blank screen w/cursor after new karmic install

[rikkydik]

Hey guys n gals,

If this is a really common/basic problem then sorry to noob it up but I'm really new to linux and have been learning the basics for a couple of weeks, i am writing this on an old IBM that i have managed to install karmic on, but this is not the issue (though it theoretically proves i am competent enough to install it).

My main computer can run LiveCD, but when i select install a glowing ubuntu logo appeared, followed by a blank screen with a cursor on it. Clicking the mouse made the cursor change to a circle and then back but nothing else happened.

So i used the text based installer instead which ran successfully, but when i start up the machine i just get a blank screen with a cursor. I tried changing to the LTS Hardy Heron, but after the install it couldnt find the GRUB loader so i cannot even boot to the blank screen anymore. I understand this may muddy the waters so lets concentrate on karmic, unless anyone reckons a complete change to say kubuntu would make a difference.

My PC consists of

3.0ghz P4 w/ HT
Foxconn 644/681 mobo
wireless pci card
soundblaster live! card
Sapphire Radeon 3650 HD (AGP)
one 80GB IDE w/ xp pro installed (on master but is second boot HDD)
1TB SATA (first boot HDD)
2 DVDROMS (IDEx2 )

I understand this prob may be to do with ATI, and have followed several varied steps available on the internet to do with xorg.conf and apt-get... but i'm not too crystal clear on that tbh and would appreciate a little more targeted advice on the issue i am experiencing..

Hope this finds you all well. Any help would be appreciated, cheers.

[reed9]

It sounds like perhaps a graphics driver problem. Ubuntu has a safe graphics mode boot option. Directions for getting into that should be on the initial boot screen, as I recall.

You can also boot into recovery mode and select try to fix x server. To get to that, hold down the shift key during bootup and you should see an option.

[simon]

yes, it could be a graphics driver problem...although your description of the "circle" cursor sounds a bit like your system has got to the point where X (the GUI) is able to draw to the screen...and graphics driver problems often don't get that far. are you able to switch to another virtual terminal? i don't use ubuntu, but on many distros holding down CTRL-ALT-F6 (or CTRL-ALT- and some other function key, depending on what's defined in your inittab) will switch you to another console screen, even if the terminal you were working in has hung on startx or whatever.

if you can log into text mode in another virtual terminal, you're in a much better position to troubleshoot. from there you can experiment with different xorg.conf settings or whatever, killing and restarting X until it works. have a go at logging in as root and then "ps -A" (without the quotes) to view running processes. if X is running (and maybe gdm on ubuntu, i'm not sure) then you can write changes to xorg.conf or whatever other files may be causing you problems, and simply "killall X" and if it doesn't respawn, startx or gdm...much quicker than rebooting your computer every time you want to test a change.

check out your logs in /var/log (e.g. /var/log/Xorg.0.log) too...sometimes they will tell you what's going wrong. it's weird that you're having these problems: ubuntu has a reputation for doing a pretty good job of configuring the basics automatically. if you think it's the ati driver, you could try using the standard unaccelerated low res "vesa" driver and if that gets you to the desktop then yes, the ati driver (radeon or radeonhd or fglrx or whatever you're trying to use) was probably the problem. also, recent versions of X should work *without* an xorg.conf file at all, so if you've been poking around in there and it's a mess now, you could try simply deleting it (or renaming it...backups are good!).

good luck...if nothing works, i hope someone else with the same issue can walk you through the exact steps to fix it.

[rikkydik]

the safe driver install option worked like a charm!

Thanks for the help though Simon, already used it to solve a slightly related problem. Now i just have to learn linux...

cheers guys

R