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I am running a headless server on Ubuntu, with the objective of using GPU's for non graphics computation. However, I have found that without the monitor plugged in the kernel fails to load the graphics drivers.

Is there any reason that I can't use modprobe or some other mechanism to force the driver to load at boot (I have no idea if the driver will tolerate the absence of a monitor), or am I taking the wrong route entirely?

What's the best practice for resolving this?

MrSynAckSter
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2 Answers2

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A VGA or DVI dummy plug will allow the GPU to start without a monitor. For example, these can be purchased or built yourself.

Michael Hampton
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@MrSynAckSter If the display driver is dependent upon the X server running, why not force-start the X server at boot time? Also, why hasn't someone written a special display driver that bypasses the check to see if a display is attached? It seems like this problem should not exist in this day and age, especially on Linux where people can write kernel modules to do whatever they want.

Aquarelle
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