Shortly after my original post, I reinstalled Ubuntu because I could not figure out how to remove the proprietary video driver that may have contributed to the problem. Indeed, I was then able to get my video display to work again.
But, about 3 or 4 months ago I ran into a blink blank problem and posted a new bug that may be related to this one: Bug #1044885. I posted this comment on Bug #1044885: 1. My PC's mother board has an ATI Radeon graphics chip. It blinked and blanked only when it recognized the monitor as a Dell 17". It did not blank when it recognized the monitor as Unknown. This happened occasionally after an update/upgrade. When that happened, I resisted updates. But, Ubuntu was smarter and would "upgrade" spontaneously. 2. In the belief that I might have a h/w problem, I added a new grapcs card: Zotac Nvidia GeForce GTX. The blinky blank problem became more pronounced and my on-board graphics ceased to provide VGA output. 3. I have replaced my Dell 17" monitor by my wife's LG monitor which is recognized by Linux as a Goldstar Company Ltd 23", 1920 x 1080 dispaly (VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GT218 [GeForce 210] (rev a2)). The blinky blank problem is as bad as with the Dell 17" monitor. The problem is: - not the monitor - not the graphics hardware - not Ubuntu, as it seems I am the only person with this problem I am at a loss. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to fglrx-installer in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/922733 Title: Inappropriate response to GFX card problem Status in “fglrx-installer” package in Ubuntu: Incomplete Bug description: The U-11.10 initially boots to a default 1024 x 768 resolution to display the "Ubuntu" pre-sign-in screen. Then it has problems with the "ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver" for the Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4250 GPU on my PC's motherboard. CURRENT RESPONSE: Black screen with white text "Cannot display this video mode" APPROPRIATE RESPONSE: Dialog window offering the option to use the default graphics or to boot in a different mode. Help button on screen linking to on-line doc outlining problem and possible solutions. PC: 64 bit AMD Phenom II Screen: Dell 1280x1024 60 Hz LCD screen Video Chip set: ATI Radeon HD 4250 GPU Video Driver: ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver Background: Live CD 11.10 displays well at default 1024 x 768 Ubu 11.10 displays well at 1024 x 768. Since 31-Dec-11, get Black "Cannot display.." screen when ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver is activated. Prior to 30-Dec-11, Ubu 11.10 displayed at 1280 x 1024 using the ATI/AMD proprietary FGLRX graphics driver. It appears support for this driver was then dropped or broken. ------------------------------- Request for Help Postings ---------------------------------------------------- I first ran into this problem about a week after installing Ubuntu-11.10 on my new bare bones AMD 64 bit PC with an old Dell 1280x1024 60 Hz LCD screen. ..And, yes, I have tried uncommenting “# GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480” in /etc/defaults/grub. With advice from Fantab (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1888642&highlight=burnsmicro, posting #4), I fixed it with a fixresolution.sh script and a link in /etc/X11/Xsession.d/45fixrandr. All went well until I fired up my PC after the holidays and the dreaded “Cannot display this video mode” showed up again when Ubuntu tries to take final control of the screen after boot-up. I could only access my PC by booting with a Ubuntu-11.10 LiveCD or booting fom the HD, followed by Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get past the "Cannot display..". Several things changed after the last update on 30-Dec-11: * The link to the fix resolution script was remove from /etc/X11/Xsession.d/, probably because this folder was overwritten. However, restoring the link did not remedy the situation. * “CRT1” is no longer recognized by xranadr. It has changed to “VGA-0”. However, fixing the resolution restoring script to address this did not remedy the situation. Other efforts that failed: * Changing the resolution restoring script to set a lower resolution from 1280x1024 60 to 1024x768 60 used successfully by the Ubuntu-11.10 LiveCD. * Uncommenting “# GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480” in /etc/defaults/grub. I did get my display working briefly, yesterday, after reinstalling Ubuntu-11.10 with updates and 3rd party s/w. It rebooted fine from the HD. But I broke it again when I "apt-get updated" and then I "apt-get upgraded". I also tried to update the graphics driver through System Settings --> Drivers, but I got an error and it did not install (it had installed without a hitch about a month ago). On rebooting, I got the dreaded "Cannot display..". Subsequent attempts to install Ubuntu-11.10 (replace Ubuntu-11.10 by Ubuntu-11.10) have all failed to resolve the "Cannot display.." issue. I do not know how to discover what graphics chip is on the motherboard from the Ctrl-Alt-F1 command line and I cannot discover it with the LiveCD. In any event, this is not an issue with the LiveCD. The LiveCD works fine and the [HD] boot screen seems to work fine too. That is, I get a Bios screen --> black screen --> purple --> purple + "Ubuntu", dots and some text --> Black + "Cannot display..". In short, my PC is unusable until I can get the screen to work again. Worse yet, I am unable to install any updates that may have resolved the "Cannot display.." issue. I cannot say how grateful I would be for some help. Thanks, RF To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/fglrx-installer/+bug/922733/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
