Hi all I’m a total newbie to Elementary OS but I'm totally loving the whole experience of Freya, til now I have tried Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Mandriva and Mageia but none to compare to the feel and use of the Elementary OS! However, I’ve had a few teething issues with post installation on one particular PC namely the Dell XPS 720. I’ve also got eOS on my Dell M4400 and it works flawlessly in every way right from day 1 of post installation. The problem I’ve had with the Dell XPS 720 is the black screen at start up where the system hangs...and does not boot into eOS. I decided to install a second time and decided to not check the installation box that read "Download updates while installing" and with much success have Freya installed on the XPS 720. eOS works great on the XPS 720 but I see that I need to update the system..... So my question is which update download do I have to avoid in order to not replicate that dreaded black screen error after my first attempt of installation?! I’ve looked at the list of updates and to me it would seem its the kernel graphic update for the Nvidia card in the XPS 720?! Any help would be much appreciated as I'd really want to avoid that black screen again, not into the idea of reinstalling all over again Many thanks in advance for any help or advice itll be much appreciated. cheers
Sorry I don't have an answer. I actually have the same problem. I'm on Sony Vaio laptop; I booted from USB and tried elementary which worked well. I then installed using the entire drive with the "Download updates while installing". The install finishes and I click the "Restart" button. Then I get a black screen with a tiny white bar in top left of screen (barely on the screen). I tried installing without internet and had the same results. I haven't been able to install it. It's odd that I could use elementary when booted from USB, but it wouldn't work via install. This doesn't seem like a driver issue?
Hi Caleb, It does seem odd that the USB loaded up everything and it worked as a live copy?! I have since installed the proprietary driver for my Nvidia graphics driver and downloaded all the updates to OS freya and everything is working fine, the only thing i didnt install were the kernels and the Xorg graphic update. I'm pretty sure it was the Xorg update that created the black screen after installation?! as for your case Im not sure... Do you have Windows installed on a different partition? Whenever you've installed do you get the Grub menu at start up before getting a black screen? have you seen this article, might help solve your problem... http://youcantborrowmyrack.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/elementary-os-black-screen-and-blank.html
How did you install the drivers if all you had access to was a blank screen? I did try this: https://www.reddit.com/r/elementary...k_screen_when_trying_to_install_freya_beta_2/ The answer in that site has been all over the net, but it didn't work for me either. It's similar to the one you linked, which changes the quiet option to nomodeset. I realized later it isn't a "blank" screen. It's an almost hidden terminal; about 25x25 pixels is visible in the top left of the screen. I can type "r" and I'll see it there, and then "e" and I see only the "e". I typed "reboot" and it worked. What's even more odd is it didn't work when using sudo, but it worked without sudo. I don't have any OS installed on the machine; I used the whole drive for Elementary. BTW I used a fresh copy of Freya which is currently on the website. I have already installed Ubuntu which I'm planning to stick with now, but if I thought there was a solid solution for Freya I might try it again.
hey caleb I tried that nomodset command as well and it didnt work!! I managed to install the propietary Nvidia drivers because i reinstalled a second time and didnt check the download update box whilst installing which meant i could manually choose my updates after the installation. I figured it was possible the Xorg and/or Kernel drivers that was causing the black screen after the Grub menu boot, they are the only updates installs ive not undertaken. I think eOS is still in heavy development but will be a great contender to other distros out there in time...Have you tried the LIve CD/DVD install instead of the USB?
I haven't tried a CD. I did follow the link you sent cause it was mentioned else where too. When I did the last command, I got the error: "update-grub failed to get canonical path of aufs" I realize I could probably find a solution for that too, but I don't have time to do that atm. Sad eOS fails cause it seemed cooler than Ubuntu when I booted from the USB. Ubuntu has gotten better since I tried it a year or two ago so I might actually like it too. Thanks for the ideas foil!
