Graphics Resolution- Upgrade /Blank Screen after reboot

[MichaelGld]

Hi!, MichaelGLD,



Assuming that you updated to 12.10, the most likely cause is a known bug from the update not including as default the correct linux-headers files.

If you boot to a TTY [Text terminal] and run:

uname -r
lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 vga
apt-cache policy nvidia-current
apt-cache policy nvidia-experimental*

that will tell you which kernel version is active, and which drivers are in use, and their package name. [ If the third cmd shows nvidia-current installed, there is no need to run the last.]

Then, assuming you have an Internet connection, run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-<uname -r> # replace '<uname -r>' with the output of that cmd
sudo apt-get install linux-source

If it actually installs them then remove the installed video driver and reinstall it - or another version. For example:

sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-current # If unable to find the installed driver's name, change to 'nvidia*'
sudo apt-get install nvidia-experimental-304

If the 'install linux-headers...' cmd returned: "... already the latest version" then this is not the cause and we need to look elsewhere.

To get an Internet connection you may need to boot via recovery and activate it before dropping to a root shell.

Chao!, bogan.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my post. I really appreciate it.

>When you get the blank screen, does pressing 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' get you to a >TTY?

No, just a blank screen. The monitor's power LED eventually starts blinking.

>If you boot to a TTY [Text terminal] and run: uname -r

3.2.0-35-generic

>lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 vga

01.00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]:NVIDIA Corp. G98 [GeForce 8400 GS][10de:0604](rev a1)
Subsystem: Micro-Star Int'l Co., LTD Device
[1462:2061]
Kernel driver in use: nvidia
Kernel modules: nvidia_current, nvidia_173, nouveau, nvidiafb

>apt-cache policy nvidia-current

nvidia-current:
Installed: 295.40-0ubuntu.1 0
Candidate: 295.40-0ubuntu.1 0
Version Table:
***295.40-0ubuntu1.1 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/precise-updates/restricted amd 64 Packages
500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/precise-security/restricted amd 64
Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
295.40-0ubuntu1 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/precise/restricted amd 64 Packages

At that point I stopped because I'm not sure how to interpret the results. Does this show that I have nvidia-current installed? Based on these results, would you still advise me to go ahead with the second part of your post and install linux headers, etc.?

[bogan]

Hi!, MichaelGld,

You posted:

Does this show that I have nvidia-current installed? Based on these results, would you still advise me to go ahead with the second part of your post and install linux headers, etc.?

It shows you have both nvidia-current -295.40 & nvidia-173 installed, neither of which you want with an 8400 GS video card, and which will conflict with each other.

The first, 295.40, is notoriously bugged and the second, 173, is a legacy driver for cards pre- 6xxx series.

As you are running Precise, 3.2.0-35, you probably do not need to run the 'install linux...' commands, but no harm should come if you do.

You should certainly run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*

But first run:

apt-cache policy nvidia-updates* # and/or:
apt-cache policy nvidia-experimental*

to see what is available.

You could also try a reboot after the ' remove --purge' to see if the default nouveau driver runs to your satisfaction. Otherwise, or if not, install the driver shown as available, using:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-updates # or:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-experimental-304 # and: 
sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings

Chao!, bogan.

[MichaelGld]

Hi!, MichaelGld,

You posted: It shows you have both nvidia-current -295.40 & nvidia-173 installed, neither of which you want with an 8400 GS video card, and which will conflict with each other.

The first, 295.40, is notoriously bugged and the second, 173, is a legacy driver for cards pre- 6xxx series.

As you are running Precise, 3.2.0-35, you probably do not need to run the 'install linux...' commands, but no harm should come if you do.

You should certainly run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*

But first run:

apt-cache policy nvidia-updates* # and/or:
apt-cache policy nvidia-experimental*

to see what is available.

You could also try a reboot after the ' remove --purge' to see if the default nouveau driver runs to your satisfaction. Otherwise, or if not, install the driver shown as available, using:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-updates # or:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-experimental-304 # and: 
sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings

Chao!, bogan.

Eureka! Progress has been made!

