Debian 4 - Safe Graphics Mode
 

how do i enable safe graphics mode with debian 4? X locks up right after i log in. ubuntu and other distros have an option for this. i can tap "e" to edit commands before boot. isn't it

vesa 1024x768
or
vga 1024x768?

thanks in advance!

ps: i have amd64 and pci-e video card but the OS is 386.

I'm not familiar with any sort of shortcuts like that, but you can manually edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and replace the driver with "vesa". I've found this necessary a couple times when either the "nv" or "mga" driver the Debian 4.0 installer installed didn't work properly.

Maybe there are some shortcuts or tricks to do it the way you say, but I'm only familiar with the editing xorg.conf method (which works for any Linux distribution).

thanks isaac, but...
 

how can i edit the xorg.conf if it won't boot up? is it command line before booting, etc...

thanks for the info

When the login prompt comes up, login as root, and at the # prompt, type ... dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

In the course of that conversation, select the vesa driver. That'll probably get you a minimal Xsystem working, but it's not "safe mode." Safe mode is a Windows concept. I suppose Ubuntu or other Windows wannabee distros use the term to help newbies feel comfortable.

You are now dealing with Debian. Are you sure you're ready?

Boot up in single user mode. It should be the second option when the GRUB bootloader starts up. This gives you the option to log in as root before X attempts to start (as well as many other things). After you edit xorg.conf with a command like "pico /etc/X11/xorg.conf", then use the command "exit" to exit and the boot sequence will continue as normal.

You should be able to hit CTL-ALT-F1 to get to a console. Login as root and fix any problems. If you're running gdm, then after you change xorg.conf, run "/etc/init.d/gdm restart" to restart X.

That doesn't always work. When I got the blackscreen errors, the graphics card was somehow confused so that ctrl-alt-f1/2/3/4/5/6 had no effect. I could still remotely ssh in and such.

that did it!

thanks for all your help, MIKE...