** Summary changed: - kinit/video error with windows workaround + Ubuntu messes up my video card
** Description changed: I'm having a weird problem. What happens is this: I turn on my laptop and choose the kernel (or wait for the default to be chosen), and the startup begins, but it interrupted with the message "kinit: no resume image, doing normal boot..." It then says "ubuntu 8.10 richard-laptop tty1" and gives a login prompt. I can login, but cannot get to the GUI. - I have looked at a few ways to resolve this from other reports of the - same error, including reconfiguring xserver and the video configuration. - When I type "startx" I get "fatal server error: no screens found. I - also had an error at one point that said "could not start the x server - (your graphical environment) due to some internal error", and suggested - restarting GDM when corrected. But I couldn't correct it. Restarting - GDM alone doesn't help. + I then login and, knowing that I can't get to the GUI (and not being + capable to do my internet browsing without it), I shut it down "sudo + shutdown now". However, the shutdown stalls just before the graphical + progress bar gets to the end. I then wait a minute or more (I left it + for 30 minutes once, to see if it would manage anything, but no + progress) and then hit Ctrl-Alt-Del. The laptop then restarts with a + completed shutdown. If I let Ubuntu restart at that point, I have the + same error. - To continue with the issue, I then login and, knowing that I can't get - to the GUI (and not being capable to do my internet browsing without - it), I shut it down "sudo shutdown now". However, the shutdown stalls - just before the graphical progress bar gets to the end. I then wait a - minute or more (I left it for 30 minutes once, to see if it would manage - anything, but no progress) and then hit Ctrl-Alt-Del. The laptop then - restarts with a completed shutdown. If I let Ubuntu restart at that - point, I have the same error. + HOWEVER... If after that restart I remove the external HDD on which + Ubuntu is installed before bootup, Windows loads. I login to Windows, + and shut it down. Then I plug in the external HDD again, turn on the + laptop, and voila... no problem. It loads normally, without display + issues. - HOWEVER... If after that restart I pull out the external HDD on which - Ubuntu is installed when the ThinkPad logo shows (before the choice of - OS), Windows loads. I login to Windows, and shut it down. Then I plug - in the external HDD again, turn on the laptop, and voila... no problem. - It loads normally, without display issues. + Perhaps tellingly, when I load Windows after Ubuntu, the Found New + Hardware Wizard pops up as the video card is no longer found, and the + drivers have vanished. I can then either reinstall those, or, more + easily, restart Windows -- then they reappear. - Can anyone advise with this? How does loading Windows allow me to then - load Ubuntu after? Why can't I load consecutive Ubuntu sessions - (shutting down in between)? Please help! Also -- I've only been using - linux for about 4 months. Please make things simple for me! + To me, as a novice, it looks very much like Ubuntu is doing something + which affects my video card, and then Windows fixes it. Whenever I load + either OS after Ubuntu, I get the above error(s). The only way around + is to load Windows and then restart to load whichever OS I want. + + So, what's causing this? And what can I do to remedy it? - Background info: + Additional info and background: + + I have looked at a few ways to resolve this from other reports of the + same (Linux)error message, including reconfiguring xserver and the video + configuration. When I type "startx" I get "fatal server error: no + screens found. I also had an error at one point that said "could not + start the x server (your graphical environment) due to some internal + error", and suggested restarting GDM when corrected. But I couldn't + correct it. Restarting GDM alone doesn't help. I'm using Ubuntu 8.10 on a Lenovo ThinkPad W500, which has an ATI video card. I installed Ubuntu to an external HDD, and have the laptop load from that (via USB) when it's there. I recently upgraded from a ThinkPad T43. When I migrated to the new system, I just plugged in the HDD, setup the BIOS to load from it if it's there, and carried on as usual. It was a pretty clean migration; I expected driver issues but had none I could identify from within Ubuntu (other than this). I load from the external HDD as this is my work laptop, owned by my employers, and I don't want to do anything that our IT guys would get too pissed at, or that would leave too much of a footprint... I've been having other problems with my video drivers in Windows, but this isn't really the place for those. Just let me add that the video card is works properly when the ATI drivers are there (in both Ubuntu and Windows) but sometimes the drivers go AWOL -- I think it's related to the docking station I use at work, though given this issue I wouldn't be surprised if Ubuntu might be contributing to the issue. ** Tags added: ati card ubuntu video windows -- Ubuntu messes up my video card https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/386911 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
