Manual home

Safe Graphics

Safe Graphics is an optional recovery session for Game Mode display problems. It is off by default, and every image this project builds includes it. If the command is missing on an older installation, install the current release with SteamOS NVIDIA Installer Update; it carries Safe Graphics, so you do not need to build a new image for it. If that shortcut is not in your Desktop Mode menu either, install a current image.

Keep your working installer USB. Safe Graphics must be selected manually; it is not an automatic rollback or a boot-menu entry.

Enable

Connect one monitor directly to the NVIDIA card. From Desktop Mode, a text console or SSH, run as deck, without sudo:

steamos-nvidia-safe-graphics check
steamos-nvidia-safe-graphics on

check reads the advertised display modes and validates the session script without changing settings. Save your game, then reboot or restart Game Mode. The command does not interrupt the running session. A matching Enable Safe Graphics entry is available in Desktop Mode's application menu.

Recovery requests a supported progressive mode near 60 Hz: 1920x1080 first, then 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600 or 640x480. It refuses to guess if no candidate is advertised or more than one screen is connected. The monitor's information screen is the final check of the actual resolution and refresh rate.

The recovery session disables HDR and VRR advertising after Valve's environment setup, pins the output to the single monitor it found instead of Valve's usual preference, and forces composition. The actual HDR/VRR state should be checked in the monitor's information screen. This is a troubleshooting option, not a fix for every black or green screen.

One case does not need it. If the picture became unusable immediately after you raised the output resolution while Game Mode was running, restart Game Mode instead. The session keeps running and only the picture is affected, so nothing on screen can be operated and you may need a text console or another machine to reach the restart. The picture is correct again afterwards. This release does not fix that problem and does not establish where it belongs; it has its own entry in Troubleshooting, with what was measured and what was not.

Return to normal

steamos-nvidia-safe-graphics off

Save your work and restart Game Mode or reboot. With recovery off, the launcher executes Valve's unchanged session. A matching Restore normal Game Mode graphics entry is available in Desktop Mode's application menu. The helper does not rewrite Steam preferences or remove your display profiles. Check those settings afterward because Steam itself can save settings while using the recovery session.

Check status or recover from an error

steamos-nvidia-safe-graphics status

This reports the selection for the next Game Mode start, not the live signal. If the recovery script rejects an unsupported session or display, use off from a text console or SSH and restart. The selection is a per-user file at ~/.config/steamos-nvidia/safe-graphics; removing that file also selects normal startup. It remains across reboots until turned off.

If no console or SSH is available, boot the saved USB to back up files and reach the recovery desktop. See Updates and recovery.