X server problems

[David McGlone]

On Monday 01 June 2009 03:23:11 am Steven Vollom wrote:
> On Sunday 31 May 2009 10:16:48 pm David McGlone wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I have just started experiencing probably something similar to Steven's
> > problem, my monitor was going blank and would not come back on, I had to
> > reboot the computer to get a screen back.
> >
> > After it happened a couple times, I turned off desktop effects and so far
> > I haven't had it happen again.
> >
> > I also turned off the power saving feature. I'm going to troubleshoot a
> > little more and I'll post back the results.
>
> I cannot get the boot to pass the first boot grub entries which happens so
> fast I cannot interrupt with f6.
>
> I can't even get the boot process to go far enough to activate the Live CD.
> At least I could edit the boot grub, if I could get to that point.
>
> My computer opens with an ASUS page, ASUS logo with some options to connect
> to the internet, skype, BIOS, normal boot, etc.  When that page closes, in
> the smallest part of a second, the print which starts the boot procedure
> goes by so fast that I can not stop it with f6.  I immediately get a black
> screen with a cursor, like an underscore, blinking in the upper left corner
> of the screen. I can not seem to get anything else but what I describe,
> remember, the Live CD will not show the first page where English is the
> option.
>
> I have had brief operation since these problems started.  Those brief
> encounters suggest to me that at least the first two slots of memory
> function and all the memory sticks (4 in total, 2gb each).  The video card
> has functioned since the problem started, HDDs worked and power supply too.
>  The DVDRW worked with the Live CD on one occasion; the only part that has
> never worked since the problem started is the 3rd and 4th slots for memory.
>  When I install memory, (memory that has tested as working), the black
> screen appears.
>
> Now I get that black screen even when I leave the 2nd & 3rd slots empty and
> no video card present, using onboard video, 8400 GForce nVidia.

Yesterday I turned off desktop effects and power control, left my computer on 
for the rest of the day and all night and the problem did not show it's ugly 
face. I just enabled power control this morning and I will wait a couple hours 
and see if the problem returns if not, then I will disable power control and 
enable desktop effects and see if the problem returns.

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with one or the other.

I remember a while back when the desktop effects were first introduced in KDE 
and before I got this new monitor, I had to disable desktop effects, because 
after I would do a fresh install, desktop effects were enabled by default and I 
could not get a desktop, just a black screen.

I fixed it at the time by disabling desktop effects and low and behold kde would 
run with no problems.

How I figured this out was after a fresh install I got the black screen. I 
didn't know what was wrong, so I did another fresh install, and this install 
didn't enable desktop effects by default and I was able to get a desktop. Well 
I didn't know desktop effects were not enabled and as I was setting up my kde, 
I noticed this so I enabled the effects and viola my screen went blank.

-- 
Blessings,
David M.
http://www.dmcentral.net