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So I upgraded from 14.04 to 16.04 and at first I got a login screen which was just stuck in a loop. Now I only get a black screen.

I can switch to the command line and log in and it says 16.04 but when I ran sudo apt-get update to look for any more updates it can't reach any ftp servers. I do have an nvidia graphics chip so I know they have problems sometimes but I'm a bit stuck as to where to start - so many slightly different answers around. My other ubuntu machine (laptop) upgraded just fine and is online with no worries.

Can anyone help me troubleshoot further or point out the most relevant existing answers here? Thanks!

Quari
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2 Answers2

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If you're network connection is only provided by WiFi, you're probably not online yet and it would fail to connect to anything for updates.

As for the graphics card, did you have Nvidia's proprietary drivers installed? I've been having struggles with Nvidia's drivers and my GT 650M and have had to try a bunch of different versions of the drivers and combinations of settings to get things just right. What fakedad asked about "nomodeset" can be added to your kernel parameters in grub. It is known to fix the black screen at boot. The answer on How do I add a kernel boot parameter? is a pretty good explanation of how to do it.

In case you need to remove the proprietary Nivida drivers, you can do it from the terminal as root or the recovery boot with:

apt purge -y nvidia-*

followed by

apt auto remove -y

That might at least get you booting again with the slower nouveau drivers.

Community
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mattandersen
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  • Thanks - it's not a wifi connection, its hard cabled into the router/modem. I will try the purge. – Quari Oct 30 '16 at 07:23
  • Not directly related but this SAVED MY LIFE after Nvidia drivers upgrade today on 14.10, I got black screen after boot – pablopixel Nov 02 '16 at 22:22
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The problem could very likely be that your upgrade process had problems. Have a look at the advice in this Ubuntu Forums "sticky" post: I upgraded, and now I have this error... I'd start with trying a "live" Ubuntu DVD or USB stick, and seeing if that can boot without giving you a black screen. If that works, consider copying your home folder to an external drive, reinstalling Ubuntu from scratch, copying your home folder back, and then reinstalling missing packages according to the directions in the article.

Good luck.

rclocher3
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