Ubuntu

Monitor goes to power save mode on boot

Asked by mike.cv

Fresh install of Intrepid a while ago. Mostly works fine, except for booting.
On power up I get a few lines about the boot loader, and then the monitor goes blank, actually loses signal and indicates a power saving function. After about 15 seconds or so I see the mouse (round spinny busy mouse) and then the login screen.
Why is this power saving thing happening; it never happened on Heron before? How can I turn it off so that I can see what's happening, i.e. progress of the boot?
This is particularly frustrating when the periodic disk checking is happening at boot time, as the power saving lasts for quite a while while the checking is happening and I don't get any indication on the monitor; I can just tell by looking at the disk activity led. Can the periodic check be cancelled and run manually either at boot or once the system is up?

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tmc1961 (tmc1961) said : 		#1

This is standard boot .
Load a boot config app to change it so you can see the boot process

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mike.cv (galacticwingcommander) said : 		#2

Firstly, thanks for a quick response.
Is this a standard boot that is new to 8.10; previously I used 8.04 (kubuntu) and I didn't get a blank screen on boot?
What is a boot config app; is there one recommended for Ubuntu; how do I get hold of it, and where can I get installation instructions?
A lot of questions, I know, but I'm a bit lost and would appreciate any help.
Thanks.

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plutino (plutino) said : 		#3

I have the same problem with my T61 laptop back a year ago. The cause is that the boot splash screen has requested a display mode which is not supported by the monitor. A quick fix is the disable boot splash screen in the grub config file.

1. open /boot/grub/menu.lst in your favorite editor.
2. find the line begin with #defoptions
3. remove "splash" on that line and save the file. Note: you must have root privilege to do this.
4. update grub with 'sudo update-grub'
5. restart, you should be able to see the verbose starting up screen.

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mike.cv (galacticwingcommander) said : 		#4

Plutino,
Tried this your way and also using the startup manager application. Neither way makes any difference.
I still get the boot menu, and then a blank screen with a monitor dialog for about 15 secs or so then eventually the login screen either way.
My monitor is pretty new and can handle up to 1280x1024 resolution. When I originally went into startup manager it was set to 800x600, I tried 1280x1024 (which is what is used when I'm running), still no difference.
There must be something else causing the problem.
Any other ideas?
Regards, Michael.

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Best plutino (plutino) said : 		#5

I'm sorry that it does not work. One more thing you may try is to make sure the #defoptions line in the menu.lst does not include any thing like vga=791. This way the kernel will assume the stand VGA mode (640x480), which should be supported by all monitors. Be sure to run `sudo update-grub' after the change.

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mike.cv (galacticwingcommander) said : 		#6

There was a VGA=791 type setting in my file. I changed to just VGA and that solved the problem.
It is a shame though that I have to settle for VGA resolution as some boot text wraps passed onto the next line, and also that splash screen does not work.
Is this just an issue with my LG monitor or is there a parameter other than VGA= or an alternate usage that will allow a higher resolution to be set?
Thanks for all your help.

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mike.cv (galacticwingcommander) said : 		#7

Thanks plutino, that solved my question.

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plutino (plutino) said : 		#8

You are welcome. You can try to install hwinfo and check what display mode your system support:

sudo apt-get install hwinfo
sudo hwinfo --framebuffer

Use the Mode number you find on the output as the value of vga in the boot parameter line. Note that these are Hex numbers, you should either convert it to Dec, or including the 0x prefix.

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Chris Irvine (chrisbrum001) said : 		#9

im a new user to Linux based OS's and haven't a clue really, im having the same problem, could some tell me as if I were really thick how to stop my monitor going into standby. im running Ubuntu 13.04 core i7 8gb corsair dominator, 2gb gpu,

Can anyone help I really don't want to use windows again if I can help it