How to install the Nvidia 346.35 driver for a GTX 960 video card on Linux Mint 17.1

It took several tries and research on the internet to figure out how to get the driver loaded. After crashing Cinnamon a couple times, I figured out how to get it to install without crashing and everything seemed to work right. Since I had such a difficult time figuring out the correct way to install the driver, I'm creating this guide in case it can benefit someone else.
Click here for a more recent tutorial on installing version 352.63 on Linux Mint 17.3.

System build specs
Motherboard: Biostar A960G+
Video card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 video card
Ram: Corsair 8GB DDR3 CML8GX3M2A1600C9

Processor: AMD FX-6300

Installation procedure
I followed these steps exactly and it worked without crashing anything.

1. Print out these instructions. Read through them before doing anything so you understand the procedure. It's helpful to understand what you're doing, instead of just typing a command because someone said to do it.
2. Backup your system, unless you're starting from a fresh install, like I did. I installed Linux Mint 17.1 from a DVD that I burned.
3. Then I installed the updates, so the system was up to date. I updated it before attempting to install the video driver.
4. Download the Nvidia 346.35 driver for Linux.
5. (Optional) Make a backup copy of grub.cfg in case you need to revert back. Open a terminal, and type the following:
    cd /boot/grub
    sudo cp -p grub.cfg grub.cfg.original
6. (Optional) Backup grub
    cd /etc/default
    sudo cp -p grub grub.original
7. Since the driver installation requires that we boot into a terminal instead of the GUI, we need to change that, temporarily. We need to make two changes to the file /etc/default/grub, with gedit, running it as super user:
    sudo gedit grub
    Add the word text so that the following line looks like this:
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash text"
    The next item is important, otherwise, you'll get a black screen instead of booting to terminal.
    Uncomment the following line (remove the #)
    GRUB_TERMINAL=console
If you don't uncomment that line, you'll get a black screen instead of a terminal. Not fun.

8. Save and exit gedit.

9. Re-build grub.cfg by running the command

    sudo update-grub

10. We're still in the GUI now, but after we reboot, it should go straight to a terminal instead of launching the GUI.  Reboot now by going through the normal turn-off procedure

11. When the computer turns back on, it should be in the terminal window, asking for login. Type your user name, hit enter, then enter your password. If you got a black screen, you probably didn't uncomment the correct line in step 7. 

12. You should be at the command prompt now. I assume you downloaded the Nvidia driver to your downloads directory. We'll go there now. 

    cd Downloads

13. Run the installation driver by typing:
    sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-346.35.run
Say yes to everything. It said a pre-install script failed, but I continued installation anyway.
14. After installation completes, don't reboot yet. We still have to fix grub so it doesn't boot to a terminal again. We'll use the pico editor since we're not in the GUI.
    cd /etc/default
    sudo pico grub
Remove the word text so the line is back to how it was before:
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

You should probably leave this line uncommented:

   GRUB_TERMINAL=console

15. Save the file and exit pico. So in the future, if you hit ctrl-alt-F1, you should get a terminal. If you comment the above line again, it just goes to a black screen. To get back to the GUI, hit ctrl-alt-F7 or ctrl-alt-F8, but don't do that now since we're not in the GUI yet. 

16. Now we need to rebuild grub.cfg with the following command:

    sudo update-grub

17. Shutdown the computer with the following command line:

sudo shutdown -h now

18. Turn the computer on, and it should boot up normally, into the GUI with the Nvidia driver. But it doesn't list it in System Settings / Device Drivers. 

Leave a comment if this helped you.

Thanks.

Bleeding the ABS unit on a 1996 Ford Thunderbird

Vehicle

1996 Ford Thunderbird LX 3.8L

It has the Teves MK IV ABS system with traction control.

 

Symptoms

I've been having a problem with my brakes for a few years now. The rear brakes don't have enough braking power. When I took my car in for safety inspection, the brake bias was way too far forward, meaning the fronts did most of the braking, and the rears barely did anything.

The other problem was that if I pressed hard on the brake pedal, I could get it to go all the way to the floor. If I did a panic stop, I could almost get the wheels to lock up on dry pavement, but this would require lots of pressure on the brake pedal. I was worried that I would have to press too hard in an emergency situation.