>You should certainly run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*

>You could also try a reboot after the ' remove --purge' to see if the default nouveau >driver runs to your satisfaction.

I did that. When I rebooted, I got a corrupted splash screen (video went bonkers), but then I get a login screen, albeit with a very enlarged image. I was able to login to an enlarged desktop.

>]sudo apt-get install nvidia-updates #

When I ran that I got a message: "Unable to locate package"., so I ran

>sudo apt-get install nvidia-experimental-304 #

It started downloading. When it was done I rebooted and now things seem back to normal. I then ran:

>sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings

Which installed the program that allows me to see all of the settings for my card.
I cannot thank you enough for the help. You saved me a great deal of work.

[bogan]

Re: How To Install Nvidia Drivers [v8.1.2.12 by Bogan].

In many cases an incorrect Screen Resolution, a Blank or Black Screen,or a hang-up at "Checking Battery State [OK]" are caused by Video driver problems. This guide aims to provide instructions covering NVIDIA video card installation.

Here is the latest version . [ Updated 30/12/2012 ]

Nvidia drivers for Linux come in various forms; directly downloaded from the Nvidia.com/Drivers website, or modified by Ubuntu as 'nvidia-current', and down loaded from a PPA . This guide is mainly concerned with the first, and installation via a Terminal.

TIP: If you have a three-button or a scroll-wheel Mouse, to Copy/Paste, highlight the command, move the Mouse cursor to the destination point and press the middle button or scroll-wheel. - Presto!

Ubuntu nvidia-current drivers. [ Sometimes called 'Propitiatory Drivers'.]
To install the Ubuntu modified drivers called nvidia-current and variants, the same preparatory steps should be taken, but omit stage 3.; and at stage 5, use:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current # or alter nvidia packagename

Nvidia-current drivers can also be installed from System Settings>Additional Drivers, or from Synaptic Package Manager, which will tell what is available. [ From Ubuntu 12.10, 'Additional Drivers ' is included in Software Sources. You can Right-Click on the Desktop, select 'Change Desktop Background', click the 'All Settings' tab, select 'System>Software Sources' and the 'Additional Drivers ' tab, and Activate the driver you want.]

[The following is based on Post #280 of MAFoElffen's 'Blank Screen' magnum-opus Sticky in the Installations & Upgrades Forum.]There is an index in Post#2
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...43535&page=109 - now page 110

Summary.
Under normal circumstances, this is all you need to do to install an nvidia.com downloaded driver:

Reboot to a 'TTY' [Text Terminal or Text Console], or shut down the Xsession from a GUI screen, as the nvidia driver must be installed when the Xserver and GUI screen are inactive. Then CD to the folder where you have downloaded the NVIDIAxxx.run file, make it executable and run it with 'sh'.

Kernel Updates:
There are many Posts deprecating the use of the drivers Downloaded from the Nvidia.com>Drivers website; mainly because it used to be necessary to re-install them following a Kernel update. From v304.xx this is no longer the case as nvidia drivers are now compatible with DKMS and hence the kernel modules are updated automatically, in the same way as with nvidia-current installations. With earlier versions it is still necessary.

Preparation.
However, the first time you do this there are some preparatory steps: first you should add some Blacklists to the /etc/modprobe.d folder; then ensure the necessary build procedures and header files are installed, and it is also advisable to purge any previous nvidia installations.

Adding blacklists:
Note: There may already be nouveau blacklist files in /etc/modeprobe.d. Recent versions, v.304 onwards, of both the nvidia-installer and the Ubuntu-nvidia-current installations can create files blacklisting the default Nouveau driver so Stage 1. can be omitted. The Nvidia installer will offer to create a blacklist file.

1.: Add blacklists, [ For drivers prior to v.304 ]:
In a Terminal ['Crtl+Alt+t'] enter:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/nouveaublacklist.conf # If you do not have a GUI
# Screen you will need to use a different text editor, eg. 'nano' or 'vim'.

