Graphics Resolution- Upgrade /Blank Screen after reboot

[MAFoElffen]

While I was looking for that., I found the work-around solution in Launchpad Bug #10002429 on this same problem in Precise, which this user should sign into and join as affected:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...x/+bug/1002429

Type in a terminal:
sudo nano /etc/default/grub

find the line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

and change it to:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="reboot=pci quiet splash"

perform via the Terminal:
sudo update-grub

and reboot the PC.

[motomixon]

Ok, this is surely the most bewildering action I have undertaken under any operating system. It makes me wonder if Linux Mint is not fatally flawed, but then I do not wish to go back to Unity either.

I am tempted to re-install Mint Cinnamon, but if installation self-destruction is to be expected under Mint, then I had better learn how to fix it, or give it up.

So....
I am on post 1, Step 3. I cannot boot from rescue mode. After some quick messages I get to a blank black screen.
How to I use step 4 to verify that linux kernel will boot??

thanks,
mdm


Step 4, I tried recovery mode, and get to the Recovery Menu.
"Drop to root shell prompt"
And get a prompt:
blacktower ~ #

I enter "sudo service gdm start"
response: gdm: unrecognized service.

then: "sudo service lightdm start"
response: blank screen with blinking cursor

What do I do now?

[bogan]

Hi!, motomixon,

What distribution and version are you using?

After 'sudo service lightdm start', from the blank screen, press 'Ctrl+Alt+F1'; it should return you to the TTY console and show some error messages, or an indication of at which point it hung.

If it does not, run:

sudo service lightdm stop
startx

and Post the results as above.

[ If required, 'Ctrl+Alt+F7' would return you to the GUI screen]

Chao!, bogan.

[MAFoElffen]

motomixon-

Mint is still Debian Linux. Unix and Linux use the same graphics layers... Just some different specific parts varying from distro to distro.

Current Mint uses lightdm now, so starting X from the commandline would be

sudo service lightdm start

Go the this post for reference:
Booting into a Text Console

To see if you can boot your installed kernel into a text console. If it doesn't boot, reinstall the kernel by chrooting in from a LiveCD (Post #3).

If it does boot, the problem is then in a higher graphics layer. First thing to do at that point (which a working kernel), is to look at the logs (Post then here for us to see from a LiveCD if possible).

The first would be to look at the last 25 lines or so at the end of the syslog:

dmesg | tail -n 25

"-n 25" tells tail the number of lines. If you don't see an error there, then:

dmesg | tail -n 200 | grep error

Or before trying to start a graphics session from the Mint tty... Start tracing the syslog by getting into another tty session and start a trace:

dmesg | tail -f > ~/systrace.txt

Then go to another tty session to start X. At the crash, switch back and press <cntrl><C> to stop dmesg. Then cat the file to review it.

The other log to look at and post here would be /var/log/Xorg.0.log...

Does that give you enough info to start?

[motomixon]

Hey Bogan!
thanks for the reply.

"the distribution..." my oversight!
Linux Mint 14.1 Cinnamon

Because it is Mint, I am unclear as to which display manager I am using: Lightdm or MDM? It would interest me to learn a command that would reveal which one is currently loaded -- but that's (maybe) a side topic.

Last night (before giving up for a night's rest) I entered at the linux prompt:
sudo service mdm start
reponse:
* Not starting MDM Display Manager: it is not the default display manager

Now, 10 hours later I entered:
sudo service lightdm stop
reponse:
stop: Unknown instance

And to continue wth the rest of your suggestion:
startx

And the GUI appears!! (Very magical) Thanks!
But....
I suppose I need to get into the interface and fix/replace my current GPU driver before I do another reboot. How do I check/correct my video driver?

[MAFoElffen]

Please post the /var/log/Xorg.0.log.... That would have what drivers it tried, and what it is using on the current running GUI.

Also if you could post the results of:

lspci -vnn | grep VGA

That would tell us the video hardware that is installed.

Also-- If you start it up and let it crash, then restart it into the GUI... post the /var/Xorg.1.log... That would be the previous session and the ones with errors so we can see what it was trying to use when it failed.

Make sense?

[bogan]

Hi!, motomixon,

The fact that you got:

sudo service lightdm stop
reponse: 
stop: Unknown instance

shows that lightdm was installed but not then running. Had it not been activated it would have given the same as you got with gdm:

I enter "sudo service gdm start"
response: gdm: unrecognized service.

