I was running Kali Linux for a while, but since that started to crash on me after every update, a student told me to switch to the more stable Ubuntu distro.
In the past I was very pleased with the ease of installation of this distro, but the installation process on my laptop is a joke.
I am not getting it to work as it should. I must launch the installer with the nomodeset kernel argument or I won't get the installer displayed. When ran without the kernel argument, it starts waiting for 'a start job is running for detect the available gpus and deal with any system changes' which goes on for an unlimited amount of time. After a minute or three it stops, does something and quits working.
When the installation is complete, the system reboots, with the nomodeset argument still in place on the new grub loader. The resolution is very bad (as expected) and when I try to install the NVIDIA graphics driver, it doesn't work. When I remove the nomodeset kernel argument from the grub entry, the system doesn't go to the desktop. It shows my desktop wallpaper and mouse that I can move.
After removing the NVIDIA graphic drivers and still boot without the nomodeset kernel argument, I am greeted with a resolution that fits the screen.
Everything looks good, but when I try to do any power related physical things (shutting down, rebooting, force rebooting) it doesn't do that. It freezes the screen. I can reboot the pc with the ALT + SYSRQ and REIB combination, but that doesn't solve the issue.
The strange thing is, that my Windows installation doesn't shutdown/reboot/sleep as well.
Windows was working! I've also defaulted my bios, didn't solve any problems.
When reinstalling Ubuntu without installing any NVIDIA graphic drivers and removing the nomodeset (and quiet splash) kernel argument, Ubuntu launches and I am able to login. The screen resolution is right, but when trying to shutdown or reboot, the system still freezes on the desktop. CTRL + ALT + F1~6 or CTRL + ALT + DEL is doing nothing. ALT + SYSRQ and REIB does work.
I removed the nomodeset and $vt_handoff (and quiet splash) kernel argument and the system boots up. Shutting down or rebooting freezes the computer on the desktop. Same as above goes for the 'system keyboard command'. Rebooting Ubuntu before logging in also freezes.
When booting into Windows with the new untouched version of the grub bootloader, after a full shutdown, boots up and shutsdown. When I reboot ubuntu and pick Windows at the grub menu, Windows doesn't start.
TL;DR
nomodeset removed:
- Ubuntu boots, logs in and does all it's things, but freezes on shutdown or reboot. When rebooting Ubuntu with the SYSRQ key combo's, Windows can't boot after ubuntu has booted and the system hasn't been fully off.
With nomodeset:
- Ubuntu boots, logs in and does all it things (in poor resolution), even shutsdown and reboots. Windows can boot after ubuntu has booted and the system hasn't been fully off.
Here are the specs of my Laptop:
- 1920x1080p
- NVIDIA GTX 950M
- i7 6700HQ
- 256 SSD A previously working
- Kali installation that didn't had all the issues Ubuntu now has.
I have reinstalled Ubuntu a total of 10 times now.
https://www.asus.com/nl/Laptops/VivoBook-Pro-N752VX/specifications/
nomodeset
which only purpose is to not load any driver that doesn't support your graphics, so you can install drivers that do support it.--uninstall
argument in order to uninstall it. Then, use nomodeset again and proceed with the aforementioned recommended method.