can't get past login before 10.10 goes into a loop

[maddbaron]

Hello, upgraded from 10.04 install went fine, system rebooted then problems.
Can't get past login...only way to access is safe graphics mode.
Everything is installed correctly, I even removed a plymouth theme from 10.04,
I disabled the login screen and told the system to log me in directly and it still doesn't work.

My configuration file looks fine and simple enough but I don't know what to look for.

Can someone tell me how to view my boot process while in safe graphics mode so I can see why it hangs then goes into the loop or better yet how to skip the login splash/ plymouth splash altogether?

[sikander3786]

Please post the output of these commands.


cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
lspci | grep VGA
glxinfo |grep vendor

[maddbaron]

Please post the output of these commands.


cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
lspci | grep VGA
glxinfo |grep vendor




$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Section "Module"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "Xinerama" "off"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Default Device"
Driver "fglrx"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
DefaultDepth 24
EndSection

$ lspci | grep VGA
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M880G [Mobility Radeon HD 4200]
$ glxinfo |grep vendor
$
$ glxinfo |grep vendor




is something missing?

[sikander3786]

Try reconfiguring your graphics. Press Ctrl + Alt + F1 at the login screen and login to tty1. Then,


sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old


sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg


sudo reboot now

[maddbaron]

Try reconfiguring your graphics. Press Ctrl + Alt + F1 at the login screen and login to tty1. Then,


sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old


sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg


sudo reboot now

can i do this from terminal while in safe mode? I can't get to the login screen in enough time it reboots the screen within a second, does the drums then a second later does it again and again

[maddbaron]

Try reconfiguring your graphics. Press Ctrl + Alt + F1 at the login screen and login to tty1. Then,


sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old


sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg


sudo reboot now

it said it cannot

mv: cannot stat /etc/X11/xorg.conf no file or directory found

if i press ctrl + atl + fl 3 times is freezes the constant reboot and lets me press my login then begins to show my desktop before it reverts to the reboot...

I went into safe graphic mode and used terminal to access nautilus under sudo and went to the x11 folder...

I had something called foremostgui installed I removed it now but it still shows up. I created a new xorg.conf by going into the folder and copying one of the backups and then saving it to the folder. when I got to the second step is some inline error with foremostgui(i deleted it but it still says that) then it says warning something about karmic. I figure I need to purge foremostgui since removing all files with synaptic didn't really remove everything, do you know how I can do that?

I also noticed after I ran the 1st command with the new xorg.conf it would turn that into a backup and leave no xorg.conf in the folder.

my xorg is pretty messed up I think.

how can I create an xorg.conf that will remain active and not become a backup?

[sikander3786]

Yes you can do those commands from your safe mode Terminal as well.

As the above mentioned command cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf resulted in an output, xorg.conf is present there. Make sure your didn't mis-type the command or change case or left un-necessary spaces. Or simply copy/paste the text from here to your Terminal. You need to do all of those commands one-by-one, each after the first one succeeds.

[maddbaron]

Yes you can do those commands from your safe mode Terminal as well.

As the above mentioned command cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf resulted in an output, xorg.conf is present there. Make sure your didn't mis-type the command or change case or left un-necessary spaces. Or simply copy/paste the text from here to your Terminal. You need to do all of those commands one-by-one, each after the first one succeeds.

i successfully type the 1st code then after the 2nd code I get



:~$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 89998 package 'foremostgui':
error in Version string '9.11.08_karmic': invalid character in version number


BUT I rebooted and now can load my desktop but everything is very static like. I checked the drivers and they are all working fine.

Now I need to solve this problem.

Thank you for your help and the codes!

[sikander3786]

i successfully type the 1st code then after the 2nd code I get



:~$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 89998 package 'foremostgui':
error in Version string '9.11.08_karmic': invalid character in version number


BUT I rebooted and now can load my desktop but everything is very static like. I checked the drivers and they are all working fine.

Now I need to solve this problem.

Thank you for your help and the codes!
Glad to know that one issue is sorted.

For the dpkg issue, try using this command.


sudo dpkg --clear-avail

And then to make sure that everything is ok and packages are not broken,


sudo apt-get install -f
sudo dpkg --configure -a

Good Luck!

[maddbaron]

Glad to know that one issue is sorted.

For the dpkg issue, try using this command.


sudo dpkg --clear-avail

And then to make sure that everything is ok and packages are not broken,


sudo apt-get install -f
sudo dpkg --configure -a

Good Luck!

thanks will do, i think i found the second issue but not sure I have conflicting nvidia and ati drivers. my system is ati and i don't know where nvidia came from. gonna research more and see if removing them then reinstalling my ati drivers will resolve this new issue.

[sikander3786]

Yes, remove both of the drives, both ATI and Nvidia. Reboot. Remove xorg.conf if it is present.


sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

And then re-install ATI drivers. That should do it nicely.

[maddbaron]

Yes, remove both of the drives, both ATI and Nvidia. Reboot. Remove xorg.conf if it is present.


sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

And then re-install ATI drivers. That should do it nicely.


worked but didn't work... i removed all the drivers from synaptic and rebooted...stuttering screen gone! reinstalled the ati drivers. rebooted... stuttering is back!.. i removed them again just to stop the stuttering but my monitor has huge letters and everything is out of whack...

in the drivers part do I remove the fire GL driver and reboot and if so will the system reinstall the driver itself?

[sikander3786]

Don't use Synaptic for driver installation. Instead, use the gtk-jockey under System > Administration > Hardware Drivers/Additional Drivers.

[maddbaron]

Don't use Synaptic for driver installation. Instead, use the gtk-jockey under System > Administration > Hardware Drivers/Additional Drivers.

yeah when that didnt Work I used the wiki and rebuilt then reinstalled the drivers but now my screen has a huge black bar @ the bottom that has become a huge black screen...

this feels like an xorg issue but i dont know what to check