Ok i've installed Mandriva 07 Free on my computer. I've installed it about twice now to see if i could get it to work. When I boot up and after I select which linux to boot in from the menu (linux, linux-nfb, and failsafe) i select linux, it loads but then right when you would expect to see a login screen but then the screen goes blank. I'm thinking it's a driver problem because I had this same problem when I had windows running on the exact same computer but with some differnet hardware but same graphics card. I know my graphics card will work (see computer stats down below) because i had mandriva installed on my computer before but with a differnt hard drive. On the postinstallation of mandriva where i configured the screen settings to 1024x768 with 60hz 16Million colors and I tested it and it worked fine on both installs. However on the first install I did 1024x1280 76hz with 16million colors and that worked when I tested it. I've also tried installing the linux drivers from ATi.com but so far has had no effect other than teaching me how to mount my cdrom and copy and paste things in the shell using the fail-safe boot. If explanations could be in terms a noob such as myself can understand that would be great.

Computer Stats:

AMD 4000+ 64 Bit CPU
Asus A8V Deluxe
ATi X800XL
Ultra Ram 2x1024 2x512
DCL LCD 19"
Seagate 320gb SATA Barrecuda
Sony Dual Layer DVD/CD burner
HP Dual Layer DVD/CD Burner

bumpb anyone?

come on anyone? i've been on three different forums and gotten nothing.

You know what forget it, no one's helpin me, no one seems to care, i'm just gonna go ahead and put a different distro on.

Thanks for nothing.

Try "startx" without the inverted comma's,that should get you into a graphical desktop.
If not post your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.
You can alter your .conf file by typing "su (root password)press enter then type:
"vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf" (vi is a text editor)

If you don't have the patience/in a hurry to get started try PCLinuxOS,however much I like and use Mandriva the system updates are not automatic and some offered,like the latest compiz update just screw your box up!!
Loads of little issues with it,not one to use if you're new to Linux which is unfortunate as at one point it was the best distro to get started on.

I don't know anyone with an Nvidia card who didn't get a command line instead of KDE on first boot with 2007,though strangely the same bug didn't affect the live install cd.

Im bumping this post as I have the same problem. I recently installed pclinuxos and got it dual booting with xp which was all working fine. Then i spotted an update for my ati graphics card through synaptic. Foolishly i went ahead and installed the ati drivers and was asked to reboot my system. On reboot everything goes fine right until the point my log in screen should appear then black screen and nothing. The ati update was reponsibly for this, some sort of conflict perhaps. This is my second attempt at a linux distro and i love it. How can i rescue my system if at all. Im sure its loaded behind that black screen but cant do anything about it. How frustrating it is since i only got the dual booting working to today.

It happens that my NVidia graphics worked right away with Mandriva 2007, though I did it by an upgrade.

Under all circumstances, when asking for help with a black screen on startup, you need to output the contents of the file /var/log/Xorg.0.log. The black screen means that X failed to start, and the reason why will be found in that log file.

When you get the black screen, if you hit ctrl-alt-F1 (or any of F1-F6) you will reach a console window where you can log in and do work. You need root access to look at Xorg.0.log.

Thanks for the swift response, tried what you said jim but it does nothing, no console just hangs in the black screen im thinking that maybe i will have to reinstall linuxos NOT HAPPY. I am going to try again with my nvidia graphics card and to remove the radeon from pci slot. Any other suggestions would be welcomed thanks again Jim
regards
mrplumb

If you can't get to a console, then your problem isn't X or the video driver. In such an event you have something else crashing Linux or at least hanging it. In this event boot the system from the installation CD to do a repair, then look at the log files in /var/log to see what has happened. The answer is in there someplace.

From the installation CD you can also change the boot level for the system to cause it to come up without starting X. You can also do this by removing the link to the display manager which is located in /etc/rc.d/rc5.d. This will cause the system to try to start in runlevel 5 (graphical with networking) but won't start X. In this case you can see all the startup messages and you'll see where it hangs.

There are many ways to proceed with troubleshooting a Linux installation; this is one of its major strengths.

Thanks again Jim for your swift response but i am a total linux noob and am un familiar with the repair procedures of these OS. I have reinstalled from new as it's a quick install and i stood to loose nothing as the OS was very new. I will now however familiarise myself with repair procedures and my new OS. I look forward to moving out of the linux noob bracket in the very near future. Any tips or links would be greatly appreciated.
regards and thanks
mrplumb