10.04 final + intel 855GM + upgrade disaster

[James Keating]

Though I read the release notes, I failed to note the warning, which was at the end of the notes, spoke of 8xx chips I didn't realize I had, and failed to have big blinking letters telling me that a machine that has been working fine for years was suddenly going to be rendered completely incapable of booting in any mode whatsoever.

I couldn't even boot off the CD. I had to boot from a 9.10 CD in order to make the changes.

I have tried, I believe, all the workarounds mentioned in various posts. None worked for me. Some spoke of getting a newer kernel, which I had tried but decided to try again.

Success!

This worked for me:

1) edit /etc/defaults/grub (as root, on the hard drive)
2) add i915.modeset=1 to the default line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash i915.modeset=1"
(Mine previously had i915.modeset=0 nomodeset, otherwise the machine froze on resuming)
3) save and run the command update-grub (as root)

That let me boot. But my system still crashed if I attempted to run any kind of video with any program. Firefox and some other programs would get stuck as soon as they opened and leave trails all over the screen if I grabbed and moved them.

The new kernel fixed that:

4) go to http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ and find the newest directory (I used v2.6.34-rc7-lucid)
5) download the image and header files, and install them with dpkg -i or gdebi-gtk
6) reboot and choose that kernel.

I've changed a post of mine below to expand the details of this.

[Themotorman]

Though I read the release notes, I failed to note the warning, which was at the end of the notes, spoke of 8xx chips I didn't realize I had, and failed to have big blinking letters telling me that a machine that has been working fine for years was suddenly going to be rendered completely incapable of booting in any mode whatsoever.

I couldn't even boot off the CD. I had to boot from a 9.10 CD in order to make the changes.

I have tried, I believe, all the workarounds mentioned in various posts. None worked for me. Some spoke of getting a newer kernel, which I had tried but decided to try again.

Success!


This worked for me:

1) edit /etc/defaults/grub (as root)
2) add i915.modeset=1 to the default line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash i915.modeset=1"
(Mine previously had i915.modeset=0 nomodeset, otherwise the machine froze on resuming)
3) save and run the command update-grub (as root)

That let me boot. But my system still crashed if I attempted to run any kind of video with any program. Firefox and some other programs would get stuck as soon as they opened and leave trails all over the screen if I grabbed and moved them.

The new kernel fixed that:

4) go to http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ and find the newest directory (I used v2.6.34-rc7-lucid)
5) download the image and header files, and install them with dpkg -i or gdebi-gtk
6) reboot and choose that kernel.

I missed the notice about the 855 too...I am glad that this worked: Can someone put these steps into something that a newbee can do? PLEASE!! I have win machine that i can access. I can use a Mem stick or burn a CD OK, not sure how I would use a cd with my blank screen 10.04 laptop!! Alternatively can I just go back to 9.10 Ubuntu how do I do that please ?
Thanks for any detailed help..

[James Keating]

If, like me, you can't boot after upgrading to Lucid, and can't boot off a Lucid CD, you need to

A) get a CD for a Ubuntu version before Lucid 10.04
B) change your boot parameters
C) optionally, install a newer kernel that fixes the Intel 8xx graphics problem

I have tried everything in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes and a number of other suggestions. I have only had success with this method.

A)
1. Go to the Ubuntu Releases site, http://releases.ubuntu.com/
2. Choose Karmic or 9.10 and download one of the desktop CD .iso files.
3. Burn its contents to a 700 Mb CD.

B)
Boot from that CD.

You must edit a boot file as root. Nautilus has no options for editing files as root, so you must use commands.

1. Open a terminal.

2. The easiest way to go from here is to start Nautilus as root with "sudo nautilus" and edit files the usual way, without running each editing command below.

You will need to edit the boot file on your hard drive, not on the CD. The CD makes this confusing, since directories will not be in their usual places.
From the command line, your hard drive will be under /media/(long-nonsensical-name)
From Nautilus, it will show under Places as "106 GB Filesystem" or something.
If you have multiple partitions and there is more than one such listing, find the one that contains your home directory.

3. Navigate to /etc/default on your hard drive

4. Edit the file called grub
sudo gedit grub
On the line that begins GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT, add i915.modeset=1
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash i915.modeset=1"

If your /etc/default/grub doesn't exist, you are using the old Grub.
In that case, go to /boot/grub/ on your hard drive
and edit the file called menu.lst
There is one line that begins with # defoptions. Add i915.modeset=1"
# defoptions=quiet splash i915.modeset=1

5. Save and run the command
sudo update-grub

If gedit doesn't work, try another text editor. At the very least, nano should be present (control-o saves; control-x exits).

