# Ubuntu 9.10 Boots to Blank Screen



## irex511 (Jan 1, 2010)

Hey Everyone,

First of all, I want to apologize for my complete ignorance in working with linux distributions. I've been running Ubuntu on my laptop for about 2 months, but am still struggling to work up to good knowledge.

I came across a free desktop the other day and decided that it would be fun to have a linux distribution that I could play around with a little bit more. I downloaded Ubuntu 9.10 and went through the installation (I was getting some errors with the trial, but the install went smoothly).

The computer is a Dell, though I'm not 100% sure on the specs. There was no operating system when I picked it up. The info that I got is that it is a Intel P4 3.2GHz, 512MB RAM and it looks like it has on-board graphics.

Now, when I reboot the computer, I get the Ubuntu splash screen (lit ubuntu logo), but it never loads to the login screen. There is no cursor. Pressing CTRL+ALT+F1 or CTRL+ALT+F2 doesn't seem to do anything.

When I boot into the recovery mode on the live cd and execute a shell, typing "startx" brings up a desktop for a period of about 2 seconds before it goes back to the black screen.

Like I said, I'm completely ignorant with this, and have just been trying some tips that I've searched for on the forum. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

Mike


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## hal8000 (Dec 23, 2006)

Did the Ubuntiu 9.10 CD load and reach the desktop ok in live mode?
Did you try live mode or just went for an install?

You need to either press F2 when booting so you get verbose messages on boot or press (esc). Chances are its a failed install and you are being dropped into an intramfs shell.
Your next step depends on whether the live CD loads to the gnome dekstop.


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## irex511 (Jan 1, 2010)

Hey Hal, thanks for the reply.

I originally tried the Live CD on the install, and after a couple of tries it loaded to the desktop. When I finally got that up and running, I was getting messages of "Ubiquity" crashing.

I rebooted and went straight for the install and it seemed to work fine. I burnt the disc at 4x and successfully used it to install ubuntu on another machine about 2 days ago.

Thanks again,

Mike


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

I tend to select F4 at the Welcome screen (after selecting Language) then choose "Safe Graphics Mode" and rarely get those black screens anymore. I install once I see that I have booted into the Live CD and can access the Internet.
Ubuntu 9.10 seems to have the latest kernel with a lot of wifi support that includes WPA/WPA2 support "out of the box.
Once installed and rebooted you can see whether there is a driver for your Graphiocs card. You could of course do this when you have booted into the Live CD


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