Overview
This article outlines how to use dmesg logs and kernel module commands to diagnose issues where the operating system fails to detect NVIDIA GPUs—even though they appear in the system's BMC (Baseboard Management Controller).
When to Use This
You may need this guide if:
-
nvidia-smi reports: NVRM: No NVIDIA GPU found
-
GPUs are visible in BMC or IPMI but not in the OS
-
You're seeing driver or hardware initialization errors during boot
Step 1: Check Kernel Ring Buffer (dmesg) for Errors
The dmesg command shows messages from the kernel that are helpful for low-level diagnostics.
What to Look For:
module verification failed — Indicates Secure Boot is blocking the NVIDIA kernel module.
-
No NVIDIA GPU found — The NVIDIA driver was loaded but no GPUs were detected on the PCI bus.
-
firmware: failed to load — A required firmware blob was missing.
-
ACPI: device not enabled — BIOS/UEFI settings may have disabled PCIe devices.
Step 2: Check if the NVIDIA Kernel Module is Loaded
Linux uses kernel modules (drivers) to interface with hardware like NVIDIA GPUs.
If you get output like:
→ The driver is loaded and likely functioning.
If there is no output:
The module didn’t load. Check dmesg again or try loading it manually:
Step 3: Check for Secure Boot Blocking the Driver
Secure Boot can prevent unsigned kernel modules like NVIDIA’s from loading.
Step 4: Check PCI Bus for NVIDIA Devices
This helps confirm whether the GPU is physically present and detected at the PCIe level.
If no output appears, the GPU is not even seen by the PCIe bus. Potential causes:
Check if nvidia kernel module is available:
If modinfo says "module not found", the driver installation might be corrupted or incomplete.
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