Gutsy live CD not booting with GeForce 8800 GT

[Ari Torhamo]

Hi,

I tried to install Ubuntu 7.10 from the 32 bit live CD to a system which
includes an Nvidia GeForce 8000 GT graphics card. The boot from the live
CD froze in the middle with a black screen. The card and the rest of the
system are fine, because Windows XP installs and works without problems.
Is there a way to get Gutsy to work with the 8800 GT, even at 2D mode
only? I searched the forums for this, but I only found discussions on
upgrading an existing installation. The system I'm trying to get to work
is brand new.

This also makes me wonder isn't there a way to make Linux always work
with new graphics cards by defaulting to some starndard graphics mode
with lower resolution and refresh rate. Windows XP was released in 2001,
but it installs and boots to the graphical desktop with latest graphics
cards without problems. This seems to indicate that this is not a
question of proprietary drivers - there can't be any 8800 GT specific
drivers in a fresh, unupdated XP installation.

I faced this same problem when GeForce 8800 GTS came out, and it took
months for things to get fixed for it. I already have two systems with a
8800 GT card waiting for a fresh Gutsy installation. Hopefully I don't
have to tell people to wait for a few months :-/

I remember reading that there should be a feature called 'bullet proof
X' introduced in Gutsy, which would make graphics problems like this
history. Perhaps I misunderstood the purpose of the feature, but bullet
proof basic graphics is definitely sorely needed in Ubuntu (and Linux in
general). 

Regards,

Ari Torhamo