# Ubuntu, loads then goes to blank screen! BAHHH!!!!!



## Joefireline

OK, this is annoying me now. I tried using the Live CD, but when everything loaded, it just went onto a blank screen. So, I thought, oh well, I'll just install it then. I installed it, created the partisian, set it up, but whenever I load it up, when it finishes loading, it just goes onto a blank screen! Does anyone know what is going on here? And how I can solve the problem? I am using a laptop, specs in my sig.
Thanks,


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## Skie

When you hit "CTRL+ALT+F1", does anything happen?

Also, the laptop model you have isn't listed on http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/acer.html. So I don't know if it's properly supported. One thing you might want to do is download Knoppix. If this Live CD doesn't work, then it may be very difficult to get Linux working on this laptop.


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## el_ricardo

could well be a problem with your graphics card, if the screen goes blank, check everything's ok in your xorg.conf file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) linux and ATI have never really been friends


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## Joefireline

Ok, thanks for the help / sugestions. I pressed Ctrl, Alt F1, and it came up with username, so I typed that in, and then it came up with password, and so I typed that in. Then it just came up with a screen rather like MS dos, whatever I typed, it came up with unknown command. Anyone know a command on Ubuntu to get it to work? 
Thanks,
Joe.


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## Skie

I just wanted to confirm that Linux was actually running and not locked up. At this point, you can just type "exit". To learn how to use the command line is somewhat difficult. 

Take a look at this thread and see if it helps: http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=1410&view=previous


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## Joefireline

It definatly isn't locked up, and what the person on the other forum said, makes some sence, I will try it now.


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## el_ricardo

boot in recovery mode (select it from grub when you turn your computer on) wait for everything to load, and give this command:



Code:


dpkg --configure -a

then reconfigure the xserver



Code:


dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

you should probably go with the vesa driver, press enter to give the default option, now reconfigure the gdm



Code:


dpkg-reconfigure gdm

as a final word, or if those don't work, making sure your monitor is set up correctly can't harm, in recovery mode again:

firstly, make a backup of your xorg.conf file:



Code:


sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup




Code:


sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf

this allows you to edit the xorg.conf file in the vi text editor _(you'll need to know your root password)_

find the monitor section:



Code:


Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Philips 170B" #[i]or whatever your monitor is[/i]
    Option         "DPMS"
    [b]HorizSync    30-71
    VertRefresh  50-160[/b]
EndSection

search for your monitor's full specs (search for it on google), and add the horizontal sync rate and the vertical refresh rate at the end of the monitor section (adjust the bit in bold to your monitor)

good luck


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## Skie

You can also use "nano" or "pico" instead of vi. vi is somewhat complicated to learn while nano/pico are fairly easy.


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## jpurcell

*ubuntu blank screen*

I just got ubuntu and it is the best Linux distro I have tried in terms of user friendliness. I had the same problem when I started up. I got the splash screen and then a blank screen. In my case I found out that the machine I was using had only 128 Meg or ram. I swapped the 128 M stick for a 512 M stick and things when well from there. Linux is not supposed to require a lot of ram but in this case I guess ubuto does require more ram. 

Jim


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## Skie

jpurcell said:


> I just got ubuntu and it is the best Linux distro I have tried in terms of user friendliness. I had the same problem when I started up. I got the splash screen and then a blank screen. In my case I found out that the machine I was using had only 128 Meg or ram. I swapped the 128 M stick for a 512 M stick and things when well from there. Linux is not supposed to require a lot of ram but in this case I guess ubuto does require more ram.
> 
> Jim


If you're using Gnome or KDE as your Desktop Environment, then Linux will require more RAM then usual. However, this will depend also on what other services/programs are running as well. While it generally can run, it may not have been able to run quickly. You can also disable certain eye candy features to reduce the amount of RAM needed. I'm sure 256MB of RAM would have been enough for you, but the more the better so that it doesn't need to use the Swap which will slow things down. 

There are certain specialized distro's that only need 16 or 32MB of RAM. While these don't have a graphical interface, they're meant for other purposes (such as system recovery), not ease of use.


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## Joefireline

jpurcell said:


> I just got ubuntu and it is the best Linux distro I have tried in terms of user friendliness. I had the same problem when I started up. I got the splash screen and then a blank screen. In my case I found out that the machine I was using had only 128 Meg or ram. I swapped the 128 M stick for a 512 M stick and things when well from there. Linux is not supposed to require a lot of ram but in this case I guess ubuto does require more ram.
> 
> Jim


Thanks, but I am sure it is not a ram problem, as I have 1GB of ram!
I havn't really had a chance to investigate the problem yet, as I have been to busy all the time. I'll have a go at sorting it out on Saterday.


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## oyebayo

It appears your system has the wrong graphics driver for your video card. Try using the *vesa* driver, in the "Devices" section of your xorg.conf file (it's located at /etc/X11/xorg.conf


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## Joefireline

el_ricardo said:


> boot in recovery mode (select it from grub when you turn your computer on) wait for everything to load, and give this command:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> dpkg --configure -a
> 
> then reconfigure the xserver
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
> 
> you should probably go with the vesa driver, press enter to give the default option, now reconfigure the gdm
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> dpkg-reconfigure gdm
> 
> as a final word, or if those don't work, making sure your monitor is set up correctly can't harm, in recovery mode again:
> 
> firstly, make a backup of your xorg.conf file:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
> 
> this allows you to edit the xorg.conf file in the vi text editor _(you'll need to know your root password)_
> 
> find the monitor section:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> Section "Monitor"
> Identifier     "Philips 170B" #[i]or whatever your monitor is[/i]
> Option         "DPMS"
> [b]HorizSync    30-71
> VertRefresh  50-160[/b]
> EndSection
> 
> search for your monitor's full specs (search for it on google), and add the horizontal sync rate and the vertical refresh rate at the end of the monitor section (adjust the bit in bold to your monitor)
> 
> good luck


Hi,
I have just tried this, but when I done the "sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf" bit, it came up with lots of '~' in blue, and a '--Enter--', I think it was Enter, but I can't remember!
I was clueless of what to do...
Any ideas?
Also, I am not sure how to get the full specs of my monitor, as it is on a laptop!


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