6. Reboot.

C)
1. Go to http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ and find the newest directory (I used v2.6.34-rc7-lucid)
2. Download the kernel image and header files
3. Install them from a terminal with the command
sudo dpkg -i (kernelfilename.deb) (headersfilename.deb)
or run sudo gdebi-gtk
3. reboot and choose that kernel.

[samhall555]

If, like me, you can't boot after upgrading to Lucid, and can't boot off a Lucid CD, you need to

A) get a CD for a Ubuntu version before Lucid 10.04
B) change your boot parameters
C) optionally, install a newer kernel that fixes the Intel 8xx graphics problem

I have tried everything in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes and a number of other suggestions. I have only had success with this method.

A)
1. Go to the Ubuntu Releases site, http://releases.ubuntu.com/
2. Choose Karmic or 9.10 and download one of the desktop CD .iso files.
3. Burn its contents to a 700 Mb CD.

B)
Boot from that CD.

You must edit a boot file as root. Nautilus has no options for editing files as root, so you must use commands.

1. Open a terminal.

2. The easiest way to go from here is to start Nautilus as root with "sudo nautilus" and edit files the usual way, without running each editing command below.

You will need to edit the boot file on your hard drive, not on the CD. The CD makes this confusing, since directories will not be in their usual places.
From the command line, your hard drive will be under /media/(long-nonsensical-name)
From Nautilus, it will show under Places as "106 GB Filesystem" or something.
If you have multiple partitions and there is more than one such listing, find the one that contains your home directory.

3. Navigate to /etc/default on your hard drive

4. Edit the file called grub
sudo gedit grub
On the line that begins GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT, add i915.modeset=1
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash i915.modeset=1"

If your /etc/default/grub doesn't exist, you are using the old Grub.
In that case, go to /boot/grub/ on your hard drive
and edit the file called menu.lst
There is one line that begins with # defoptions. Add i915.modeset=1"
# defoptions=quiet splash i915.modeset=1

5. Save and run the command
sudo update-grub

If gedit doesn't work, try another text editor. At the very least, nano should be present (control-o saves; control-x exits).

6. Reboot.

C)
1. Go to http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ and find the newest directory (I used v2.6.34-rc7-lucid)
2. Download the kernel image and header files
3. Install them from a terminal with the command
sudo dpkg -i (kernelfilename.deb) (headersfilename.deb)
or run sudo gdebi-gtk
3. reboot and choose that kernel.

Running an old IBM thinkpad G40, updating the kernel worked, before I had no video playback though it is possible to boot into recovery mode, set i915.modeset=1 and then back into low graphics mode and run
echo options i915 modeset=1 | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/i915-kms.conf
sudo update-initramfs -uin the terminal window:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes
gets you on your feet, and this should get you walking.

[ketansp]

hello everybody,

i am facing kinda similar problems on my machine (X86_64 bit and nvidia 8400GS).

i upgraded to lucid lynx 4 weeks back. after tthe installation was complete, it wanted a restart. when i restarted it, i could not see anything, not even the bios, neither the grub. nothing. not even live cd worked. i could though listen to the login sound.

i just removed my laptop battery and put it in again and the display worked for that time only. each time i had to take put my battery and put it in to start.

i managed with it for a few days, but wanted a permanant solution. i installed nvidia current version 195 from stnaptic. activated it hardware drivers under amin. it demanded a restart. i restarted my laptop and now its gone again.

the display has stopped working. it does not even show the bios menu, neither the grub. so no use of putting in a live cd. i ve checked and know its not a hardware fault. the trick with removing battery and putting it in does not work anymore.

i can log in to command line mode with the help of cntrl+alt+F3. i have tried some commands for removing the driver, but its not working. i even tried the SSH thing but could not run it successfully.

could you pls help me with this problem. i am ready to sacrifice my data on ubuntu partition. pls give me some solution.: confused:

[robb.]

i am exceptionally confused. i've had temporary success with a few of these solutions. starting with the documentation. i'm using an old compaq V2000.

my main failure is that the system crashes whenever i try to watch .avi files in movie player.

first i tried workaround A. that worked for a while, but i think a kernel update made that obsolete. i also did a workaround to restore the boot splash screen.

then i tried upgrading the kernel to 2.6.34 (workaround D), which worked, but with bugs. so i went to 2.6.35rc1, which didn't work at all.

so then i went back to using the stock kernel 2.6.32-22-generic and tried workaround F. first i did the "updated" method, but that prevented me from even fully booting. i ran safemode and restored default graphics. then i tried the more basic version and it worked.

so i decided to delete the other two kernels. i was tired of having to scroll down to 2.6.32-22 every time i booted. and now it doesn't work. so i ran in safemode to restore default graphics and then do workaround F again. it still won't work. so i'm kind of stuck, because i definitely have the video card described in workaround F.

any thoughts regarding why this only works some of the time? thanks.

robb.

