The cleanest, easiest way to fix XOrg-related problems in Ubuntu

June 1, 2007 at 11:07 am · Filed under Linux

The scourge of the Ubuntu novice - the dead X server

First off

XOrg problems seem to be the most vexing problems for new Ubuntu users for a number of reasons - why it hasn’t been solved is mostly due to political nonsense, lack of developers who know about X11, and being hamstrung by proprietary video drivers. If you’re stuck and can’t get to the login screen (probably), hit Alt-F2, then log in as the regular user. You’ll be dropped at a text-only prompt where you can enter these commands. PS: Make sure for `uname -r` that those characters are backquotes, i.e the character below Tilde (~) on US keyboards, not the apostrophe (’).

For nVidia:

Code Sample:
sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules-`uname -r` nvidia-glx nvidia-xconfig nvidia-kernel-common

sudo nvidia-xconfig

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

For ATI:

Code Sample:
sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules-`uname -r` xorg-driver-fglrx

sudo aticonfig --initial

sudo aticonfig --overlay-type=Xv

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

For Intel:

Code Sample:
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel

sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

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2 Comments »

JanC said,

June 2, 2007 @ 5:28 pm

You don’t need ‘linux-restricted-modules’ for Intel graphics, and the required driver is installed by default…
Paul Betts said,

June 2, 2007 @ 7:40 pm

Thanks - I don’t actually have any Intel hardware so I was just guessing on that last one.