Black Screen

[mdjacks]

I keep getting a black screen after the reboot with installing mce. I see the bios and the kubuntu scrolling bar but after the ascending beeps it goes black. I've tried both the dvd and the cds. Both do the same thing. I've tried leaveing it at the same spot over night too. Any ideas whats going on?

[Zaerc]

Chances are that the wrong output is selected, try pressing 1-5 and wait about 30 seconds in between.  See also AVWizard in the wiki for more information.

[totallymaxed]

I keep getting a black screen after the reboot with installing mce. I see the bios and the kubuntu scrolling bar but after the ascending beeps it goes black. I've tried both the dvd and the cds. Both do the same thing. I've tried leaveing it at the same spot over night too. Any ideas whats going on?

UI1 or UI2? What Video card have you got installed? Did the AVwizard run the first time you booted this system after install? If the AVwizard did not run and you get a black screen its very likely that your video cards driver is not loaded and X is not starting up properly.

[elspic]

that fixed it for me. 3 for component then just followed the a/v wizard. Thanks! -Ruben

[ckoester]

I used the quick-install DVD and I have the same problem.  I have tried pressing number keys and holding down shift during boot.

Pressing the number 3 takes me to a console logon prompt briefly and then immediately returns to the black screen.  I never saw the AV Wizard and I cannot get it to start.

I will be trying the CD installation method, which is disappointing considering the time advantage of the DVD.

Update 8/17:CD installation also failed with a similar result.  See my post on the thread
Still having trouble with black screen at startup

[Varjohaltia]

I also encountered the black screen. The DVD installer finished fine, but after a reboot I see the kubuntu bar and can watch the start-up console messages, but shortly after the tones the screen goes black. However, pressing 1-5 does nothing for me. Also, when the system has booted and I get the black screen, caps lock doesn't seem to do anything; I don't know if this is normal or not. Hitting power seems to shut down the system properly, but I can't get any video to save my life.

Hardware is a Dell Dimension 2100 with a GeForce FX5200 and some old model SoundBlaster sound card and 3Com 905B ethernet. I realize it's pretty old, but I just want something basic to watch AVIs and DivX with. It used to run Windows XP okay, but I hoped this would work better, and I really don't want to go back to MS.

[edit]
It seems that MCE Linux is not dealing with the video cards correctly. The BIOS has an option to use on-board or add-on video as the primary. There is no option to turn the on-board video off, nor is there a jumper on the motherboard. As long as I have an add-on card, MCE fails to use either card properly, regardless of the BIOS setting. If I physically remove the GeForce card, MCE linux tries to use the on-board video, which is limited to say the least, but X starts and there's some progress. Any hints on how I could get it to use the GeForce and ignore the on-board video?

[webpaul1]

Try connecting a monitor to the vga port.  That is the default when av wizard starts.

[Zaerc]

You should be able to specify a "BusID" in the xorg.conf to select a specific graphics chipset, see Display Drivers in the wiki for details.