If the file does not exist, gedit will show a blank screen with that name, add:

# Added for nvidia driver.
blacklist nouveau
blacklist lbm-nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0
alias nouveau off
alias lbm-nouveau off

Save and close gedit. [ The filename you use must end in: ".conf" ]

2.: Prep and make sure everything is there for any dependencies, and Cleanup:
Ensure you have fully updated your installation.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc-4.5 g++-4.5 libxi-dev libxmu-dev freeglut3-dev libgl1-mesa-glx libglu1-mesa libglui-dev
uname -r

Insert the output of 'uname -r' in the following command: substituting it for 'uname -r'; for example:
"sudo apt-get install linux-headers-3.2.0-2-33-generic-pae"

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-'uname -r'
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic
sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall # not needed if no prior nvidia-installation
sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia*

You may get some 'file not found' messages on the last commands. That is okay. Continue. We just want to make sure that older modules are removed so that there is no conflict.

3.: Download. [ Omit if choosing an nvidia-current driver]
Download the appropriate driver from nvidia.com/Drivers:
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/linux...driver-uk.html That is for the 32.bit version, make sure you have the correct one for your GPU.

If you do not know which GPU/Video card you have, run:

lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 vga

4.: Stopping the Graphics session.
To install the downloaded driver, Xorg cannot be running. You need to shut down the X-Session. In a TTY [Text Terminal], [ 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' ] or Terminal, enter:

sudo service lightdm stop # If using 10.10 or earlier use 'gdm' in place of 'lightdm'

You will get a black screen; if it does not have a login prompt, to get one, press 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' [or F2-F6], login, enter your password. [ It will not show, just type it & press 'Enter'] If you need to return to the GUI screen, press: 'Ctrl+Alt+F7', but first, run:

sudo service lightdm start

Alternatively, reboot into the Recovery drop-down menu, run 'Fsck' to set system to Read/Write, then 'Drop to a Root shell' and login if requested:
In this case you should enter:

telinit 3 # to set system level

[Should 'fsck' hang, wait a minute or two, then enter 'Ctrl+c']

5.: Installing the driver. If choosing an nvidia-current driver, see paragraph 3 above,"Ubuntu nvidia-current drivers." and skip to Stage 6.

Change directory [cd] to the directory where you saved the nvidiaxxx.run file, for example:

cd /home/username/Downloads
ls

Running 'ls' will confirm you are in the right place and you can be sure the spelling is correct - entering 'NV' and pressing 'Tab' will [/should] Auto-complete the file name.

[In the following, substitute the correct file name:]

Mark the downloaded file as executable:

sudo chmod a+x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.60.run

Run the file to Install drivers:

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.60.run

You may get an error message about a failed script, continue, accept the options, navigating by using 'Tab' and pressing 'Enter'. [If Nouveau is found to be running, the nvidia-installer may advise to abort and blacklist it, but if you choose to continue, it will create a blacklist for you.]

6.: When complete, reboot,

sudo reboot

7.: In case of difficulty:
If necessary edit the grub boot menu script, by pressing 'e' with the boot option highlighted and entering 'nomodeset' after 'splash ' in the Linux boot line where it shows "ro quiet splash ", and pressing 'Ctrl+x' to boot.

You may need to run one or more of:
NVIDIA XServer Settings [run as Root]

gksudo nvidia-settings
sudo apt-get install --reinstall nvidia-common # for nvidia cards  5xxx FX or earlier
sudo apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop
sudo dpkg-reconfigure nvidia-current*
sudo update-initramfs -u

[Revised: 30/12/2012]

Chao!, bogan.

[PapaNerd]

For me, the Black Screen of Death after installation of (the Mint 13 derivative of) Ubuntu 12.04 was related to the built-in nVidia C51PV GeForce 6150 graphics on a A8N-VM CSM motherboard.

My solution is posted at: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=119317

Hopefully, this workaround will help others.

[bogan]

Re: How To Install Nvidia Drivers [v9.2.13 by Bogan].

In many cases an incorrect Screen Resolution, a Blank or Black Screen,or a hang-up at "Checking Battery State [OK]" are caused by Video driver problems. This guide aims to provide instructions covering NVIDIA video card installation.

