How do you monitor startup messages in Ubuntu?

[Derek Broughton]

Jeffrey Tooker wrote:
 
> A bit of extra info which may be related to the black screen noted
> above. It all seems to have to do with xorg. About 75% of the time the
> system boots all the way to login screen, normal black screen ((for me)
> bootup.. After login the system screen goes black and resolution changes
> to 800 X 600 (my preferred resolution) and the desktop comes up. This is
> my normal bootup.
> 
>  From time to time (~20%) after the login screen in an normal (for me)
> bootup the screen will not go black and stays at default resolution and
> desktop comes up. I then go <Control><Alt><Bk Sp> the system reverts to
> login screen, I log in and system comes up to desktop in 800 X 600
> resolution. This is a normal (for me) bootup with one restart.

You're venturing into barely understood territory for me here, but it seems
from the way my system starts up that (and from the X logs) that X tries
modelines in sequence until it finds one that works.  Consequently, if
there are modes you never use, remove them from the xorg.conf.
-- 
derek