Fresh install of Ubuntu 12.04 fails to boot black or purple screen on startup.

Hello I ordered a Lenovo Z580 laptop from http://www.linucity.com with Ubuntu 12.04 preinstalled and they sent me a laptop with a 32 bit image on a 64 bit machine, which was a turn off as I like to use all my bits. And every single partition was misaligned. Then to make matters worse it quit booting after I restarted the machine about the 4th or 5th time. I did a clean install with a 64 bit image, used gparted and created a root, home, and swap partition and the install went fine. Then after I rebooted the machine the 4th or 5th time I would either get to grub, a black screen with a flashing cursor, or a blank purple screen. Or if I would choose to boot from grub it would print a bunch of syntax and stop again with a flashing cursor at the bottom of the screen. So I looked into that problem and decided to try nomodeset by editing grub first then after I am able to boot into Ubuntu I update grub from the terminal. <----Have I got that right? Now it seems I can boot into Ubuntu using nomodeset but only like the 4th or 5th time. This is after I sent it back to them and they reinstalled again. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to fix these funky boot problems other than sending it back AGAIN? Thank you in advance and a warm hello to the Linux community!

Here is the output of # lshw *the graphics driver is on the bottom:

# lshw
xxxxxxxxxxx-lenovo-z580
    description: Notebook
    product: IdeaPad Z580 (System SKUNumber)
    vendor: LENOVO
    version: Lenovo Z580
    serial: QB06012394OA3OK
    width: 64 bits
    capabilities: smbios-2.7 dmi-2.7 vsyscall32
    configuration: administrator_password=unknown boot=normal chassis=notebook family=IDEAPAD Z580 frontpanel_password=unknown keyboard_password=unknown power-on_password=unknown sku=System SKUNumber uuid=CD1682A3-1B4E-F466-C49F-089E01321A35
  *-core
       description: Motherboard
       product: Lenovo
       vendor: LENOVO
       physical id: 0
       version: 31900003WIN8 STD MLT
       serial: QB06012394
       slot: Part Component
     *-firmware
          description: BIOS
          vendor: Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
          physical id: 0
          version: 5FCN89WW
          date: 08/27/2012
          size: 128KiB
          capacity: 6592KiB
          capabilities: pci upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect edd int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer int10video pc98 acpi usb biosbootspecification netboot
     *-cpu
          description: CPU
          product: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M CPU @ 2.50GHz
          vendor: Intel Corp.
          physical id: 4
          bus info: cpu@0
          version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M CPU @ 2.50GHz
          serial: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
          slot: CPU Socket - U3E1
          size: 1200MHz
          capacity: 1200MHz
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 100MHz
          capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm ida arat epb xsaveopt pln pts dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase smep erms cpufreq
          configuration: cores=2 enabledcores=2 threads=4
        *-cache:0
             description: L1 cache
             physical id: 6
             slot: L1-Cache
             size: 32KiB
             capacity: 32KiB
             capabilities: internal write-through instruction
        *-cache:1
             description: L2 cache
             physical id: 7
             slot: L2-Cache
             size: 256KiB
             capacity: 256KiB
             capabilities: internal write-through unified
        *-cache:2
             description: L3 cache
             physical id: 8
             slot: L3-Cache
             size: 3MiB
             capacity: 3MiB
             capabilities: internal write-back unified
     *-cache
          description: L1 cache
          physical id: 5
          slot: L1-Cache
          size: 32KiB
          capacity: 32KiB
          capabilities: internal write-through data
     *-memory
          description: System Memory
          physical id: 36
          slot: System board or motherboard
          size: 6GiB
        *-bank:0
             description: SODIMM DDR3 Synchronous 1600 MHz (0.6 ns)
             product: RMT3150ED58E8W1600
             vendor: Fujitsu
             physical id: 0
             serial: 1090D769
             slot: ChannelA-DIMM0
             size: 2GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 1600MHz (0.6ns)
        *-bank:1
             description: SODIMM DDR3 Synchronous 1600 MHz (0.6 ns)
             product: RMT3160ED58E9W1600
             vendor: Fujitsu
             physical id: 1
             serial: 06986E18
             slot: ChannelB-DIMM0
             size: 4GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 1600MHz (0.6ns)
     *-pci
          description: Host bridge
          product: Ivy Bridge DRAM Controller
          vendor: Intel Corporation
          physical id: 100
          bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
          version: 09
          width: 32 bits
          clock: 33MHz
          configuration: driver=agpgart-intel
          resources: irq:0
        *-display UNCLAIMED
             description: VGA compatible controller
             product: Ivy Bridge Graphics Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
             version: 09
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list
             configuration: latency=0
             resources: memory:f0000000-f03fffff memory:e0000000-efffffff ioport:3000(size=64)
        *-usb:0
             description: USB controller
             product: Panther Point USB xHCI Host Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 14
             bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
             version: 04
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
             resources: irq:41 memory:f0700000-f070ffff
        *-communication
             description: Communication controller
             product: Panther Point MEI Controller #1
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 16
             bus info: pci@0000:00:16.0
             version: 04
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=mei latency=0
             resources: irq:43 memory:f0715000-f071500f
        *-usb:1
             description: USB controller
             product: Panther Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1a
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.0
             version: 04
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm debug ehci bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=ehci_hcd latency=0
             resources: irq:16 memory:f0719000-f07193ff
        *-multimedia
             description: Audio device
             product: Panther Point High Definition Audio Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1b
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1b.0
             version: 04
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=0
             resources: irq:46 memory:f0710000-f0713fff
        *-pci:0
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Panther Point PCI Express Root Port 1
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
             version: c4