Here is the latest version: [ Updated 1/Feb/2013 ]
Including an important change to the 'Removal of old drivers' instruction.[Section2a.]
When installing a different driver it is important to ensure ALL components are removed before install the new one; especially so after video problems and xorg FataL Errors.

Nvidia drivers for Linux come in various forms; directly downloaded from the Nvidia.com/Drivers website, or modified by Ubuntu as 'nvidia-current', and down loaded from a PPA . This guide is mainly concerned with the first, and installation via a Terminal.

TIP: If you have a three-button or a scroll-wheel Mouse, to Copy/Paste, highlight the command, move the Mouse cursor to the destination point and press the middle button or scroll-wheel. - Presto!

Ubuntu nvidia-current drivers. [ Sometimes called 'Proprietary Drivers'.]
To install the Ubuntu modified drivers called nvidia-current and variants, the same preparatory steps should be taken, but omit stage 3.; and at stage 5, use:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings # alter nvidia packagename to suit.

Nvidia-current drivers can also be installed from System Settings>Additional Drivers, or from Synaptic Package Manager, which will tell what is available. [ From Ubuntu 12.10, 'Additional Drivers ' is included in Software Sources. You can Right-Click on the Desktop, select 'Change Desktop Background', click the 'All Settings' tab, select 'System>Software Sources' and the 'Additional Drivers ' tab, and Activate the driver you want.]

[The following is based on Post #280 of MAFoElffen's 'Blank Screen' magnum-opus Sticky in the Installations & Upgrades Forum.]
There is a Trouble-Shooter in Post#1 & an index in Post#2.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...43535&page=113

Summary.
Under normal circumstances, this is all you need to do, to install an nvidia.com downloaded driver:

Reboot to a 'TTY' [Text Terminal or Text Console], or shut down the Xsession from a GUI screen, as the nvidia driver must be installed when the Xserver and GUI screen are inactive. Then CD to the folder where you have downloaded the NVIDIAxxx.run file, make it executable and run it with 'sudo sh'.

Kernel Updates:
There are many Posts deprecating the use of the drivers Downloaded from the Nvidia.com>Drivers website; mainly because it used to be necessary to re-install them following a Kernel update. From v304.xx this is no longer the case as nvidia drivers are now compatible with DKMS and hence the kernel modules are updated automatically, in the same way as with nvidia-current installations. With earlier versions it is still necessary.

Preparation.
However, the first time you do this there are some preparatory steps: first you should check or add some Blacklists in the /etc/modprobe.d folder; then ensure the necessary build procedures and header files are installed, and it is also advisable to purge any previous nvidia installations, essential if installing a different driver.

Adding blacklists:
Note: There may already be nouveau blacklist files in /etc/modeprobe.d. Recent versions, v.304 onwards, of both the nvidia-installer and the Ubuntu-nvidia-current installations can create files blacklisting the default Nouveau driver so Stage 1. can be omitted. The nvidia-installer will offer to create a blacklist file.

1.: Add blacklists, [ For drivers prior to v.304 ]:
In a Terminal ['Crtl+Alt+t'] enter:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/nouveaublacklist.conf # If you do not have a GUI
# Screen you will need to use a different text editor, eg. 'nano' or 'vim'.

If the file does not exist, gedit will show a blank screen with that name, add:

# Added for nvidia driver.
blacklist nouveau
blacklist lbm-nouveau
options nouveau modeset=0
alias nouveau off
alias lbm-nouveau off

Save and close gedit. [ The filename you use must end in: ".conf" ]

2.: Prep and make sure everything is there for any dependencies, and Cleanup:
Ensure you have fully updated your installation.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc-4.5 g++-4.5 libxi-dev libxmu-dev freeglut3-dev libgl1-mesa-glx libglu1-mesa libglui-dev
uname -r

Insert the output of 'uname -r' in the following command: substituting it for 'uname -r'; for example:
"sudo apt-get install linux-headers-3.2.0-2-33-generic-pae"

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-'uname -r'
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic

2a.: Removing previous different drivers. Synaptic Package Manager is useful to give the correct packagenames.

sudo nvidia-installer --uninstall # not needed if no prior nvidia.com-installation
sudo apt-get remove --purge <nvidia-driver packagename> # for each preinstalled driver by name,
# if installing a different one, not just a newer version of the same. Then:
sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia*

You may get some 'file not found' messages on the last commands. That is okay. Continue. We just want to make sure that older modules are completely removed so that there is no conflict.

