On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 03:41:35AM -0500, Selim T. Erdogan wrote: > Arvind, 11.04.2011: > > > > Over the weekend, i had time to investigate some more. I purged Xorg > > and all its dependencies. Since my graphics card is intel, X only > > requires xserver-xorg-video-intel, xserver-xorg-video-vesa, > > xserver-xorg-video-fbdev and xinit (for startx). I installed each of > > these packages alone, and rebooted the machine. It is only the > > xserver-xorg-video-intel package that leads to a blank screen on > > reboot. When i purge this package and install the other three X > > packages, the problem does not recur on rebooting. So presently, i am > > running X only using the generic vesa video driver. That would perhaps > > lead to a sub-optimal use of the video card capabilities. But the only > > workaround is to purge xserver-xorg-video-intel before every shutdown, > > and reinstall it after every boot. I do not like that option. > > > > A clarification: both xserver-xorg-video-intel and > > xserver-oxrg-video-vesa depend on xserver-xorg-core. I have checked > > and made sure that xserver-xorg-core and its dependencies do not cause > > this problem. It is specifically (and only) the package > > xserver-xorg-video-intel. > > > > One more clarification: i have not installed X/G/KDM, so X should not > > (try to) start at boot. Davide had suggested that as a possibility. I > > don't think xserver-xorg-video-intel package alone should lead to X > > starting at boot. > > > > In summary, if i do > > 1) an absolute minimal installation of debian amd64 on a macbook (see > > above for configuration details of the machine), > > 2) install the package xserver-xorg-video-intel and > > 3) reboot > > then the kernel gets selected at the grub prompt, i see few lines > > scrolling down, and then the screen goes blank. I can ssh to the > > machine so i know it does complete the booting process. > > Could it be related to KMS? I really don't have much experience with > KMS but from reading messages on this list I got the feeling it's > something that can affect (i.e. possibly screw up) both the console > and X together, which sounds like your problem.
Good catch - i installed xserver-xorg-video-intel, and disabled KMS by changing the relevant parameter in /etc/modprobe.d/i915-kms.conf - the problem does not recur on reboot. Thanks a lot for the suggestion. > You might want to look at http://wiki.debian.org/KernelModesetting > and try the advice under the section "Disabling KMS"... Coincidentally, i too had reached this page through a different route. I had installed some software in the past few days, including mplayer, and it could not provide fullscreen video, with 'xvinfo' giving "no adaptors present". A google search led to a suggestion to disable KMS, and further search on KMS lead to the above wiki. I thought maybe this was also causing the blank screen problem, and then i saw your mail... :-) Unfortunately, the problem with 'xvinfo' persists despite disabling KMS - that needs further investigation, time permitting )-: Thanks to all for the help. arvind -- Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20110418144530.ga1...@mbu.iisc.ernet.in
