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Black Screen on First Boot

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  Black Screen on First Boot Dan Norton <dnorton@mindspring.com> - 2016-12-13 03:10 +0100
    Re: Black Screen on First Boot Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2016-12-13 10:40 +0100
      Re: Black Screen on First Boot Dan Norton <dnorton@mindspring.com> - 2016-12-14 00:30 +0100
        Re: Black Screen on First Boot Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> - 2016-12-14 01:40 +0100

#175651 — Black Screen on First Boot

Greetings,

The netinst of jessie from a flash drive, graphic install, went well 
like it did on another PC, but on this old PC the boot after install 
produced a black screen.

vbeinfo lists some display settings followed by "Preferred mode 
1360x768", but this mode is not in the list. There is an * beside 
1024x768x32 in the list. Is that the mode used during the install?

What is the "Preferred mode 1360x768" for? Is that for the kernel? I 
tried to change that by doing this:

grub> set root=(hd0,1)
grub> set gfxpayload=1024x768
grub> linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-686-pae root=/dev/sda1
grub> initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-686-pae
grub> boot

But that still resulted in a black screen. What should be done instead?

  - Dan

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#175658

Dan Norton composed on 2016-12-12 20:52 (UTC-0500):

> The netinst of jessie from a flash drive, graphic install, went well
> like it did on another PC, but on this old PC the boot after install
> produced a black screen.

> vbeinfo lists some display settings followed by "Preferred mode
> 1360x768", but this mode is not in the list.

IIUC, vbeinfo can only ever find VESA modes supported by your video BIOS. There 
is no such thing as a widescreen VESA mode last I checked, so 1360x768 can't be 
in its list. 1360x768 is valid in other contexts, including Xorg and Wayland. 
video=1360x768 as a cmdline option, when the display supports it, is one such 
context.

 > There is an * beside
> 1024x768x32 in the list. Is that the mode used during the install?

I suspect a fallback and/or preferred VESA mode. Most any more do support 
1280x1024, while 1600x1200 is typically the highest VESA mode supported by a 
BIOS, less common than 1280x1024, and far less common than 1024x768. FWIW, 
1024x768 is XGA and dates back nearly three decades. The x32 is color bits 
(highest number of colors modes; other options nothing, x8, x16 and others).

> What is the "Preferred mode 1360x768 for?

Xorg (and Wayland?).

> Is that for the kernel?

Kernel framebuffers can use it via video=.

> I tried to change that by doing this:

> grub> set root=(hd0,1)
> grub> set gfxpayload=1024x768
> grub> linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-686-pae root=/dev/sda1
> grub> initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.16.0-4-686-pae
> grub> boot

> But that still resulted in a black screen. What should be done instead?

It's impossible to accurately answer all your questions without knowing your 
gfxchip (lspci) or display model (hwinfo), but try these:

1-Check if Plymouth is installed. If yes, purge it.

2-If Plymouth is not relevant, try testing changes to Grub's boot time 
parameters by hitting the "e" key as soon as the Grub menu appears, and remove 
quiet and splash from it. If it works, change /etc/default/grub to match and run 
grub-mkconfig.

3-same as #2, plus add vga=788 or vga=normal

4-same as #2, plus add "nomodeset" without quotes.
-- 
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

  Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/

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#175693

[...]

Thanks for the help. I've added more info...

It's impossible to accurately answer all your questions without knowing 
your gfxchip (lspci) or display model (hwinfo)...

Grub doesn't recognize any of those commands, but from hard copy:
Display adapter: NVIDIAGeForce4 8X AGP ; Display: LG W1953TV ; Pentium 4 3.0

1-Check if Plymouth is installed. If yes, purge it.

Did not find it.

2-If Plymouth is not relevant, try testing changes to Grub's boot time 
parameters by hitting the "e" key as soon as the Grub menu appears, and 
remove quiet and splash from it. If it works, change /etc/default/grub 
to match and run grub-mkconfig.

No quiet or splash in /boot/grub/grub.cfg but you give me an idea: is 
there a way to copy /etc/default/grub to a memory stick, edit it on 
another machine, then write it back? There is no mount command in the 
grub set.

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#175696

Dan Norton composed on 2016-12-13 18:04 (UTC-0500):

> It's impossible to accurately answer all your questions without knowing
> your gfxchip (lspci) or display model (hwinfo)...

You need a shell prompt, not a grub2 prompt, to run those.

> Grub doesn't recognize any of those commands, but from hard copy:
> Display adapter: NVIDIAGeForce4 8X AGP ;

That is indeed rather ancient, initially launched in February 2002.

> Display: LG W1953TV ;

According to https://www.cnet.com/products/lg-w1953t-lcd-monitor-18-5/specs/ 
your display is 1366x768, not 1360x768. I don't think either resolution existed 
at the time your GeForce4 was designed or marketed, when any sort of widescreen 
display was still rather new and/or expensive.

> Pentium 4 3.0

I have several. I have Jessie on two old machines here in that general speed 
category.

> 1-Check if Plymouth is installed. If yes, purge it.

> Did not find it.

One less thing to break. :-)

> 2-If Plymouth is not relevant, try testing changes to Grub's boot time
> parameters by hitting the "e" key as soon as the Grub menu appears, and
> remove quiet and splash from it. If it works, change /etc/default/grub
> to match and run grub-mkconfig.

> No quiet or splash in /boot/grub/grub.cfg but you give me an idea: is
> there a way to copy /etc/default/grub to a memory stick, edit it on
> another machine, then write it back? There is no mount command in the
> grub set.

Until you know what if any grub configuration changes are required, editing is 
premature. Editing on the fly at boot time is how one troubleshoots grub-related 
troubles.

Something else: if your motherboard has onboard video, remove the AGP card and 
give onboard a go. Most motherboards of that era with Intel CPUs and AGP slots 
also provide an onboard video port.

If you have an onboard video port in addition to the AGP one, be sure to plug 
the cable into the AGP one. When both are present, the onboard if it ever works 
cannot be counted on to stay working unless there is specific provision to do so 
in the motherboard BIOS..
-- 
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

  Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/

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