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Linux had a different model than windows. It doesn't really have separate drivers. This has a number of upsides and downsides, let me mention just one. Windows

Linux had a different model than windows. It doesn't really have separate drivers. This has a number of upsides and downsides, let me mention just one. Windows used to have a really bad reputation for stability. I'm sure a lot of this was windows's fault, but a lot of this was bad third-party drivers that crashed. You might remember that nvidea does have a driver for Linux. The approach they took isn't really supported, which is one of the reasons why graphics drivers are always such a nightmare under Linux.

ivanfon 8y ago
One upside is simply the fact that you don’t need to hunt down drivers and install them. I’ve had to install wifi drivers for a Windows machine before. Hunting for the right driver, downloading it and transferring it from my phone was quite a pain, as opposed to the wifi just working on Linux.
- jlarocco 8y ago
  That's not entirely true. It works that way because your distro maintainer built a kernel with nearly every module turned on to support the widest range of hardware out of the box.
  - ufo 8y ago
    Sure, but that is the default configuration that most Linux users will encounter.
  - IntelMiner 8y ago
    It would still be reasonably easy to lspci and then compile the drivers into your kernel as needed
- yellowapple 8y ago
  Hell, I've had to install Ethernet drivers for Windows before (though thankfully that's been a lot more rare under Windows 10).
  - wtallis 8y ago
    I've found that it still happens almost every time I try to install a consumer Windows edition on server hardware, or server Windows on consumer hardware, even for Intel Ethernet. And it's often necessary to edit an INF file so that a perfectly functional driver won't refuse to load on such an "unsupported" configuration.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
> which is one of the reasons why graphics drivers are always such a nightmare under Linux. One of the reasons proprietary drivers are a nightmare. Intel works flawlessly (though obviously with different trade offs).
- Filligree 8y ago
  Intel, and modern AMD. So really it's just nVidia.
  - vorticalbox 8y ago
    I've been using the default open source drivers on my ThinkPad at work with Nvidia gpu and never had a problem with multiple screens etc. It really is propriety drivers that's the problem
    - bubblethink 8y ago
      You are likely not even using the nvidia gpu or the driver (nouveau) if your thinkpad is new. Or you are using just the nvidia gpu if you have discrete mode. For older designs with weird wiring and optimus, nouveau is very problematic for even basic use with external screens. Problems range from screen tearing (reverse prime, no solution), stability, poor performance, and fundamental usability issues such as screen not coming back on after suspend. Not that this is nouveau's fault, for it is a reverse engineered driver afterall.
      - joeseeder 8y ago
        Sounds like my experience with AMD Vega from my Thinkpad A485... its a nightmare, using ubuntu and amdpro or mainline kernel...
        bubblethink 8y ago
        AMD should, in theory, be quite good these days, especially with a new kernel. Note that amdpro drivers are generally not recommended despite the word pro in them. The newer amd drivers are all free and being merged upstream continuously. pro (afaik) is the older proprietary driver with specific optimisations for things like CAD, but otherwise doesn't have much use these days.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Interestingly, Windows improved its stability problem through a combination of moving drivers into userspace and formal verification. Unlike in Linux, when your video driver crashes it usually just results in a momentarily blank screen instead of a core dump.
- altmind 8y ago
  I would not say its true. Crashed gpu driver on linux will most likely leave you with locked out screen that does not accept any user input. On the contrary, windows GPU(WDDM) drivers are restartable and can handle crashes even without restarting the user graphical apps. This've been so since at least windows 7. edit: s/WDM/WDDM/
  - icebraining 8y ago
    I think you two are in agreement :)
  - swinglock 8y ago
    Since Windows Vista even.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  There's a kernel:user space split of Linux GPU drivers as well. Mesa, libdrm, libgbm, all have hardware-specific junk in them last I checked. The kernel drm/gpu side is all about mode setting and managing resources.
shmerl 8y ago
It supports separate drivers in the form of dynamic kernel modules (DKMS). But this is about default upstream support. Good upstream support is always preferable to chaotic dkms mess.

ivanfon 8y ago

One upside is simply the fact that you don’t need to hunt down drivers and install them. I’ve had to install wifi drivers for a Windows machine before. Hunting for the right driver, downloading it and transferring it from my phone was quite a pain, as opposed to the wifi just working on Linux.

jlarocco 8y ago
That's not entirely true. It works that way because your distro maintainer built a kernel with nearly every module turned on to support the widest range of hardware out of the box.
- ufo 8y ago
  Sure, but that is the default configuration that most Linux users will encounter.
- IntelMiner 8y ago
  It would still be reasonably easy to lspci and then compile the drivers into your kernel as needed
yellowapple 8y ago
Hell, I've had to install Ethernet drivers for Windows before (though thankfully that's been a lot more rare under Windows 10).
- wtallis 8y ago
  I've found that it still happens almost every time I try to install a consumer Windows edition on server hardware, or server Windows on consumer hardware, even for Intel Ethernet. And it's often necessary to edit an INF file so that a perfectly functional driver won't refuse to load on such an "unsupported" configuration.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago

> which is one of the reasons why graphics drivers are always such a nightmare under Linux. One of the reasons proprietary drivers are a nightmare. Intel works flawlessly (though obviously with different trade offs).

Filligree 8y ago
Intel, and modern AMD. So really it's just nVidia.
- vorticalbox 8y ago
  I've been using the default open source drivers on my ThinkPad at work with Nvidia gpu and never had a problem with multiple screens etc. It really is propriety drivers that's the problem
  - bubblethink 8y ago
    You are likely not even using the nvidia gpu or the driver (nouveau) if your thinkpad is new. Or you are using just the nvidia gpu if you have discrete mode. For older designs with weird wiring and optimus, nouveau is very problematic for even basic use with external screens. Problems range from screen tearing (reverse prime, no solution), stability, poor performance, and fundamental usability issues such as screen not coming back on after suspend. Not that this is nouveau's fault, for it is a reverse engineered driver afterall.
    - joeseeder 8y ago
      Sounds like my experience with AMD Vega from my Thinkpad A485... its a nightmare, using ubuntu and amdpro or mainline kernel...
      - bubblethink 8y ago
        AMD should, in theory, be quite good these days, especially with a new kernel. Note that amdpro drivers are generally not recommended despite the word pro in them. The newer amd drivers are all free and being merged upstream continuously. pro (afaik) is the older proprietary driver with specific optimisations for things like CAD, but otherwise doesn't have much use these days.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

Interestingly, Windows improved its stability problem through a combination of moving drivers into userspace and formal verification. Unlike in Linux, when your video driver crashes it usually just results in a momentarily blank screen instead of a core dump.

altmind 8y ago
I would not say its true. Crashed gpu driver on linux will most likely leave you with locked out screen that does not accept any user input. On the contrary, windows GPU(WDDM) drivers are restartable and can handle crashes even without restarting the user graphical apps. This've been so since at least windows 7. edit: s/WDM/WDDM/
- icebraining 8y ago
  I think you two are in agreement :)
- swinglock 8y ago
  Since Windows Vista even.
newnewpdro 8y ago
There's a kernel:user space split of Linux GPU drivers as well. Mesa, libdrm, libgbm, all have hardware-specific junk in them last I checked. The kernel drm/gpu side is all about mode setting and managing resources.

shmerl 8y ago

It supports separate drivers in the form of dynamic kernel modules (DKMS). But this is about default upstream support. Good upstream support is always preferable to chaotic dkms mess.