The cleanest, easiest way to fix XOrg-related problems in Ubuntu
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:
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
sudo nvidia-xconfig
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
For ATI:
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
sudo aticonfig –initial
sudo aticonfig –overlay-type=Xv
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
For Intel:
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
You don’t need ‘linux-restricted-modules’ for Intel graphics, and the required driver is installed by default…
JanC
2 Jun 07 at 5:28 pm
Thanks – I don’t actually have any Intel hardware so I was just guessing on that last one.
Paul Betts
2 Jun 07 at 7:40 pm