Ubuntu 9.10 boots to blank screen

xxchrisxx111 · 02-09-2010, 03:05 PM

Hello, my hp pavilion ze4900 was workign perfectly then i installed some navidia driver thing ( wich wasnt for my cp) and then when i restarted it went blank. I have read various ways to fix this but i am still a linux noob and need much help. Thanks in advance.

bluesword1969 · 02-09-2010, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxchrisxx111

Hello, my hp pavilion ze4900 was workign perfectly then i installed some navidia driver thing ( wich wasnt for my cp) and then when i restarted it went blank. I have read various ways to fix this but i am still a linux noob and need much help. Thanks in advance.

CTRL+ALT+F1 will get you to a console, where you should be able to do some troubleshooting there.

xxchrisxx111 · 02-09-2010, 03:18 PM

press ctrl alt f1, but nothins happens.

bluesword1969 · 02-09-2010, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxchrisxx111

press ctrl alt f1, but nothins happens.

Do you still have your Ubuntu CD? You can boot into the 'LiveCD' desktop, and repair your system like that.

xxchrisxx111 · 02-09-2010, 03:54 PM

How do i do that? Do i choose boot without harming my sytem? thanks, chris

bluesword1969 · 02-09-2010, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxchrisxx111

How do i do that? Do i choose boot without harming my sytem? thanks, chris

That's exactly it. That will boot you into the 'Live' desktop, which doesn't install anything onto your computer.

From there, you can mount partitions, and then edit files as you need to. The file you probably want right now is:

Code:

/etc/X11/xorg.conf

If you can find out which partitions are which, and mount them using the LiveCD desktop, for example:

Code:

$ mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

Then edit the xorg config file:

Code:

$ nano -w /mnt/etc/X11/xorg.conf

And temporarily change the nvidia driver, to good old vesa:

Code:

    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"

to:

Code:

    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "vesa"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"

Then, unmount your root partition:

$ umount /mnt

And then reboot the LiveCD desktop, take out the CD when it lets you, and then boot your computer normally, and see what happens!

xxchrisxx111 · 02-10-2010, 09:15 AM

It WOrked!!!! thanks YOur the MAN!!

bluesword1969 · 02-11-2010, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxchrisxx111

It WOrked!!!! thanks YOur the MAN!!

I'm not 'The Man', I'm just a man. :-)

Enjoy, and happy hacking!

EDIT: Don't forget to change your post's title to '[SOLVED]', and tell everyone what you did so they can fix their Xorg's too!