console black after x

[whollygoat@letterboxes.org]

After starting an X server, either with startx
or with xdm, all the vt's go black.  I can login
and type commands, but I cannot see what I am doing.
Switching back to the graphical console works fine
(Alt+F7).

Googling leads me to believe that this is a 
driver problem, but haven't helped me figure out
a solution.

I'm running Lenny on a IBM Thinkpad i series with
a Silicon Motion graphics chip (SM712 LynxEM+ (rev a0))

Any suggestions are appreciated.

willy
-- 
  
  whollygoat@letterboxes.org

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