Ubuntu
nvidia-graphics-drivers package

When I update my graphics driver, the system won't boot

Asked by Brad Beaubien

Hi, I just installed Ubuntu 10.10 on my cpu(sony vaio) and I am having a problem with the graphics. It won't let me set it past 800x600. I have a geforce nvidia 425m. When I get download and install the driver, it downloads fine. It tells me to reboot the computer, so I do so. The problem is when I reboot, a purple screen comes up and stays there indefinitely. I think it's freezing or something. At that point I have to put back in my install disk and reinstall everything. What exactly is going on and how can I get my graphics card to work right?

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Ubuntu nvidia-graphics-drivers Edit question
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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

How are you installing the driver?

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Jeb E. (jebeld17) said : 		#2

Maybe play around with Ubuntu versions. See which version works best with your laptop. Probably 10.04.2 will work best, as it has been around for a while, yet still keeps getting updates, so therefore if the most stable.
From there, you can try upgrading to 10.10 through the software update, and your problem might be fixed, as I noticed if I have a problem originally, if I try installing a lesser version first, then updating, the newer version seems to work ok.

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Brad Beaubien (bradb117) said : 		#3

When I change my visual effects settings in appearance, it prompts me to download the latest driver. Upon accepting, it downloads and installs it automatically,then notifies me to reboot.

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Brad Beaubien (bradb117) said : 		#4

Also, downgrading to 10.04 is not really an option, as it would take weeks to get the cd in the mail.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

Try running:

sudo nvidia-xconfig

in a root recovery console and reboot, may help

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Brad Beaubien (bradb117) said : 		#6

Before I download the driver? I'm kind of leery of downloading it, since each time I have, I've had to re-install ubuntu completely, taking about an hour.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#7

as soon as the driver installs, run the command before you reboot

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Brad Beaubien (bradb117) said : 		#8

okay, and before I do, just in case, if the system won't start afterwards and it just stays at a purple screen is there anything I can do other than put in my install disk and re-install/wipe everything?

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Matthew (ruinairas1992) said : 		#9

I had the same issue, I fixed it by going to "Recovery Mode" and "Resume normally" After it boots into Ubuntu you can then restart your computer without using recovery mode and it'll work.

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