This repo gathers steps to make your linux OS working and performing well.
This is perhaps the most problematic of issues, as errors can crop up from multiple things. In general, have a look at these websites before doing anything else.
As per the first link, if the output of the following command has more than 1 row, you have Optimus installed.
lspci -nn | egrep -i "3d|display|vga"
You can then run the following to get the suggested driver.
nvidia-detect
Now, before you install the NVIDIA drivers, you must install the kernel headers for your distribution.
sudo apt install linux-headers-amd64
If you're not in Debian stable, but using backports, then you need the -t flag, like so (if you're on Debian 12 Bookworm).
sudo apt install -t bookworm-backports linux-image-amd64
You can then install the drivers (remember that this assumes that you follow the instructions on how to change your /etc/apt/sources.list, as stated in the instructions on the same webpage).
sudo apt install nvidia-driver firmware-misc-nonfree
If you have an extremely modern NVIDIA GPU that was manufactured after the release of your Debian version, it may not work even after installing the newest backported driver that claims to support your card. If so, you likely need to upgrade the non-free firmware package on your system as well by installing the firmware-misc-nonfree package from backports. For instance, on a Debian 10 system with backports enabled:
sudo apt install -t buster-backports firmware-misc-nonfree
Below I list a few YouTube videos that helped troubleshoot a few issues i nthe past, and may be helpful to someone out there.
Nvidia Optimus Guide for Debian
Uninstall bumblebee & Primus
sudo apt remove primus libprimus-vk1 nvidia-primus-vk-common nvidia-primus-vk-wrapper primus-libs primus-nvidia primus-vk primus-vk-nvidia bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia
Purge packages completely
sudo apt purge primus libprimus-vk1 nvidia-primus-vk-common nvidia-primus-vk-wrapper primus-libs primus-nvidia primus-vk primus-vk-nvidia bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia
Remove Xorg X server Intel Display Driver
sudo apt remove xserver-xorg-video-intel
Install Nvidia Drivers
sudo apt install nvidia-driver firmware-misc-nonfree
Reboot the system:
systemctl reboot
Debugging Tools to check whether the installation went through.
sudo apt install intel-gpu-tools nvidia-smi vulkan-tools
Check 1: Ensure the Drivers Works Part 1
nvidia-smi -l
vkcube
Check 2: Ensure the Drivers Works Part 2
sudo intel_gpu_top
glxgears
How to install Backports in Debian/Ubuntu/Mint
In some cases, if you're aiming to install the bleeding-edge version of the NVIDIA driver from Debian Backports, you may also need to install the kernel from backports to match it. For Debian 12, you might do this with:
sudo apt install -t bookworm-backports linux-image-amd64 firmware-linux firmware-linux-nonfree
sudo apt install -t bookworm-backports linux-headers-amd64
Go to settings, keyboard, keyboard shortcuts, custom shortcuts - then add a new one, with Name = terminal, and Command = gnome-terminal.