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I'm running Ubuntu 12.04.3 on a Toshiba Satellite L745. I've been doing this happily for two years now but sporadically have Nvidia-related problems following Ubuntu updates. 24 hours ago I accepted all available updates and now I cannot boot.

I have fixed this problem before using advice on ask ubuntu pages such as: Can I install extra drivers via the command prompt?

However, this time the computer will not respond to jockey-text commands (dbus.exceptions) and tells me Nvidia current is already installed. I am unable to boot Ubuntu after a couple of hours of trying and am getting frustrated. Reboot attempts confirm the problem is nvidia based:

the nvidia kernel module has 310.44 but this nvidia driver component has 304.88

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AGinLaos
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1 Answers1

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I fixed this by reinstalling the Nvidia drivers. I'm not sure exactly how I managed to do this and the solution was not 100% - rebooting was temperamental each time and switching off took an unusual route also. Anyway the computer was useable but...

Lo and behold, the same thing happened a fortnight later when new updates (which I had hoped would restore the previous smooth performance) again led to a no boot scenario. and it was harder to fix.

I just got a black screen with blinking cursor. Ctrl+Alt+F1 gets you into the TTY1 terminal (and F2 into the TTY2 terminal etc) then you can try various fixes you can find on the web (of course you need another machine to do the research while your computer is down).

I tried about 15 different suggested fixes before I got lucky. I could not get into Grub. Lots of commands were rejected (gtk-warning-cannot-open-display), "no screens found", module errors etc.

Eventually I uninstalled all Nvidia components:

sudo sh NVIDIA* --uninstall

Then reinstalled by:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Then:

sudo apt-get install build-essential

sudo apt-get install linux-kernel-headers *

I could then reboot (sudo reboot) and see my desktop for the first time in hours. The resolution had changed, but that's easily fixed.

I post this answer for my benefit next time this happens to me (it's four or five times in 18 months now) and for anyone else going through the same misery. It can be fixed, keep trying!

Anwar
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AGinLaos
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