Ubuntu 9 w/ S3 Unichrome

If you have a command prompt, try typing in

startx

and, when it returns you back to the command line (assuming X refuses to start), it should give you some explanation as to the reason it failed.
Assuming the laptop has enough ram, it should be possible to get it running an X session.
As you will probably know, even a small error in the Xorg configuration can make things fall over.

Post the results here and hopefully it can be fixed. It would be worth posting the amount of memory (ram) - so we can see what spec the machine has.

Mark

Thanks for the quick response. Here's some more info:

Machine specs:
  CPU - Mobile AMD Athlon™ XP-M 2000+
  Memory - 256MB DDR 333 (I just purchased a 1GB chip to install)

After running lspci:
  Video Card - VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies KM400/KN400/P4M800 S3 Unichrome rev 01

After running startx:
   (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Fri May 8 10:25:55 2009
   (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"

   (EE) CHROME(0): No valid modes found
   (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration.

   Fatal server error:
   no screens found

   Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support at http://wiki.x.org
   Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information

   ddxSigGiveUp: Closing log
   giving up.

   xinit: No such file or directory (errno 2): unable to connect to X server
   xinit: No such process (errno 3): Server error

As a side note, a brief review of the log at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" shows this message just before the fatal server error:

"(EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration"

As I go over the log, I see a lot of this:

"(II) CHROME(0): Not using default mode '[resolution]' (bad mode clock/interlace/doublescan)" where [resolution] = some resolution it appears to be attempting to use, say, 1024x768.

OK, 256mb ram is a little low and I suspect that might give you problems, but the "screens" issue is why you are not getting any X display.

Can you copy your Xorg.conf here (just the section which covers device, monitor and screen will be fine) (and lets hope it isn't one of the "new" style Xorg.confs which give 0 detail - personal gripe with those ;) )

Mark

the xorg.conf file doesn't appear to have any information in it. I've tried accessing it after shutting down gdm, and with two different editors (vi and nano). I don't see any content.

The location of the file I'm accessing is /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I think I might get the alt install disc of Ubuntu 8 and see what happens with it.

That is the new default for Xorg.conf - totally useless in my view (but that is something else!)

As you have a command line, try running -

sudo X -configure

When you hit enter, you will be asked for your password - nothing will appear on screen as you type that in (security measure).

Once you have typed it in, you should be able to set up an Xorg.conf file. It will help if you know the basics about the laptop - e.g max resolution, keyboard layout etc. Hopefully that will get things sorted - but it may take a bit of tweaking.

I did find this online which might well sort you out :) -

It is a section of an xorg.conf file from somebody with the same laptop

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "LCD Panel 1024x768"
HorizSync 31.5 - 60.5
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
Option "dpms"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Videocard0"
Driver "via"
Option "DisableIRQ"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Videocard0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Badly laid out perhaps, but if you use that as the basis for setting up your xorg.conf you should be up and running again.

My steps were as follows:
 - created a file "xorg.conf.new" via the "X -configure" command
 - modified the new file to contain the new information (making sure to insert the info into the right sections, etc)
 - renamed "xorg.conf.new" to "xorg.conf" and replaced the original in /etc/X11 with the new file
 - rebooted computer

still booting to command line and showing the same error on the "startx" command

It's strange, but Ubuntu 7 seems to work just fine on the display. I just don't know what's different.

Because xorg decided the "dumb down" the configuration file, it is useless when it comes to graphics issues now.

The best bet would be to grab either something like Knoppix or an earlier version of a live Ubuntu disk if you have one around which uses the older xorg.conf system. Boot that as a live disk, copy down the details from xorg.conf and then boot into your new system and backup and replace the current xorg.conf with the older one. It is compatible and - if the system worked with the live knoppix or older ubuntu, then it will work with that xorg.conf.

Hopefully, the xorg developers will realise that their changes have made it almost impossible to resolve issues with graphics and revert back!

Mark