Graphics Resolution- Upgrade /Blank Screen after reboot

[MAFoElffen]

MAFoElffen,

Here's the results of my last attempt, along with some additional thoughts/questions.After trying all of the code on the kernel 3.X.XX, I made a tiny bit of progress.

"Not found."

Removed two packages "ubuntu-desktop..." and "nvidia-common...".

yielded the following message: "package nvidia-current is not available but is referred to by another package. This may mean that package is missing, has been obsoleted, or is only available from another source."

I'm wondering if the package is unavailable because of a problem connecting to the internet. As mentioned earlier, I am able to log into the outside version of 11.10 that I installed...it's just that none of my files or installed packages are on there. The connection status icon says that I'm connected to the internet but when I try to go online with Firefox, it says that the pages are unavailable and when I go into the Ubuntu Software Center, it says that I'm not connected to the internet.

Lastly, I'm still wondering about my different versions of 11.10. When I did the manual upgrade from a USB, I just partitioned the hard drive to run the 'new' version of 11.10 to run alongside the 'current' version of 11.10. This is why I had trouble understanding the proper kernel to edit in. Again, the version I manually installed opens up just fine (no purple/black screen or anything), it's just that I'm not connected to the internet and none of my old files are there. Do I have to somehow try to boot the other (auto-updated) 11.10 before I try working any of this code mojo? If so, any idea how?

Thanks for taking the time to help me. I'm very frustrated by this whole mess and my inherent "noobitude" has me struggling to grasp everything that's going on. I'll keep trying to follow your directions if you are willing to keep giving me some.

Thanks again!

(also...can't figure out why all of my text in this post is underlined. I tried to remove it, but to no avail...)

??? So now you have 2 copies of 11.10- one works and one not?

One the graphics and networking (niternet) are both not working... Second all is working? Just trying to get the current picture.

Doing "traceroute www.google.com" would tell you where your connection ends, except that I know that release 11.10 does not have traceroute installed by default. If you don't have an internet connection, installing it... well, I think you see the problem with that logic...

Where wold you like to go for there? I do know a way to mount the system externally...

[Tronnie Dobbs]

Hey there!

I was out working quite a bit this week, so I haven't been able to attempt anything or post a reply. Alright, here's my status:

-I tried to auto-update my 11.04. When it was done -- blank screen. While awaiting something to do, I put 11.10 on the computer using a USB. It still kept the 'other' (auto-updated) 11.10 separate with a disc partition.

However, the 'new' 11.10 doesn't connect to the internet and doesn't have access to all of my files (and photos and movies and basically, most of my life). The 'old' 11.10 (or the one that originally black-screened me) is still somewhere out there and I don't know how to access it or, more specifically, how to try to boot into that version.

Especially with all the tips you gave me to get the graphics card working, I have to assume that these would all probably work as a fix on the version of 11.10 that is actually experiencing those problems.

I'll see if I can't make some progress on this using whatever advice you might have for me. If I can't, I'll have to find a shop around here that is familiar enough with Linux to try and get it up and running for me.

Don't know if I can stick with Linux after this though. Too bad, because I started on 11.04 and I thought it was the coolest thing ever and was basically telling everyone I know that they need to start trying it. However, when a simple click of a 'Update Now' button has my computer down for a month and all of my files inaccessible, I just can't deal with that. It's one thing to have computer problems, I've had hundreds on dozens of different machines. But, at least in the past, I either know what to try or at least what's going wrong. I understand so little about all of this stuff that I just shouldn't be using it. Maybe that's the point...maybe it's not for the casual user.

[MAFoElffen]

Hey there!

I was out working quite a bit this week, so I haven't been able to attempt anything or post a reply. Alright, here's my status:

-I tried to auto-update my 11.04. When it was done -- blank screen. While awaiting something to do, I put 11.10 on the computer using a USB. It still kept the 'other' (auto-updated) 11.10 separate with a disc partition.

However, the 'new' 11.10 doesn't connect to the internet and doesn't have access to all of my files (and photos and movies and basically, most of my life). The 'old' 11.10 (or the one that originally black-screened me) is still somewhere out there and I don't know how to access it or, more specifically, how to try to boot into that version.

