Blank blue, wavy screen on first boot -- no desktop or dialog box
 

I'm having a problem when I try to boot up Mandrake 9.1 for the first time after installation. As soon as it gets to the part where it would normally show the login screen, I just get a blue background with waves or curves in it, and then every now and then things will flash across the screen (such as the KDE bar at the bottom), but the screen remains blank for the most part. Any clue what gives?

I have a Diamond Speedstar A55 video card, a K6-2 400 MHz processor, 128 MB of SDRam, and a Mag Innovision monitor.

Please let me know what I can do to fix this! I'm not too knowledgable on Linux, but I'm certainly willing to try things to get it running! :) Thanks.

Try getting to console mode first.

I mixed up the resolution and refresh rate once, and I had to fall back to XFree86config and edit it manually. ;)

Do you know the reccomended settings for your monitor? You can try copying it from the Display settings in windows (ie. resolution, refresh rate) then make appropriate adjustments to your /etc/X11/XFree86config file.

Uncomment the correct resolution and refresh rate and recomment the current one.

Thanks for the reply. I'm currently using the same monitor for my Windows PC and my Linux PC. So the video card is different, but the monitor is the same. By the way, now when I try to let Linux load, it shows that same blue wavy background with the mouse pointer, and then it looks like it's trying to change resolutions a few different times before it "gives up" and just brings me to a text login prompt. Any other ideas? I'd love to be able to have Linux on this computer!

Can you post /etc/X11/XFree86config?

Sure thing. Not to sound ignorant, but how do I do that?

"cat /etc/X11/XF86Config"

then copy and paste it. or open it in a text editor.

All right. Now, since this is on a separate computer, I guess I can't copy and paste the file. Though my Windows computer is connected to the same hub as this Linux machine. Is there some way I can save a text file to my Windows PC through the network? Or should I just look for a certain part of that XF86Config file and type it in manually?

Is there a windows partition on that computer? You can download a few ext2/ext3 filesystem viewers and copy them over if you look on google...

OR get one on the windows machine, format a windows floppy, mount the floppy in linux as msdos/vfat (ie. mount -t auto /dev/fd0 /your/mount/point/here/) then copy it over (cp -a /etc/X11/XF86config /your/mount/point/here/withfilename.

Then post it on Windows.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Windows partition or a diskette drive in that computer. :(

Is there something I can do to troubleshoot the problem or some things I can tweak that might solve it? Or... somehow from the prompt in Linux, can I access my Windows PC through the network and save the XF86Config file that way?

In order to do so, you'll need a samba server or something, and thats a bit tedious for a beginner.

Diskette drives are cheap, go buy one and install it. ;)

Or you couldpainstakingly copy it by hand. :

Thanks for the help. If need be, I can probably copy it by hand. Is there a specific portion that I should post, or is it the whole thing? And also... are there a few common things that I could try out to change or to tweak that are sometimes the culprit? Or is there any fail-safe way to see the Linux GUI? Thanks again.. I appreciate you guys helping a Linux newbie like myself!

In order to find the culpurit, we need to see your X config file? ;)

Okay, you could also take photos, and send it over.


I think the whole file is needed as well, it could be something else.

You can also try opening the file through pine, then send it over to your hotmail account.