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:16
        *-pci:1
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Panther Point PCI Express Root Port 2
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c.1
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.1
             version: c4
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:17 ioport:2000(size=4096) memory:f0600000-f06fffff ioport:f0400000(size=1048576)
           *-network
                description: Ethernet interface
                product: RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller
                vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
                logical name: eth0
                version: 05
                serial: 08:9e:01:32:1a:35
                size: 10Mbit/s
                capacity: 100Mbit/s
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
                configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half firmware=rtl_nic/rtl8105e-1.fw latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=MII speed=10Mbit/s
                resources: irq:42 ioport:2000(size=256) memory:f0404000-f0404fff memory:f0400000-f0403fff
        *-pci:2
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Panther Point PCI Express Root Port 3
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.2
             version: c4
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:18 memory:f0500000-f05fffff
           *-network
                description: Wireless interface
                product: Centrino Wireless-N 2200
                vendor: Intel Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
                logical name: wlan0
                version: c4
                serial: 9c:4e:36:67:2c:30
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
                configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=3.2.0-34-generic firmware=18.168.6.1 ip=192.168.1.5 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
                resources: irq:44 memory:f0500000-f0501fff
        *-usb:2
             description: USB controller
             product: Panther Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1d
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.0
             version: 04
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm debug ehci bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=ehci_hcd latency=0
             resources: irq:23 memory:f0718000-f07183ff
        *-isa
             description: ISA bridge
             product: Panther Point LPC Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
             version: 04
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: isa bus_master cap_list
             configuration: latency=0
        *-storage
             description: SATA controller
             product: Panther Point 6 port SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.2
             logical name: scsi0
             logical name: scsi2
             version: 04
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 66MHz
             capabilities: storage msi pm ahci_1.0 bus_master cap_list emulated
             configuration: driver=ahci latency=0
             resources: irq:40 ioport:3088(size=8) ioport:3094(size=4) ioport:3080(size=8) ioport:3090(size=4) ioport:3060(size=32) memory:f0717000-f07177ff
           *-disk
                description: ATA Disk
                product: WDC WD5000BPVT-2
                vendor: Western Digital
                physical id: 0
                bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0
                logical name: /dev/sda
                version: 03.0
                serial: WD-WX81A82A3708
                size: 465GiB (500GB)
                capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
                configuration: ansiversion=5 signature=00062f1a
              *-volume:0
                   description: EXT4 volume
                   vendor: Linux
                   physical id: 1
                   bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,1
                   logical name: /dev/sda1
                   logical name: /
                   version: 1.0
                   serial: 435dc8f6-5ba4-446a-b701-d9c49cb8a75b
                   size: 459GiB
                   capacity: 459GiB
                   capabilities: primary bootable journaled extended_attributes large_files huge_files dir_nlink recover extents ext4 ext2 initialized
                   configuration: created=2012-11-13 19:03:24 filesystem=ext4 lastmountpoint=/ modified=2012-11-13 23:50:00 mount.fstype=ext4 mount.options=rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,user_xattr,barrier=1,data=ordered mounted=2012-11-26 03:44:30 state=mounted
              *-volume:1
                   description: Extended partition
                   physical id: 2
                   bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,2
                   logical name: /dev/sda2
                   size: 6003MiB
                   capacity: 6003MiB
                   capabilities: primary extended partitioned partitioned:extended
                 *-logicalvolume
                      description: Linux swap / Solaris partition
                      physical id: 5
                      logical name: /dev/sda5
                      capacity: 6003MiB
                      capabilities: nofs
           *-cdrom
                description: DVD-RAM writer
                product: DVD-RAM UJ8D1
                vendor: MATSHITA
                physical id: 1
                bus info: scsi@2:0.0.0
                logical name: /dev/cdrom
                logical name: /dev/cdrw
                logical name: /dev/dvd
                logical name: /dev/dvdrw
                logical name: /dev/sr0
                version: 8.10
                capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd dvd-r dvd-ram
                configuration: ansiversion=5 status=nodisc
        *-serial UNCLAIMED
             description: SMBus
             product: Panther Point SMBus Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.3
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
             version: 04
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             configuration: latency=0
             resources: memory:f0714000-f07140ff ioport:efa0(size=32)
     *-scsi
          physical id: 1
          bus info: usb@1:1.3
          logical name: scsi6
          capabilities: emulated scsi-host
          configuration: driver=rts5139
        *-disk
             description: SCSI Disk
             product: xD/SD/M.S.
             vendor: Generic-
             physical id: 0.0.0
             bus info: scsi@6:0.0.0
             logical name: /dev/sdb
             version: 1.00
             serial: 3
             capabilities: removable
           *-medium
                physical id: 0
                logical name: /dev/sdb
  *-battery
       product: Smart Battery
       vendor: Intel Corp.
       physical id: 1
       version: 2008
       serial: 1.0
       slot: Rear
  *-power UNCLAIMED
       description: TBD by ODM
       product: TBD by ODM
       vendor: TBD by ODM
       physical id: 2
       version: 1.0
       serial: TBD by ODM
       capacity: 32768mWh

VESA: Intel® Sandybridge/Ivybridge Graphics

Hello I tried installing the x org packages you suggested.
no luck at all

Any other ideas???