11.10 installs seamlessly, 12.04 will not

Discussion in 'Software' started by snowman2765, Jun 2, 2012.

  1. snowman2765

    snowman2765 Private E-2

    Hi all. The prolem I am having is that if I install Ubuntu 12.04 I get a black screen whereas 11.10 has no issues whatsoever. This occurs no matter if I upgrade from 11.10 using the upgrade manager or do a fresh install. I have an Acer aspire z5700 all in one with an intel graphics driver. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Hedon James

    Hedon James Sergeant

    I have an Acer Aspire AO751 netbook that ran just fine with 10.04 Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR); 10.10; 11.04; and 11.10. However, upgrade to 12.04 caused the black screen you are describing. Turns out my netbook has an onboard Intel graphics chip, but it's the Poulsboro chip, which apparently has had issues for awhile.

    It sounds like you have the same/similar video driver problem, but we need more information. Open terminal and type "lspci" and look for entries regarding "Poulsbo" chip; if present, that is DEFINITELY an issue with 12.04 regardless of method of installation. Even if not present, I'm fairly certain that whatever graphics driver you have is causing this.

    After you've determined your graphics chips with "lspci", google "Ubuntu 12.04 boots to blank screen" and I'm certain you'll see MANY links for solutions. Upon learning of my Poulsboro chip issue, I printed out 2 webpages to assist me, but the entire web address doesn't fit on the page printout. Based on what can be read, the most helpful links for me and my Acer Aspire AO751 were at wiki.ubuntu.com/Hardware SupportCompone... & www.tuxgarage.com/2011/01/ubuntumaverick...

    Assuming your graphics chip is also Poulsboro (I'm betting that it is!), I hope this info is helpful in tracking down those workaround articles. As I recall, I utilized potential solution #2 (disable splash) on the Ubuntu Hardware Wiki site. This has worked wonderfully for me, at the expense of an "ugly" startup, which I don't care about. Once you determine your graphics chip (don't automatically assume my guess is correct!), potential solutions will be revealed. Decide which solution you prefer and work from there. Let us know how you made out!
     
  3. snowman2765

    snowman2765 Private E-2

    here is what is shown:
    00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 18)
    00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 18)
    00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset HECI Controller (rev 06)
    00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82578DC Gigabit Network Connection (rev 06)
    00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 06)
    00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset High Definition Audio (rev 06)
    00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 06)
    00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev 06)
    00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 06)
    00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev a6)
    00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series Chipset LPC Interface Controller (rev 06)
    00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 06)
    00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset SMBus Controller (rev 06)
    02:00.0 Network controller: Ralink corp. RT3090 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe
    ff:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QuickPath Architecture Generic Non-core Registers (rev 05)
    ff:00.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QuickPath Architecture System Address Decoder (rev 05)
    ff:02.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QPI Link 0 (rev 05)
    ff:02.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QPI Physical 0 (rev 05)
    ff:02.2 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor Reserved (rev 05)
    ff:02.3 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor Reserved (rev 05)
    dont see anything pertaining to your description.
     
  4. Hedon James

    Hedon James Sergeant

    The VGA entry is your graphics hardware. While it is NOT Poulsboro chip, it is still Intel and it is integrated. Googling Acer Aspire z5700 All In One leads me to this page, which suggests your machine has an Intel GMA 4500 chip:

    http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/acer-aspire-z5700-u3112/4505-3118_7-34204889.html?tag=lia;rcol

    Googling Ubuntu 12.04 boot to black screen, and Ubuntu 12.04 Intel GMA 4500 leads to a plethora of graphics chip issues. (It used to be that nVidia was a pretty sure thing, and Intel GMA was a close 2nd, with ATI being the problem child; since 12.04, the paradigm seems to have flipped, with ATI being the most user-friendly and nVidia and Intel GMA causing problems; anyone know what has changed in order to cause this?) After wading through a couple webpages, it seems that "nomodeset" and "i915" workarounds are the most common for Intel chipsets. With that said, my Poulsboro link has several solutions that will probably apply to your GMA 4500 chipset, linked as follows:

    https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo

    Worthy of note, my Google expedition indicates there seems to be an issue regarding screen brightness/backlight that is unique to Acer hardware. It appears that many Acer devices turn off the backlight on boot/reboot AND the brightness Fn keys are REVERSED! (see Brightness Hotkeys near bottom of page) It is possible your machine is booting fine, but appears to be a black screen due to this. To find out, boot your Acer, see if the reduced brightness hotkey actually makes your screen brighter! If so, login, and jump straight to the fix for Brightness Hotkeys! If we can be so lucky!

    If your "reversed brightness" test still reveals a black boot screen, start with the Live CD section, as follows in the linked page:

    ***************
    Live (Desktop) CD

    The problem with 12.04 is that the default kernel included on the desktop CD (all variants) is 3.3.2. This kernel works, but requires some custom boot parameters. Without these parameters you will either get a black screen or distortion.

    Switch to a console - Ctrl-Alt-F1
    Restart X with 'sudo service lightdm restart'

    That should bring you back to a functional graphical desktop, so that you can proceed testing or installing.
    ****************

    From there, it is my OPINION that Option #2 is the least invasive workaround and should get you to a login screen at boot. If your resolution isn't correct, you can force it with Option #3.

    Lastly, the first link to the Acer z5700 specs indicates that your graphics card has only 128MB of SHARED memory. Again, assuming this is your chipset, I'd probably also implement the fix for Memory Allocation Optimization near the bottom of the page.

    Hope this gets you all fixed up and enjoying 12.04! Good luck!
     
  5. snowman2765

    snowman2765 Private E-2

    for now......... i gave up and installed linux mint 13 maya 64bit. seems to work flawlessly as opposed to ubuntu. just cant be bothered right now (too busy) but dont want to go back to microsoft. thanks for all your help.
     
  6. Hedon James

    Hedon James Sergeant

    Linux Mint is an excellent choice also. Congrats & enjoy!
     
  7. hitest

    hitest Staff Sergeant

    Very cool! :cool
    I think Mint is an amazing distro; I was very impressed with it when I gave it a test drive. I am happy to hear that you're still using Linux! :)
     

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