opensuse 12.1 black screen on hp pavilion laptop

**crumpybumpy** · 15-Aug-2012, 20:10

Hello. I am using an HP Pavilion DV7 laptop:

2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT

Originally I had opensuse 11.4 running on there with no problem, but then it crashed. After teh HP splash screen it went to a blank screen.

So I installed Opensuse 12.1 32 bit I used all the defaults during the installation.

When I power on the computer, I get the HP splash screen, then teh opensuse boot options. I select the top option; it then goes to the opensuse desktop with 4 icons (KDE the last on the right). I click on KDE and then it goes to the black screen. After a while I hear the default opensuse start up sound. And the computer is completely nonresponsive. But after a while...my slideshow screensaver of pics in my previous user settings start up.

I made a video of the above here:

MVI 4577 - YouTube

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot?

**gogalthorp** · 15-Aug-2012, 20:15

Did you install the NVIDIA driver?

Have you tried booting to failsafe?

Tried nomodeset at boot?

**crumpybumpy** · 15-Aug-2012, 21:12

how do i install teh nvidia driver with a black screen?
I tried the failsafe boot and does the same thing.
how do i do the nomodeset?

**gogalthorp** · 15-Aug-2012, 22:34

type nomodset at the boot screen then press enter

also if you can boot to a terminal (type 3 at boot) and log as root you can use yast to install the driver

**crumpybumpy** · 16-Aug-2012, 18:09

nomodset didnt do anything.
I didn't have a problem with nvidia drivers with 11.4..I went into yast through the terminal, but don't know how to install an nvidia driver.
Could the problem be that there are remants of 11.4 on this system?? The reason I wonder this is that when I start up 12.1...it reaches that desktop with teh 4 icons...when I click on any of them it goes to the black screen. If i just let the laptop sit idle, it goes into the screensaver that I had for 11.4 where it is randomly displaying pictures that I had in my user/documents/photo settings. When I did the install for 12.1 I did the default where it said the partition that I was installing into would not be formatted....but another message said it WOULD be formatted and that everything would be deleted in there.

**gogalthorp** · 16-Aug-2012, 20:14

try a new user to test it out. Your personal settings are in your home. A new user will have their own settings

http://forums.opensuse.org/forums/en...ml#post2164522

Did you upgrade or do a new install?

**crumpybumpy** · 16-Aug-2012, 20:38

Originally Posted by gogalthorp

try a new user to test it out. Your personal settings are in your home. A new user will have their own settings

http://forums.opensuse.org/forums/en...ml#post2164522

Did you upgrade or do a new install?

I did a new install...but used the same user name as in 11.4 so it must be using those settings....? How do I add a new user given I can't use the desktop?

**gogalthorp** · 17-Aug-2012, 07:41

If you told the installer NOT to format home then you still have the old settings and data.

start yast at command line you can add users there.

**crumpybumpy** · 17-Aug-2012, 17:53

I added another user in yast. When I restart there is no option to choose a user to login in. It does the exact same things as above.

Should I just to another re-install of 12.2 but format and erase everything? the only thing I really would want to keep there is about 11 gigs of photos in the main user directory....but I have them backed up so i could just copy/paste them into the new installation.

**gogalthorp** · 17-Aug-2012, 19:23

did you set up auto login?? If so you need to turn it off. Again in Yast

Yast-System-etc/sysconf editor- desktop-display manager - DISPLAYMANAGER AUTOLOGIN

clear the value there ie make it blank

that should get you to the login screen when you boot