Especially with all the tips you gave me to get the graphics card working, I have to assume that these would all probably work as a fix on the version of 11.10 that is actually experiencing those problems.

I'll see if I can't make some progress on this using whatever advice you might have for me. If I can't, I'll have to find a shop around here that is familiar enough with Linux to try and get it up and running for me.

Don't know if I can stick with Linux after this though. Too bad, because I started on 11.04 and I thought it was the coolest thing ever and was basically telling everyone I know that they need to start trying it. However, when a simple click of a 'Update Now' button has my computer down for a month and all of my files inaccessible, I just can't deal with that. It's one thing to have computer problems, I've had hundreds on dozens of different machines. But, at least in the past, I either know what to try or at least what's going wrong. I understand so little about all of this stuff that I just shouldn't be using it. Maybe that's the point...maybe it's not for the casual user.

It is just a bump in the road... LOL. Just think of all the Windows users that get the same thing, except they "are" isolated from the system so cannot affect there own fixes. Most of those are backoff their data and reinstall the system. Not a bad idea to start out clean sometimes.

Let's see where you are-It been so many posts since and my memory isn't what it was... I am reading through all your posts... Give me a bit to do that as I'm repairing 4 laptops, building a desktop and adding a second CPU to a server... May take me a few minutes... LOL

[MAFoElffen]

@Tronnie Dobbs
Sidenote- The first problem you had was hardware related and not a linux issue. Your keyboard was locking during post before Grub or linux came into the picture. That would have caused problems with whatever was installed.

The second problem with your graphics is aan NVidia thing. Both installs need to have your graphics drivers installed. Your could use nomodeset to boot or use the recovery menu item from grub and use safemode boot to boot and install your drivers.

Just taking a break, so haven't gone through all the posts yet to see what I told you on instructions on that yet...

EDIT-- Through reviewing the last 90 posts. Yes. You still need to install your video drivers. Last you have a problem using apt-get as it gave a timeout error... that error could have been no inetrnet connection or ubuntu's server being busy... Please try again.

Hint- the instruction were on Post #727

[dalamar666]

MAFoElffen THANK YOU FOR POST #280! It helped me get my current drivers installed after 5 hours of hassle on Ubuntu 11.04.

One thing I did different from your post the first time I installed the drivers was update the grub so it loaded the right kernel. I was having to use the cli after installing the drivers because of the dreaded xserver kill nvidia caused by creating a bad xorg.conf file. Xserver was telling me fatal error no screens found etc.

I am hoping this will fix the root issue that lead to me updating my drivers. I am running an Nvidia 9600 with 1gb of ram. When I am playing WoW I was able to play for hours with no issue. recently my system has been halting and rebooting after anywhere from 20 minuets to an hour based on the number of people around me. Dungeons were a lost cause, I lasted 1 minute in there before the reboot.

[cwsnyder]

Thank you for this thread.

I believe I have had a kernel regression between 10.10 and 11.04 which I didn't get fully fixed until this week.

My main system is an eMachines T5212, 2G RAM, 200G PATA HD, 500G SATA HD, ATI Radeon Express 200 motherboard video. I also tried with an nVidia 6200 PCIe video card. I had used the nVidia card since 7.10 Gutsy because I wasn't able to get the graphics modes to work on the motherboard video back in late '07, and didn't want to mess with what I finally got working. The monitor I have used is a 17" LCD monitor, Etronix model 1701B, 1280x1024 pixels @ 60 Hz. My Monitor also has a problem with an incomplete/missing EDID, so I had to use a custom /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to get resolutions greater than 800x600. This made installing 8.04 Hardy interesting! Some of the controls were off the screen.

With 11.04 Natty, the only thing I ever got working was a WUBI install under Windows 7. Any install on the bare hardware either halted before it got out of the kernel or halted when it got to the power-button configuration (ACPI). I pulled the nVidia card and I could at least get my WUBI to work and switched to the Linux Mint Debian Edition, which worked, as my main Linux partition. (I still run Debian 6 Squeeze as a backup partition.)