[robb.]

then i tried upgrading the kernel to 2.6.34 (workaround D), which worked, but with bugs.

strangely, this is working for me now, without the bugs. i acknowledge that i must have done something wrong previously to cause the bugs and i inadvertently stumbled into doing it the right way this time.

whatevs. problems solved for me. however, if someone does have insight into why it would have worked conditionally for me previously, i'd like to know, for my edification. thanks.

robb.

[Catharsis]

Can someone put these steps into something that a newbee can do?

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Bugs/Lucidi8xxFreezes
This is the link that the Release Notes point to.

If anything in there is confusing or poorly explained, please let me know and I'll change it. Alternately, if anyone else feels comfortable enough to update it, all you have to do is click "Edit" at the top.

[adamsiddhi]

Though I read the release notes, I failed to note the warning, which was at the end of the notes, spoke of 8xx chips I didn't realize I had, and failed to have big blinking letters telling me that a machine that has been working fine for years was suddenly going to be rendered completely incapable of booting in any mode whatsoever.

I couldn't even boot off the CD. I had to boot from a 9.10 CD in order to make the changes.

I have tried, I believe, all the workarounds mentioned in various posts. None worked for me. Some spoke of getting a newer kernel, which I had tried but decided to try again.

Success!

This worked for me:

1) edit /etc/defaults/grub (as root, on the hard drive)
2) add i915.modeset=1 to the default line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash i915.modeset=1"
(Mine previously had i915.modeset=0 nomodeset, otherwise the machine froze on resuming)
3) save and run the command update-grub (as root)

That let me boot. But my system still crashed if I attempted to run any kind of video with any program. Firefox and some other programs would get stuck as soon as they opened and leave trails all over the screen if I grabbed and moved them.

The new kernel fixed that:

4) go to http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ and find the newest directory (I used v2.6.34-rc7-lucid)
5) download the image and header files, and install them with dpkg -i or gdebi-gtk
6) reboot and choose that kernel.

I've changed a post of mine below to expand the details of this.

Hey James,

I do not understand step 6. After installing the headers and source I restart/reboot but I do not have a choice of kernel to choose from. It just loads Xubuntu right to the desktop. Any ideas?

Thanks,
:adam

[adamsiddhi]

Though I read the release notes, I failed to note the warning, which was at the end of the notes, spoke of 8xx chips I didn't realize I had, and failed to have big blinking letters telling me that a machine that has been working fine for years was suddenly going to be rendered completely incapable of booting in any mode whatsoever.

I couldn't even boot off the CD. I had to boot from a 9.10 CD in order to make the changes.

I have tried, I believe, all the workarounds mentioned in various posts. None worked for me. Some spoke of getting a newer kernel, which I had tried but decided to try again.

Success!

This worked for me:

1) edit /etc/defaults/grub (as root, on the hard drive)
2) add i915.modeset=1 to the default line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash i915.modeset=1"
(Mine previously had i915.modeset=0 nomodeset, otherwise the machine froze on resuming)
3) save and run the command update-grub (as root)

That let me boot. But my system still crashed if I attempted to run any kind of video with any program. Firefox and some other programs would get stuck as soon as they opened and leave trails all over the screen if I grabbed and moved them.

The new kernel fixed that:

4) go to http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ and find the newest directory (I used v2.6.34-rc7-lucid)
5) download the image and header files, and install them with dpkg -i or gdebi-gtk
6) reboot and choose that kernel.

I've changed a post of mine below to expand the details of this.

Hey James,

I found out that I did not install the image package properly (pressed CTRL-c when it said 'Done'. it was still processing). So I finally installed it properly, rebooted, pressed SHIFT to get in to GRUB, saw the new kernel (2.6.35) and pressed ENTER/return.
Well it turns out that it was not able to load.

Here is the grub.cfg

2.6.35

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-020635rc1-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd0,1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 93c90a69-6071-4ad9-a381-9fefe4bf369b
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-020635rc1-generic root=UUID=93c90a69-6071-4ad9-a381-9fefe4bf369b ro ipv6.disable=1  ipv6.disable=1 quiet splash i915.modeset=1
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-020635rc1-generic
}

2.6.32-22 (the previous kernel I use that crashes when playing video)

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd0,1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 93c90a69-6071-4ad9-a381-9fefe4bf369b
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=93c90a69-6071-4ad9-a381-9fefe4bf369b ro ipv6.disable=1  ipv6.disable=1 quiet splash i915.modeset=1
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
}

Any ideas on how to solve this?