Request for discussion: Maintaining NVIDIA 470 legacy driver support for future Debian releases

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Hello Debian community,

I am writing to ask about the possibility of maintaining the NVIDIA 470
legacy driver branch for future Debian releases, including newer stable
versions after Debian 13 (Trixie).

I am currently using a system with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (Kepler
architecture). The hardware itself is still working well for desktop usage,
but newer Linux kernels are becoming increasingly difficult to use with the
NVIDIA 470 legacy driver because of kernel API changes.

I understand that maintaining an old proprietary driver requires
significant effort, including applying compatibility patches, testing
against newer kernels, and handling build issues. However, there are still
users with older NVIDIA GPUs who would like to continue using Debian
without switching to the Nouveau driver or replacing functional hardware.

Would it be possible for Debian to consider maintaining the 470 legacy
branch separately, for example as a legacy package similar to how some
distributions maintain older NVIDIA branches?

I would be happy to help with testing on affected hardware, reporting
issues, and providing feedback if such maintenance were considered.

Thank you to the Debian developers and contributors for all the work
maintaining the distribution. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on
whether this could be feasible.

Kind regards,

Walter M=C3=BCller

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<div dir=3D"ltr">
<p>Hello Debian community,</p><p>I am writing to ask about the possibility =
of maintaining the NVIDIA 470 legacy driver branch for future Debian releas=
es, including newer stable versions after Debian 13 (Trixie).</p><p>I am cu=
rrently using a system with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (Kepler architecture)=
. The hardware itself is still working well for desktop usage, but newer Li=
nux kernels are becoming increasingly difficult to use with the NVIDIA 470 =
legacy driver because of kernel API changes.</p><p>I understand that mainta=
ining an old proprietary driver requires significant effort, including appl=
ying compatibility patches, testing against newer kernels, and handling bui=
ld issues. However, there are still users with older NVIDIA GPUs who would =
like to continue using Debian without switching to the Nouveau driver or re=
placing functional hardware.</p><p>Would it be possible for Debian to consi=
der maintaining the 470 legacy branch separately, for example as a legacy p=
ackage similar to how some distributions maintain older NVIDIA branches?</p=
><p>I would be happy to help with testing on affected hardware, reporting i=
ssues, and providing feedback if such maintenance were considered.</p><p>Th=
ank you to the Debian developers and contributors for all the work maintain=
ing the distribution. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on whether t=
his could be feasible.</p><p>Kind regards,</p><p>Walter M=C3=BCller</p>

<br></div>

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