[SOLVED] Blank screen when booting; shift-alt-f1 back to f7 fixes

[Mountain Man]

I hope my thread title makes some sense. When I boot my Kubuntu system, I get the Kubuntu Plymouth screen, but the KDE splashscreen never appears. My screen goes blank, but the system still boots. If I transition to a text console with shift-alt-f1 and then switch back with shift-alt-f7, my desktop appears. I've also noticed that if I logout, I have to do the shift-alt-f1 to f7 shuffle to get the login screen to appear. Not a fatal problem but still annoying.

It worked fine until a recent software update, and then it suddenly started exhibiting this behavior.

[GreyGeek]

Do you have an NVIDIA GPU? IF NOT, then try
sudo apt-get remove nvidia-*
sudo apt-get autoremove

and reboot.
See this.

[Mountain Man]

I have an Nvidia GPU.

Your link doesn't describe my problem. I'm not even seeing the cursor.

[GreyGeek]

Well then, have tried to install NVidia-304 ?

Anyway, enough guessing about your hardware. Post the output of
lspci
and
lshw

PS: Another thread found the answer to their NVidia problem here.

[Mountain Man]

I have a GeForce GTX 760 card with the 367.35 driver installed.

As I said, my system was working fine before a recent update, but I'm not exactly sure what software was updated. Might this be a driver error? I suppose I could try purging my driver and then reinstalling it and seeing what happens.

[oshunluvr]

I've had problems with all the nvidia drivers after 340.

Try adding "nomodeset" to your boot line.

[Mountain Man]

Purged the driver and rebooted, system went straight to desktop. Reinstalled the driver and rebooted, I had to do the CTRL-ALT-F1 to F7 two-step to get the desktop to display.

I'll try the "nomodeset" option and see if that fixes it.

[oshunluvr]

If not, install the nvidia-340 driver. It's seem to work OK for me.

[Mountain Man]

"nomodeset" didn't change anything.

I really hate to downgrade because the latest drivers have some nice performance improvements for gaming.

[oshunluvr]

Maybe it was a kernel upgrade? You can always install an older kernel - make sure your dkms modules are built and installed before rebooting.

Also, are you blacklisting nouveau? Some people are reporting it necessary.

[Mountain Man]

Blacklisting? No, I'm not doing that. I'm not even sure what I would blacklist.

Anyway, I did downgrade to 358.16 which is the driver version recommended for XCOM 2, and that seems to have sorted things out.

[nicrnicr]

Hi everybody,
I also have a blank screen after booting Kubuntu 14.04, after having it instaled recently. I've been searching in the Internet and only found solutions which change the modeset of the grub. This works. I no longer have blank screen BUT I can no longer hibernate, which is for me very important. Please would you have a suggestion ? :-)
Mountain Man wrote he just needed to downgrade to 358.16, how does he do that please?

I have an NVIDIA.
For lspci I have:

---@---:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev b4)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev b4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF108M [GeForce GT 630M] (rev a1)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM57785 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe (rev 10)
02:00.1 SD Host controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader (rev 10)
02:00.2 System peripheral: Broadcom Corporation BCM57765/57785 MS Card Reader (rev 10)
02:00.3 System peripheral: Broadcom Corporation BCM57765/57785 xD-Picture Card Reader (rev 10)
03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43227 802.11b/g/n

and for lshw, there is:

---@---:~$ lshw
WARNUNG: Sie sollten dieses Programm mit Systemverwalterrechten (root) ausführen.
alfred-desktop            
   Beschreibung: Computer
   Breite: 64 bits
   Fähigkeiten: ldt16 vsyscall32
 *-core
      Beschreibung: Motherboard
      Physische ID: 0
    *-memory
         Beschreibung: Systemspeicher
         Physische ID: 0
         Größe: 7838MiB
    *-cpu
         Produkt: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz
         Hersteller: Intel Corp.
         Physische ID: 1
         Bus-Informationen: cpu@0
         Größe: 800MHz
         Kapazität: 800MHz
         Breite: 64 bits
         Fähigkeiten: fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp x86-64 constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf eagerfpu pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx lahf_lm ida arat epb xsaveopt pln pts dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid cpufreq
    *-pci
         Beschreibung: Host bridge
         Produkt: 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller
         Hersteller: Intel Corporation
         Physische ID: 100
         Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:00.0
         Version: 09
         Breite: 32 bits
         Takt: 33MHz
       *-pci:0
            Beschreibung: PCI bridge
            Produkt: Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:01.0
            Version: 09
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=pcieport
            Ressourcen: irq:40 ioport:2000(Größe=4096) memory:d0000000-d10fffff ioport:a0000000(Größe=301989888)
          *-display UNGEFORDERT
               Beschreibung: VGA compatible controller
               Produkt: GF108M [GeForce GT 630M]
               Hersteller: NVIDIA Corporation
               Physische ID: 0
               Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:01:00.0
               Version: a1
               Breite: 64 bits
               Takt: 33MHz
               Fähigkeiten: vga_controller bus_master cap_list
               Konfiguration: latency=0
               Ressourcen: memory:d0000000-d0ffffff memory:a0000000-afffffff memory:b0000000-b1ffffff ioport:2000(Größe=128) memory:d1000000-d107ffff
       *-display UNGEFORDERT
            Beschreibung: VGA compatible controller
            Produkt: 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 2
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:02.0
            Version: 09
            Breite: 64 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: vga_controller bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: latency=0
            Ressourcen: memory:d1400000-d17fffff memory:c0000000-cfffffff ioport:3000(Größe=64)
       *-communication
            Beschreibung: Communication controller
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 16
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:16.0
            Version: 04
            Breite: 64 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=mei_me latency=0
            Ressourcen: irq:42 memory:d1a04000-d1a0400f
       *-usb:0
            Beschreibung: USB controller
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1a
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1a.0
            Version: 04
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: ehci bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=ehci-pci latency=0
            Ressourcen: irq:16 memory:d1a0a000-d1a0a3ff
       *-multimedia
            Beschreibung: Audio device
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1b
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1b.0
            Version: 04
            Breite: 64 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=0
            Ressourcen: irq:43 memory:d1a00000-d1a03fff
       *-pci:1
            Beschreibung: PCI bridge
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1c
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1c.0
            Version: b4
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=pcieport
            Ressourcen: irq:17 memory:9fb00000-9fbfffff ioport:d1800000(Größe=1048576)
          *-network
               Beschreibung: Ethernet interface
               Produkt: NetLink BCM57785 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe
               Hersteller: Broadcom Corporation
               Physische ID: 0
               Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:02:00.0
               Logischer Name: eth0
               Version: 10
               Seriennummer: dc:0e:a1:95:44:b8
               Größe: 1Gbit/s
               Kapazität: 1Gbit/s
               Breite: 64 bits
               Takt: 33MHz
               Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list rom ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
               Konfiguration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=tg3 driverversion=3.134 duplex=full firmware=sb ip=192.168.0.251 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
               Ressourcen: irq:16 memory:d1830000-d183ffff memory:d1840000-d184ffff memory:d1850000-d18507ff
          *-generic:0
               Beschreibung: SD Host controller
               Produkt: BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader
               Hersteller: Broadcom Corporation
               Physische ID: 0.1
               Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:02:00.1
               Version: 10
               Breite: 64 bits
               Takt: 33MHz
               Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list
               Konfiguration: driver=sdhci-pci latency=0
               Ressourcen: irq:17 memory:d1800000-d180ffff
          *-generic:1 UNGEFORDERT
               Beschreibung: System peripheral
               Produkt: BCM57765/57785 MS Card Reader
               Hersteller: Broadcom Corporation
               Physische ID: 0.2
               Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:02:00.2
               Version: 10
               Breite: 64 bits
               Takt: 33MHz
               Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list
               Konfiguration: latency=0
               Ressourcen: memory:d1810000-d181ffff
          *-generic:2 UNGEFORDERT
               Beschreibung: System peripheral
               Produkt: BCM57765/57785 xD-Picture Card Reader
               Hersteller: Broadcom Corporation
               Physische ID: 0.3
               Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:02:00.3
               Version: 10
               Breite: 64 bits
               Takt: 33MHz
               Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list
               Konfiguration: latency=0
               Ressourcen: memory:d1820000-d182ffff
       *-pci:2
            Beschreibung: PCI bridge
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1c.1
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1c.1
            Version: b4
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=pcieport
            Ressourcen: irq:16 memory:d1900000-d19fffff
          *-network
               Beschreibung: Network controller
               Produkt: BCM43227 802.11b/g/n
               Hersteller: Broadcom Corporation
               Physische ID: 0
               Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:03:00.0
               Version: 00
               Breite: 64 bits
               Takt: 33MHz
               Fähigkeiten: bus_master cap_list
               Konfiguration: driver=bcma-pci-bridge latency=0
               Ressourcen: irq:17 memory:d1900000-d1903fff
       *-usb:1
            Beschreibung: USB controller
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1d
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1d.0
            Version: 04
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: ehci bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=ehci-pci latency=0
            Ressourcen: irq:23 memory:d1a09000-d1a093ff
       *-isa
            Beschreibung: ISA bridge
            Produkt: HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1f
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1f.0
            Version: 04
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Fähigkeiten: isa bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=lpc_ich latency=0
            Ressourcen: irq:0
       *-storage
            Beschreibung: SATA controller
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1f.2
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1f.2
            Version: 04
            Breite: 32 bits
            Takt: 66MHz
            Fähigkeiten: storage ahci_1.0 bus_master cap_list
            Konfiguration: driver=ahci latency=0
            Ressourcen: irq:41 ioport:3088(Größe=8) ioport:309c(Größe=4) ioport:3080(Größe=8) ioport:3098(Größe=4) ioport:3060(Größe=32) memory:d1a08000-d1a087ff
       *-serial UNGEFORDERT
            Beschreibung: SMBus
            Produkt: 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller
            Hersteller: Intel Corporation
            Physische ID: 1f.3
            Bus-Informationen: pci@0000:00:1f.3
            Version: 04
            Breite: 64 bits
            Takt: 33MHz
            Konfiguration: latency=0
            Ressourcen: memory:d1a06000-d1a060ff ioport:3040(Größe=32)
WARNUNG: Ausgabe kann unvollständig oder fehlerhaft werden, Sie sollten dieses Programm mit Systemverwalterrechten (root) ausführen.

