How to Fix Black Screen and NVIDIA Driver Errors When Installing Linux Mint on a GTX 670 (Kepler)

How to Fix Black Screen and NVIDIA Driver Errors When Installing Linux Mint on a GTX 670 (Kepler)

Hardware Used

This guide is based on a PC with:

Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi H77S Ver 5.0

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 v2

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670

RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz

SSD: Kingston A400

PSU: Yeyian Raiden 650W 80+ Bronze


This guide is especially useful for older NVIDIA Kepler GPUs such as:

GTX 660

GTX 670

GTX 680

GTX 760

GT 710 (Kepler)

etc.



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Problems Encountered

1. Black screen when booting Linux Mint

When booting from the USB:

Linux Mint would freeze on a black screen.

The only option that worked was:


Compatibility Mode


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2. NVIDIA 470 driver installation errors

Running:

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-470

resulted in:

Bad return status for module build on kernel

and DKMS errors related to:

kernel 6.14

kernel 6.17



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Why This Happens

Kepler GPUs use the legacy NVIDIA driver:

nvidia-driver-470

This driver:

works well with kernels:

5.15

6.8


but often breaks on newer kernels:

6.14

6.17

and newer



Additionally:

Linux Mint initially boots using the open-source driver:


nouveau

which can cause black screens on older NVIDIA GPUs.


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Easiest Working Solution

STEP 1 — Install Linux Mint Normally

Version used:

Linux Mint


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STEP 2 — Boot the Installer Using nomodeset

In the USB GRUB menu:

Select:

Start Linux Mint

BUT:

DO NOT press Enter yet.



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Press:

e

Go down and find:

quiet splash

and replace it with:

nomodeset


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Boot using:

F10

or:

Ctrl + X

This prevents the black screen issue.


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STEP 3 — Install Linux Mint

During installation:

❌ DO NOT check:

Install third-party drivers

Multimedia codecs


Install the system clean first.


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STEP 4 — Install Kernel 6.8

Once inside Linux Mint:

Open:

Update Manager → View → Linux Kernels

Install:

6.8.0-117-generic


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STEP 5 — Reboot Using Kernel 6.8

In GRUB:

Advanced options for Linux Mint

Select:

Linux Mint with Linux 6.8.0-117-generic

Then again temporarily add:

nomodeset


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STEP 6 — Verify Current Kernel

Run in terminal:

uname -r

It should display:

6.8.0-117-generic


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STEP 7 — Remove Problematic Kernels

The real issue was that DKMS tried to build NVIDIA 470 for:

6.14.x

which broke the installation process.


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Remove Kernel 6.14

sudo apt remove linux-image-6.14.0-37-generic linux-headers-6.14.0-37-generic linux-modules-6.14.0-37-generic


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STEP 8 — Clean Broken NVIDIA Drivers

sudo apt purge 'nvidia*' -y

Then:

sudo apt autoremove -y

and:

sudo apt --fix-broken install


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STEP 9 — Install NVIDIA 470

With internet connected:

sudo apt update

Then:

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-470


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STEP 10 — Reboot

sudo reboot

This time:

WITHOUT nomodeset

WITHOUT compatibility mode



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Final Result

✅ Linux Mint boots normally
✅ Correct screen resolution
✅ NVIDIA working correctly
✅ No black screens
✅ Steam compatible
✅ Proton working
✅ Games running properly


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How to Verify NVIDIA Is Working

Run:

nvidia-smi

If it shows:

GTX 670

Driver 470

VRAM

temperature


then the installation succeeded.


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IMPORTANT Recommendations

DO NOT upgrade to kernels 6.14 or newer

Because NVIDIA 470 may break again.

Stay on:

6.8.x


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Create a System Snapshot

Use:

Timeshift

to save a working backup once everything is stable.


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Tested / Compatible Games

Compatible with:

Steam

Minecraft

Grand Theft Auto V

Assetto Corsa


using Proton and NVIDIA 470.


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Conclusion

The problem was NOT:

Secure Boot

the power supply

the SSD

or Linux Mint itself


The real conflict was:

NVIDIA 470 + modern kernels 6.14/6.17

By using:

kernel 6.8

nomodeset during installation

and removing incompatible kernels


Linux Mint works perfectly even on older NVIDIA Kepler GPUs.

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