 

Attempt 1

So I replaced the master cylinder and bled the brake system. That didn't help at all. I was considering replacing the proportioning valve, but didn't because I suspected air in the ABS unit because of the excessive pedal travel.

I activated the traction control while bleeding the brakes. I activated the ABS in the snow, then bled the brakes. I bled the brakes again. Nothing helped.

 

Research

So I turned to the internet and the service manual. Both sources said that I needed to get my hands on a T90P-50-ALA tool. I didn't have the $300 that they wanted for one on ebay. So I found some wiring diagrams and a pin-out diagram. These were really helpful, but I still made a couple mistakes along the way. Hopefully you don't repeat my mistakes.

 

Attempt 2

This was a near disaster. I blew a fuse trying to hook up power to the ABS valves. I was connecting to the wrong end of connector C-104. Basically, I connected power to pins 3 and 33 of the ABS module without the ABS relay being activated. When the main ABS relay is not activated, it connects pins 3 and 33 to ground. Connecting power to ground is not a good thing. Something had to melt. It's a good thing there was a fuse between the battery and my connection to ground. 

After recovering from that mistake, I thought you run the pump with all the valves activated. Well, that made the ABS motor make an awful sound. I hope I didn't damage it. After putting it all back together, it still wasn't fixed. I was not having a successful day.

The ABS module is located in front of the front wheel on the driver's side. Here's a picture with the inner fender removed and the wiring harness detached.

 

More Research

Then I took a look at the hydraulic diagram. I realized my mistake. By closing the inlet valves, I blocked the path of the brake fluid from the pump, preventing it from circulating. (See dead head definition.) If I activated only the outlet valve, then the motor could circulate brake fluid, leaving the air bubbles in the reservoir. The inlet valves are normally open, while the outlet valves are normally closed. When you activate either valve, you change the state (open to closed, or vice-versa). Activating the valve is done by grounding the appropriate pin on the connector to the ABS module. 

This is an ABS diagram similar to my Thunderbird, but it doesn't have the traction control valves in the diagram.

 

Attempt 3

Here's the approximate procedure I used to bleed the ABS unit on my Thunderbird without the help of the T90P-50-ALA tool.

1. Remove the front driver's side wheel, remembering to implement all safety precautions.
2. Remove the inner fender.
3. Disconnect the wiring harness from the ABS control module. You pull on the metal clip and rotate it up to the top. Then lift the connector to remove it from the module.
4. Ground pin 34 to activate the main relay. This makes power available to the valves.
5. Ground pin 15 for twenty seconds to run the ABS motor.
6. Ground pins 2, 21, 36, and 18 to activate each wheel's outlet valves, one at a time while the ABS motor is running. Don't run the motor for more than 60 seconds. Maybe run each valve for 5 seconds each.
7. I'm not sure if you're done at this point if you have traction control. But here's what I did next.
8. I hadn't found a hydraulic diagram for the traction control part yet, so I opened both rear dump valves (pins 18 and 36) with the ABS motor running while I activated pins 37 and 40, one at a time to run fluid through the traction control part.

I was really hoping this worked. Unfortunately, it is mostly the same. But it was enough to get it to barely pass the brake skid-pad test at inspection.

 

More Research

I found this diagram on the internet. It looks like this is the traction control version for FWD (still not my RWD version, but maybe close enough to figure it out).

 

 

Only the outlet valves are normally closed. The inlet valves and the two special valves for the traction control are normally open.

When the traction control is activated, the special valves close to prevent the ABS unit from applying pressure to the  front brakes.

I'll probably have to work on this again to pass the next annual inspection. So here are the next two possible solutions I'm going to try.

Bleed one-way valves

Activate both traction control valves and dump valves for the back wheels while pressing on the brake pedal to bleed through the one-way valves.

Close the inlet valve and compress the caliper piston to bleed each one-way valve on the inlet valves. Do this for each wheel.

Bleed pressure relief valves

Activate both traction control valves and the ABS pump.

Hopefully this fixes it. I don't see a way for the $300 bleeder tool to bleed the one-way valves if there's any air stuck in them. So I don't see a point in spending the extra money if there's a chance it won't solve my problem. Inspection is coming up, so if the brakes don't pass this month, I'll be updating this post soon.