updated by the OS. Windows does not update drivers with the OS, which is why it makes sense there.

[Uwe]

Same issue here. Nvidia 9800, using the xorg-edgers-ppa.

[gutigen o)]

引用自 MysteryRotom：

I personally think that driver updates should be removed from Steam for Linux entirely, considering how they're already updated by the OS. Windows does not update drivers with the OS, which is why it makes sense there.

+1

[Dosvelasnegras]

Are all of you having the same issue using Ubuntu 12.10? (I can see the OP is) From another issue I had I found out Steam is using jockey's backend (12.04 additional drivers management app) to find out which drivers can be installed. I also know that during 12.10 some changes were made to that management, at least in the front-end, but maybe in the back-end too, breaking Steam's ability to check for drivers instalable in 12.10. Just trying to help pin-pointing the issue.

[Brinehaart]

Aha, so this feature works on the LTS but not on the 12.10 since the backend package that steam uses isn't available. Did I get that correctly?

[Dosvelasnegras]

I don't know. I know the frontend changed for sure in 12.10 but no idea about the backend. Thats why I asking trying to pin-point the issue.

I was coming out of posting an update on another issue I was having in 12.04 that resulted to be a bug in that backend. Thats how I found out Steam is using that backend.

[olf art]

Whenever I ask steam to check for video driver update it gives me an error saying: "Steam is unable to perform video driver detection on your system"

+1 - Fedora17 x86_64, ATI Radeon HD 5450

[[PPIT]Loki]

As already mentioned: The options should be removed. There is _no_ reason under linux to check the gfx drivers from the client, and update it there. The drivers should always handled by the distribution package manager.