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Disable Discrete GPU

Last Update: 2024-03-13

The following guide or recipe requires shell access to your FydeOS installation, therefore developer mode is assumed to be enabled. If altering system file is required, you will also need to disable root file system verification.

We recommend disabling the discrete graphics card in BIOS. If there is no such option, you can disable the graphics card in the hwtuner; note that this method only works for some devices.

If you’re experiencing booting or usage issues with your device that has both an Intel integrated graphics card and an NVIDIA/AMD discrete graphics card, you can optimize your system by disabling the discrete graphics card. This tutorial will guide you through the process using FydeOS and the hwtuner tool.

What is hwtuner?

hwtuner, also known as FydeOS Hardware Tuner, is a command-line tool specifically designed to debug and optimize system functions.

Accessing hwtuner

Follow these steps to access hwtuner:

  1. Launch Crosh: Press Control + Alt + T simultaneously on your FydeOS desktop.
  2. Enter the bash shell: Type shell into Crosh and press Enter.
  3. Obtain administrator privileges: Type sudo su and press Enter.

    Note: Starting from FydeOS v17 and openFyde r114, use sudo -i instead of sudo su. This change doesn’t affect older versions.

  4. Start hwtuner: Type hwtuner into Crosh and press Enter.

How to Disable Your Graphics Card

To disable your graphics card, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the diagnose graphic hardware and driver tuning option in hwtuner.

  2. Enter 0 and press Enter. The type of graphics card your device is using will now be displayed on the interface.

    Here are the driver codes for different graphics cards:

    • Intel graphics card: i915
    • AMD graphics card: amdgpu
    • NVIDIA graphics card: nouveau

    Choose the graphics card you want to disable based on your needs.

  3. To disable a graphics card, enter the corresponding number. For example, to disable amdgpu, enter 1 for Block kernel driver/module (amdgpu).

  4. After completing the disabling operation, restart your device.

Note: You cannot disable the graphics card that is currently in use.

Troubleshooting NVIDIA Graphics Card Booting Issues

If your device with an NVIDIA graphics card fails to boot, you can manually adjust the grub.cfg in the FydeOS image. Here’s how:

  • Mount the USB flash drive that contains the FydeOS image.
  • Open the /boot/efi/boot/grub.cfg file for editing.
  • Add nouveau.modeset=0 after noresume in the file.
  • Save the changes.

Remember, you can always disable the discrete graphics card in BIOS if it’s available. If not, the hwtuner method described above should work for most devices.