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I'm new to Ubuntu and am trying to install it on my laptop for 2 days now without success. Every time after installation it seems like it has been corrupted, like so:

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I have Fujitsu Siemens E8410 which contains a Nvidia GeForce Go 8400M.

I tried Ubuntu 12.04, both 32 and 64bit versions, Ubuntu 13.04 64bit, installation with/without internet connection, always from DVD. Hardware is OK since Windows 7 64bit worked very fine on this machine prior to the Ubuntu installation. I always let Ubuntu installation choose disk settings - partitions, file system and stuff.

I believe that computer is good enough to run Ubuntu, why cant I get it working?

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user189384
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1 Answers1

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This seems to be a bug with the open source Nvidia driver, nouveau.

The fix is simple but you'll have to use the command line to do it to avoid the screen corruption. To get to a terminal, press Control+Alt+F1 and then log in. If the terminal is corrupted (it might be) let me know and I'll give you a longer solution.

Then follow the second answer here to get jockey-text to show you the available drivers, then install and enable them.

If the terminal is corrupt or you can't connect to the internet while things are so corrupted...

The simplest intermediate fix (in order to get you into Ubuntu and connected to the internet so you can install the proprietary Nvidia driver) is disabling the nouveau driver at boot. This is a non-persistent fix so if you reboot before installing the proper driver, you'll need to do it again.

  1. Hold Left Shift as you turn the computer on until a menu appears asking you to select your version of Ubuntu.

  2. Press E on the top item (assuming it says Ubuntu)

  3. To the end of the linux line (note it may be wrapped), add the word nomodeset so you end up with something like:

    linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-30-generic root=UUID=... quiet splash nomodeset

  4. Press Control+X to boot.

You should then see Ubuntu in a horrible low-graphics mode but it should work enough for you to get to the graphical Additional Drivers dialogue and install the right Nvidia driver.

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Oli
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