[Mountain Man]

Wow, I had completely forgotten about this. Anyway...

Mountain Man wrote he just needed to downgrade to 358.16, how does he do that please?

In the latest version of Kubuntu, you go to System Settings and then look for "Driver Manager" and click on it (it's at the bottom of the window under "Hardware"; older versions of Kubuntu might call it something slightly different, such as "Additional Drivers"). Wait for the list to populate -- it can take a couple of minutes -- select the driver version you want, click "Apply", enter the root password when prompted, then reboot your system when the installation process finishes.

358.16 is such an old version that I'm not sure you're going to find it in the list any more, but it should be safe to upgrade to a later version. I'm currently running 381.22 without any problems.

[nicrnicr]

Thank you Mountain Man, I changed to the version 375.39 (I don't have a bigger choice). I had X.Org server and a driver Nouveau from packet xserver-xorg-video-noveau.
I still have the problem and I will therefore try the version 340; but I did'nt know that it is possible to overcome the problem with Strg-alt-F1. Still I was unable to go from the screen-wide-terminal to the normal screen. How do you do this please (wether strg-alt-F7 nor F11 or right click on "leave tty" works)?

[Mountain Man]

I can't remember why I said SHIFT+ALT. You use CTRL+ALT+F1 through F7 to change terminals on a Linux system. F1 through F6 are typically text terminals, and F7 is usually where the xserver defaults to.

As for what's causing the black screen problem in the first place, I don't think I ever definitively solved that. I assumed it was a driver bug in my case since changing drivers fixed it, but I can't tell you why this hasn't resolved it for you.

To get the latest and greatest graphics card drivers, you need to add the graphics drivers ppa:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
$ sudo apt-get update

And then use the Driver Manager/Additional Drivers tool to install them.