What completely broke things was the change from 2.6.38 to 3.0.0 kernel, or other changes which occurred at the same time. I upgraded my WUBI installation in place from 11.04 to 11.10 and never got to the login screen with any variation of 3.x kernel. I could have the rest of the 11.10 Oneiric desktop, but had to choose the 2.6.38 kernel from GRUB to keep working. In the meantime LMDE was giving me the same problem when it upgraded the kernel in the summer, so I had 2 broken partitions. I had the same problem with the Live CD of 11.10.

Finally I had a couple of weeks laid off, so I decided to dig further. Even Knoppix and the Ubuntu Rescue Remix, when they updated to the 3.x kernel crashed my computer before login!

<Interjection>I knew that I wouldn't be able to run Ubuntu Unity, I never had been able to run Compiz effects on my machine, so I switched to Xubuntu.</Interjection>

My solution finally was to include the nomodeset noapic acpi=off kernel mode options in GRUB or when booting from a Live CD. I was even able to get some of the older Live CDs which I had never been able to boot using these options.

I am no Linux expert, but I have been using computers since the late '70s, so the CLI doesn't scare me.

I have reported this as a bug on Launchpad because it is a regression. I hope this helps someone else whose system suddenly stopped working.

[MAFoElffen]

Install NVidia Packaged Drivers (.deb) on a locked system

Here we go...
Check which driver is required for your card first.

- At boot, hold down shift key, Grub Menu should come up...
- Press "e" key, that should put you into an edit mode.
- Arrow Down to the Line that starts with "linux", that is the kernel Boot line.
- Arrow Right to where is says "quiet splash vt.handoff=7"
- Replace that text with "--verbose single"
- Press <cntrl><x>, It will boot with those options.

That will boot into a TTY Text Console. Login.

sudo apt-get update
sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall
sudo apt-get remove nvidia-*
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-'uname -r'
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current  
sudo nvidia-xconfig  
sudo reboot
The second and third command may return a file not found. That is okay. We just want to make sure.

Some may have to additionally do this:

sudo echo RUN+="/sbin/modprobe nvidia" > /etc/udev/rules.d/90-modprobe.rules
sudo echo options nouveau modeset=0 > /etc/modprobe.d/nouveau-kms.conf
sudo update-initramfs -u

It fixes a Plymouth lockup problem...

Adjust the driver package as such:
nvidia-current - Geforce 6xxx and newer.
nvidia-173 - Geforce 5xxx and older
nvidia-96 - Really old (Geforce 2.3.4 series...)

Note that the really old's can also go xorg nv driver, and the Nouveau Experimental 3D.

[MAFoElffen]

Install ATI Packaged Drivers (.deb)

This is to install debian packaged ATI drivers:

Check which driver is required by your card first.

Installing on Ubuntu 11.10 you need to edit the sources list to include the the Conical Partner Repo's:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Then

sudo apt-get update
sudo sh /usr/share/ati/fglrx-uninstall.sh
sudo rm /usr/share/ati/fglrx-uninstall.sh
sudo apt-get remove --purge fglrx*
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-'uname -r'
sudo apt-get install fglrx
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo reboot

The second through fourth commands may get a file nor found... Thats okay. Ensuring fragments are not there.

Some may also have to do this:

sudo echo options radeon modeset=0 > /etc/modprobe.d/radeon-kms.conf
sudo update-initramfs -u

Notice that older cards may be supported by the xorg radeon or ati drivers.

[MAFoElffen]

Thank you for this thread.

I believe I have had a kernel regression between 10.10 and 11.04 which I didn't get fully fixed until this week.

My main system is an eMachines T5212, 2G RAM, 200G PATA HD, 500G SATA HD, ATI Radeon Express 200 motherboard video. I also tried with an nVidia 6200 PCIe video card. I had used the nVidia card since 7.10 Gutsy because I wasn't able to get the graphics modes to work on the motherboard video back in late '07, and didn't want to mess with what I finally got working. The monitor I have used is a 17" LCD monitor, Etronix model 1701B, 1280x1024 pixels @ 60 Hz. My Monitor also has a problem with an incomplete/missing EDID, so I had to use a custom /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to get resolutions greater than 800x600. This made installing 8.04 Hardy interesting! Some of the controls were off the screen.

