help i am new to ubuntu and i messed up during install

[f6e9a]

;)hi,

when i first tried to install ubuntu a blank screen would show up. but then i followed the advice in this thread http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1463294&page=4
and finally i was able to log in and try ubuntu and on its desktop it said install and soo i clicked it and ran through the install deleting my win xp pro from my computer.
but when i restarted i had the same blank screen problem. help plz

btw i have a dell latitude d 505

new memeber,

f6e9a:o

[jcolyn]

According to specs this laptop originally shipped with 128MB ram. This would cause problems since Ubuntu needs 512MB minimum. If this is the case you'll need to add memory.

I could be wrong but my impression is the Intel Celeron M processors don't do well with Linux. Hopefully someone with experience with these processors will comment..

[f6e9a]

i just want to try it out soo if u could just tell me how to fix my problem with the blank screen plz thanks

[f6e9a]

According to specs this laptop originally shipped with 128MB ram. This would cause problems since Ubuntu needs 512MB minimum. If this is the case you'll need to add memory.

I could be wrong but my impression is the Intel Celeron M processors don't do well with Linux. Hopefully someone with experience with these processors will comment..

i just need to know how to get the screen working and not blank

thanks anyway

[mudguts]

you have a way of hooking up an external monitor to test?
maybe it's pushing the resolution out too high for your display?

[f6e9a]

i have a vga cord
and a tv
u want me to try that ?

[linux18]

Put the live cd in and reinstall, this time not rushing through the process, but jcolyn is right 128MB of ram can cause problems, but the minimum is 256 not 512 (512 is just 3 times faster) you may need to grab the xubuntu-10.04-alternate-i386.iso and in the worst case you may need to use my distro remix (see sig)

[f6e9a]

this is wut i did

1.when i booted from the ubuntu cd i pressed space on the little keyboard and man
2.i selected english
3.i selected try ubuntu without changes
4.i pressed f6
5.i entered 'i915.modeset=1'(without '') at the end of command line
6.ubuntu loaded and i saw its desktop on the desktop it said install ubuntu
7.i clicked on the install thing
8.wiped out my win XP pro and installed ubuntu
9.on restart i had a blank screen after loading

is there somehow i can do step 5 to be able to see things on my screen ?

thanks

[f6e9a]

Put the live cd in and reinstall, this time not rushing through the process, but jcolyn is right 128MB of ram can cause problems, but the minimum is 256 not 512 (512 is just 3 times faster) you may need to grab the xubuntu-10.04-alternate-i386.iso and in the worst case you may need to use my distro remix (see sig)


sorry but i am really new to this

can u maybe give me a step by step list plz

thanks

[linux18]

do you get any grub boot options on startup (hold shift key at bootup untill you see a menu)
if so choose recovery mode and drop to a root prompt

[f6e9a]

i got the menu do i add a command line(c) or press (e)

[f6e9a]

i so get a menu i have recovery highlighted do i press c or e

c= command line
e= edit something

[f6e9a]

do you get any grub boot options on startup (hold shift key at bootup untill you see a menu)
if so choose recovery mode and drop to a root prompt


i got the menu do i press c or e ?

[f6e9a]

sorry i accidently posted 3 times :(

[linux18]

if the menu lists ubuntu "recovery mode" choose that (press enter after highlighting it)
then you will be presented with another menu scroll down and choose root

[f6e9a]

ok done that next

btw thanks

[linux18]

type xinit at the prompt

you should get a white terminal and a black background

if you do, then type

metacity && gnome-panel && nm-applet

[f6e9a]

i type "x" or "xinit ?"

[linux18]

"xinit"

[f6e9a]

my screen is black after i typed xinit at the bottom of my screen

[linux18]

ok, looks like its an xorg problem.
reboot, and type:
sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak && sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe /etc/X11/xorg.conf

then try xinit

[f6e9a]

type that where?

[linux18]

type that in the prompt you typed xinit in

[f6e9a]

i did it says no suck file or directory

i typed "sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak && sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe /etc/X11/xorg.conf
"

[f6e9a]

r there spaces where i have a ^ thing
sudo^ mv^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak^ &&^ sudo mv^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf
"

[linux18]

which of these commands produces output:

cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe
cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

[f6e9a]

r these 3 diff lines

1.sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
2.sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe /etc/X11/xorg.conf
3.xinit

[linux18]

if you use && #1 and #2 are one line, but #3 is a different line

[linux18]

r there spaces where i have a ^ thing
sudo^ mv^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak^ &&^ sudo mv^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe^ /etc/X11/xorg.conf
"
yes there are spaces there

[f6e9a]

which of these commands produces output:

cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe
cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak



ok i have tried each line 1nce it still says no file or directory

line 1 cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
line 2 cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe
line 3 cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
line 4 /etc/X11/xorg.conf
line 5 /etc/X11/xorg.conf.failsafe
line 6 /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

[linux18]

are you capitalizing the "X" in '/etc/X11' if you are then it appears to be a failed install

[f6e9a]

i did put it in caps

this is wut i wrote in the thing

root@administrator-laptop:~# /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

root@administrator-laptop:~# cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

i tried them both

[linux18]

if those files aren't there, you can't start the display. your installation probably failed at some point.
you might be able to rescue it if you have an internet connection available for your laptop.
if its an ethernet connection:
ifconfig eth0 up
dhclient eth0

[f6e9a]

i do have a internet connection but no brower coz ubuntu wiped out my disc

btw does ur version of ubuntu have the same interface could u just tell me the diffs i will probably install urs

[linux18]

you don't need a browser, just plug in the ethernet cable and run these commands
ifconfig eth0 up
dhclient eth0
sed -i '/cdrom/d' /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get ubuntu-desktop

[f6e9a]

g2g brb