3.: Download. [ Omit if choosing an nvidia-current driver]
Download the appropriate driver from nvidia.com/Drivers:
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/linux...driver-uk.html That is for the 32.bit version, make sure you have the correct one for your GPU.

If you do not know which GPU/Video card you have, run:

lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 vga

4.: Stopping the Graphics session.
To install the downloaded driver, Xorg cannot be running. You need to shut down the X-Session. In a TTY [Text Terminal], [ 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' ] or Terminal, enter:

sudo service lightdm stop # If using 10.10 or earlier use 'gdm' in place of 'lightdm'

You will get a black screen; if it does not have a login prompt, to get one, press 'Ctrl+Alt+F1' [or F2-F6], login, enter your password. [ It will not show, just type it & press 'Enter'] If you need to return to the GUI screen, press: 'Ctrl+Alt+F7', but first, run:

sudo service lightdm start

Alternatively, reboot into the Recovery drop-down menu, run 'Fsck' to set system to Read/Write, then 'Drop to a Root shell' and login if requested:
In this case you should enter:

telinit 3 # to set system level

[Should 'fsck' hang, wait a minute or two, then enter 'Ctrl+c']

5.: Installing the driver. If choosing an nvidia-current driver, see fifth paragraph at start above,"Ubuntu nvidia-current drivers." and skip to Stage 6.

Change directory [cd] to the directory where you saved the nvidiaxxx.run file, for example:

cd /home/username/Downloads
ls

Running 'ls' will confirm you are in the right place and you can be sure the spelling is correct - entering 'NV' and pressing 'Tab' will [/should] Auto-complete the file name.

[In the following, substitute the correct file name:]

Mark the downloaded file as executable:

sudo chmod a+x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.60.run

Run the file to Install drivers:

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-304.60.run

You may get an error message about a failed script, continue, accept the options, navigating by using 'Tab' and pressing 'Enter'. [If Nouveau is found to be running, the nvidia-installer may advise to abort and blacklist it, but if you choose to continue, it will create a blacklist for you.]

6.: When complete, reboot,

sudo reboot

7.: In case of difficulty:
If necessary edit the grub boot menu script, by pressing 'e' with the boot option highlighted and entering 'nomodeset' after 'splash ' in the Linux boot line where it shows "ro quiet splash ", and pressing 'Ctrl+x' to boot.

You may need to run one or more of:
NVIDIA XServer Settings [run as Root]

gksudo nvidia-settings
sudo nvidia-xconfig # after renaming the /etc/X11/xorg.cnf file
sudo apt-get install --reinstall nvidia-common # for nvidia cards  5xxx FX or earlier
sudo apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop
sudo dpkg-reconfigure nvidia-current # If needed, change package name.
sudo update-initramfs -u

[Revised: 1/FEB/2013]

Chao!, bogan.

[MAFoElffen]

I here. I've been lurking.

I told some what was going on and asked them to help out here and continue helping and supporting this thread. I have to say "Thank You." I am proud of you all.

I was overwhelmed with work. Good news is that my time is recently completely freed up. Bad news is the reason for that is that I was let go.

I don't know how long it will take, but I will try to update the first 3 posts to what is current. Emphasis on that should be post 2. That was meant as a roadmap of links for users to quickly find current information, fixes and work arounds.

I know it make take me awhile to review all the posts here since I was otherwise distracted. What would really help out, is if users could PM me with links to current fixes to update that 2nd post.

I personally know that there has been a lot of changes in video drivers, xorg, grub, shells and the Linux kernel- how they play and not want to play together. (LOL/Moan)

Again, thank you all,
Mike
MAFoElffen

[bogan]

Hi! MIKE, and welcome back, you have been surely missed; but bad luck of the letgo.