With 11.04 Natty, the only thing I ever got working was a WUBI install under Windows 7. Any install on the bare hardware either halted before it got out of the kernel or halted when it got to the power-button configuration (ACPI). I pulled the nVidia card and I could at least get my WUBI to work and switched to the Linux Mint Debian Edition, which worked, as my main Linux partition. (I still run Debian 6 Squeeze as a backup partition.)

What completely broke things was the change from 2.6.38 to 3.0.0 kernel, or other changes which occurred at the same time. I upgraded my WUBI installation in place from 11.04 to 11.10 and never got to the login screen with any variation of 3.x kernel. I could have the rest of the 11.10 Oneiric desktop, but had to choose the 2.6.38 kernel from GRUB to keep working. In the meantime LMDE was giving me the same problem when it upgraded the kernel in the summer, so I had 2 broken partitions. I had the same problem with the Live CD of 11.10.

Finally I had a couple of weeks laid off, so I decided to dig further. Even Knoppix and the Ubuntu Rescue Remix, when they updated to the 3.x kernel crashed my computer before login!

<Interjection>I knew that I wouldn't be able to run Ubuntu Unity, I never had been able to run Compiz effects on my machine, so I switched to Xubuntu.</Interjection>

My solution finally was to include the nomodeset noapic acpi=off kernel mode options in GRUB or when booting from a Live CD. I was even able to get some of the older Live CDs which I had never been able to boot using these options.

I am no Linux expert, but I have been using computers since the late '70s, so the CLI doesn't scare me.

I have reported this as a bug on Launchpad because it is a regression. I hope this helps someone else whose system suddenly stopped working.

Good deal. Are you still off work and have time? Reason i ask is there's a few things that come to mind with what you mentioned on hardware... and with the kernel boot options that did work.

First, nomodeset is just a switch that will try to turn off KMS and tell others thing to try to use VESA modes. There is a few more elegant ways to do this and to still use the higher modes of your NVidia and ATI graphics cards. If you want to pursue that, I would be willing to help you with that in this thread or in PM.

Using acpi=off... IMHO and experience, feel that option is is a short term fix. Using it may work, but it shuts down so many important services- it's a very broad "switch" to turn off. As it relates to graphics, I have found that if you add (instead) a "vga=xxx" switch where x is a valid VESA mode (example vga=72, 1024x768x24) -and- change the gfxmode line in /etc/default/grub to the same modes as you pick for your vga= switch:

#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

To

#GRUB_GFXMODE=1024x768x24

You have to run

sudo update-grub

to pick up those changes.

Next item is you monitor, if you want, I can show you how to query that monitor for it's EDID data, and if not there, I could react it with modelines to add to your xorg.conf file.

Last is your gpu's...
- Your Radeon Express 200 will work with 11.10 with a customized xorg.conf using the radeon drivers. It has to have a few options exclusive to that card.
- Your nVidia 6200 should have been an easy one, nividia-current. And this one should be able to do unity and compiz. At lease the "card" should.
- These cards can coexist, with different "Device" Sections in the same xorg.conf file.

Tell me if you want to play with this a little more...

EDIT-- I read your posts "out there" - Komando, Linux Mint...

[MAFoElffen]

Forcing Grub to Show Menu

* I keep re-answering this. Time to put it where people can easily find it.

If Ubuntu is the only OS on your computer, then the Grub Menu is hidden. Usually, on boot, if you hold down the shift key, it will appear (maybe)...

On some machines, holding the shift key down continuously will cause a keyboard buffer overflow. In that cause, reboot and repeatedly press the shift key.

If that doesn't work, then I've found a way to hardcode force the grub menu to show it's darn face. Here are the instructions:


- Boot from a LiveCD. (Only required if your sys is unbootable)
- Find your /etc/default/grub file in your installed partition.
- Open it

gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Or use whatever editor you have or are comfortable with.

- Look at the example below. It is the default installed /etc/default/grub file. Look close at the lines highlighted in blue:

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

The lines highlighted in red are the ones I edit with those values. The third line is really an optional edit to your preferences:

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=""
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=false
GRUB_TIMEOUT=20
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

When through, if you booted from your HDD and made these edits, run

sudo update-grub

and reboot.

If you booted off a LiveCD, follow the instructions in this link and Mount/attach to your installed system before running update -grub:
Mounting An Installed System From the LiveCD