To check your video driver run:

uname -r
lspci | grep -iA3 vga 
glxinfo | grep -iA2 openGL 
/usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p

I do not want to get lines crossed with MAFoElffen and he can better explain than I, why 'startx' will open a GUI, when lightdm will not.

Chao!, bogan.

[motomixon]

Hi MAFoElffen,

Thanks for the specific questions.

masonmd@blacktower ~ $ lspci -vnn | grep VGA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation GF116 [GeForce GTX 550 Ti] [10de:1244] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])

masonmd@blacktower ~ $ dmesg | tail -n 25
[    4.607016] input: HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=9 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/0000:01:00.1/sound/card1/input12
[    4.607133] input: HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=8 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/0000:01:00.1/sound/card1/input13
[    4.607210] input: HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=7 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/0000:01:00.1/sound/card1/input14
[    4.607287] input: HDA NVidia HDMI/DP,pcm=3 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/0000:01:00.1/sound/card1/input15
[    4.691769] vesafb: mode is 1600x1200x32, linelength=6400, pages=0
[    4.691772] vesafb: scrolling: redraw
[    4.691774] vesafb: Truecolor: size=8:8:8:8, shift=24:16:8:0
[    4.703017] vesafb: framebuffer at 0xd5000000, mapped to 0xffffc90012980000, using 7552k, total 7552k
[    4.703314] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 200x75
[    4.703347] fb0: VESA VGA frame buffer device
[    4.713677] usb 4-5.1: >New USB device found, idVendor=04b3, idProduct=301b
[    4.713680] usb 4-5.1: >New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=3, SerialNumber=0
[    4.713682] usb 4-5.1: >Product: USB Productivity Option Keyboard( has the hub in # 1 )
[    4.713684] usb 4-5.1: >Manufacturer: Lite-On Technology
[    4.724019] input: Lite-On Technology USB Productivity Option Keyboard( has the hub in # 1 ) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:12.0/usb4/4-5/4-5.1/4-5.1:1.0/input/input16
[    4.724117] hid-generic 0003:04B3:301B.0003: >input,hidraw2: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [Lite-On Technology USB Productivity Option Keyboard( has the hub in # 1 )] on usb-0000:00:12.0-5.1/input0
[    4.727847] init: plymouth-splash main process (1427) terminated with status 1
[    4.731790] input: Lite-On Technology USB Productivity Option Keyboard( has the hub in # 1 ) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:12.0/usb4/4-5/4-5.1/4-5.1:1.1/input/input17
[    4.731886] hid-generic 0003:04B3:301B.0004: >input,hidraw3: USB HID v1.10 Device [Lite-On Technology USB Productivity Option Keyboard( has the hub in # 1 )] on usb-0000:00:12.0-5.1/input1
[    5.290478] usblp1: removed
[    5.306283] usblp 4-1:1.0: >usblp1: USB Bidirectional printer dev 2 if 0 alt 0 proto 2 vid 0x04F9 pid 0x01E5
[    5.559438] r8169 0000:03:00.0: >eth0: link up
[    5.560379] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready
[    7.689117] mtrr: no MTRR for d5000000,e00000 found
[    7.715920] init: lightdm main process (1417) terminated with status 1


masonmd@blacktower ~ $ dmesg | tail -n 200 | grep error
[    3.552850] EXT4-fs (sdb1): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro

I have zipped and attached the Xorg.0.log file as it won't fit within a message.
Since I could start the GUI with startx, I haven't followed all the instructions, since it appears to me I (we) have already made some headway in the problem. Let me know if I should make use of some of your earlier suggestions.

A side question: on the left of lines of the logs is what looks to me to be a date/time stamp (??). How do I interprete those?

Michael

[motomixon]

Well, I rebooted (gulp) and it crashed.
Then I restarted and am now at the grub menu.

How do I proceed so that I do not overwrite the Xorg.1.log inadvertently?

[bogan]

Well, I rebooted (gulp) and it crashed.
Then I restarted and am now at the grub menu.

How do I proceed so that I do not overwrite the Xorg.1.log inadvertently?

You won't, it will get relabeled as Xorg.2.log.

Chao, bogan.