You will, no doubt have seen the 'How To' I have Posted as an update to your Post#280.
I think the install build essential line needs updating, but I do not know to what. Edit: I added two libraries on someone else's suggestion. So please add 280 to your priority list.

By far the most often occurring Posted video problems, while you have been missing, have been due to sticky Lo-Res screens and 'No Launchers or top panel' due to the stupidity of 12.10 updates & upgrades not installing the linux-headers-generic, nor linux-headers-<uname -r> by default, leading to kernal conflicts and Xorg Fatal errors.

A minor, but frequent issue, results from Additional Drivers in 12.10, being moved from System Settings to a tab in Software Sources.

An addition to the post#2 Index, covering Lo-Res problems by name, and the use of xrandr etc would be very welcome, as :'IDID' & 'Modelines' are not very noobiefull as guidance.

I will, as you suggest, PM you with some relevant Links.

Glad you are back, Chao", bogan.

[MAFoElffen]

Thank you Bogan.

Speaking of modelines, I noticed xorg,conf has changed in how it will pickup and use modelines. What worked for that in past versions has changed.

I also need to update the diagnostics procedures and expand on it in simpler language... Something a new user would understand and can follow. I was thinking a standalone post.

Have seen your recommendations here and in PM and will get to work on them.

[MAFoElffen]

How the Ubuntu (Linux) Boots to a Graphics Session-

(Includes freezing at the system messages:"Checking Battery State" through "Checking System 5 Compatibilty")

I was asked to explain how a Linux graphic session boots. To do that, I think I need to explain how Linux itself works in layman's terms.

Basically-
Grub boots as a disk manager. The Linux kernel boots into a text basic console session. If a graphical session is configured, it starts to a desktop manager, such as lightdm and starts the X graphics layer, The xorg X graphics layer uses video driver files to start a graphics session. Once the Graphics session starts, it then starts the graphical desktop environment such as Unity or Gnome 3.

More detail?
Grub 2 boots as a boot manager and provides a menu system to hand off to various operating systems. If there is only one operating system, the Grub menu is hidden. You can display it if you press the <shift> key at the end of the BIOS Post messages. During grub boot, grub queries the hardware and tries to provide for basic drivers to support them. It passes some of that information (dkms) to the Linux kernel > the X graphical session > the individual video driver > the graphical desktop environment... They all have to work together and play nice.

In the grub menu, in a Linux menu boot entry, such as Ubuntu, there are things set as to where the OS is, the file system it is dealing with and the bootline to start the OS. there are default files in grub that tell it how to deal with graphics and options to change it, as it relates to Grub.

In the Linux bootline, there are boot options set to tell the kernel how to deal with things. Some of those things is graphics modes and how it boots. Ubuntu by default adds in "quiet splash"... This creates the momentary staying at the desk manager splash and the blank purplish screen before the desktop boots. When you are having problems freezing at bootup, this displays a frozen screen with no information where it is when it froze.

During diagnostics of a freezing bootup problem, if you remove that "quiet splash" from the linux boot line, it will display the bootup system messages that are displaying from the text session that are usually just shown underneath the graphics layer... This gives the user an Idea of was the system is when it freezes.

During the time of these system messages, the basic kernel has booted and is adding modules and layers to add to how it handles input, output and hardware of the system it is running on. Some of these is file systems, networking and graphics.

Note on these system messages: "Checking the Battery State" through "Checking for System 5 Compatibility"

These are generic Linux system messages. Linux will start a process and it will run at the same time other processes are running. Before these messages occur, the system has started to boot the X graphical session and is looking for it's video drivers. By the time these system messages display, it is now doing this in background. So if the system hangs while displaying one of these system messages, it is not usually a problem with the message it is displaying, but the process running in background behind/beside it... Meaning it started using a video driver and poof.

When it gets through starting the X graphical session, it then starts the graphical desktop environment. While this is going on it is still starting to use the video driver and testing it's capabilities. So sometimes when it freezes at a desktop background without the menus, it is still a problem with the video driver either in conflict with the capabilities being asked for by the desktop environment... or a problem with that video driver itself.

<<This is a start to this and I will expand/edit it.>>