Debian on a Macbook (Leopard): package xserver-xorg-video-intel leads to blank screen on reboot
On Tue, Apr 05, 2011 at 05:42:49PM +0530, Arvind wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am trying to install debian squeeze amd64 on my girlfriend's
> macbook. It already has OS X installed, so this is a dual boot system.
> Following are the hardware specifications:
>
> System: Apple macbook, Intel core 2 duo - T8100 @ 2.10GHz, 1 GB RAM
>
> As explained on the debian wiki:
> http://wiki.debian.org/MacBook/DebianInstallTutorial
> i installed OS X initially, installed rEFIt, and then did an absolute
> minimal install of debian squeeze amd64 on the rest of the hard disk.
>
> For what it is worth, my filesystem structure has /boot and swap
> on separate partitions, and / /usr /usr/local /var /tmp and /home on
> lvm. I have used ext4 filesystem on all the partitions.
>
> At the stage of minimal installation, rEFIt menu provided options to
> boot into both OS X and debian gnu/linux. When i selected gnu/linux,
> it booted as expected, and provided a console prompt. I could log in
> and work. At this stage, i installed some other necessary softwares
> such as openssh, gnu screen etc.
>
> Next, i did:
> aptitude install xorg icewm
> It installed everything alright. I created a .xinitrc file with the
> lines:
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> #!/bin/bash
> exec icewm-session
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> and issued the command 'startx' (as user). X started, and i could get
> the default icewm setup.
>
> So far, so good. However, when i rebooted the machine, and selected
> gnu/linux at the rEFIt prompt, it showed the grub selection menu,
> selected the default kernel, showed a few more lines scrolling down
> and then the screen just went blank. I could not make out if it was
> doing anything at all.
>
> So i took the machine to my workplace, put it on a network and found
> that i could ssh to the machine. So i presume it is a video driver
> problem.
Over the weekend, i had time to investigate some more. I purged Xorg
and all its dependencies. Since my graphics card is intel, X only
requires xserver-xorg-video-intel, xserver-xorg-video-vesa,
xserver-xorg-video-fbdev and xinit (for startx). I installed each of
these packages alone, and rebooted the machine. It is only the
xserver-xorg-video-intel package that leads to a blank screen on
reboot. When i purge this package and install the other three X
packages, the problem does not recur on rebooting. So presently, i am
running X only using the generic vesa video driver. That would perhaps
lead to a sub-optimal use of the video card capabilities. But the only
workaround is to purge xserver-xorg-video-intel before every shutdown,
and reinstall it after every boot. I do not like that option.
A clarification: both xserver-xorg-video-intel and
xserver-oxrg-video-vesa depend on xserver-xorg-core. I have checked
and made sure that xserver-xorg-core and its dependencies do not cause
this problem. It is specifically (and only) the package
xserver-xorg-video-intel.
One more clarification: i have not installed X/G/KDM, so X should not
(try to) start at boot. Davide had suggested that as a possibility. I
don't think xserver-xorg-video-intel package alone should lead to X
starting at boot.
In summary, if i do
1) an absolute minimal installation of debian amd64 on a macbook (see
above for configuration details of the machine),
2) install the package xserver-xorg-video-intel and
3) reboot
then the kernel gets selected at the grub prompt, i see few lines
scrolling down, and then the screen goes blank. I can ssh to the
machine so i know it does complete the booting process.
Thanks for any pointers.
arvind
--
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
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