When I set out to install NVIDIA drivers alongside CUDA on my machine, I often find myself grappling with frustrating version mismatches that complicate the entire process. One of the most critical tools in this ecosystem is nvidia-smi, which provides vital insights into GPU processes and resource consumption. However, I frequently encounter a common issue: the version of nvidia-smi tends to lag behind the latest NVIDIA drivers. For example, as of April 2025, I might be working with driver version 570 while nvidia-smi is still at version 560. This discrepancy can lead to significant problems, as blindly installing the latest drivers without ensuring compatibility can render nvidia-smi inoperable. Therefore, I’ve learned the importance of carefully navigating these version dependencies to ensure a smooth installation and optimal performance of my GPU resources. Press enter or click to view image in full size Image randomly generated when playing around with https://chat.together.ai/ with FluxSchnell model. Restrict Debian 12 to install too fresh packages On the latest Debian (12 — Bookworm), the standard NVIDIA drivers typically install only up to version 535. However, when I install the cuda-keyring to set up for the CUDA driver later, the official NVIDIA repository gets added to my…