Black screen Pre installation!

[ralph44]

Hi all,
I inherited a Dell vostro 220 with an intel core 2 duo processor 4 gig Ram, and I believe a GMA x4500HD on board graphics card (I have found others have had issues with this card). The BIOS is version 1.2.2.
I ran the diagnostic option from the BIOS and it says everything is fine. When I received the computer (yesterday) windows 7 was running on it fine. I don't think there is anything up with the computer.

Because the computer had a fully working eindows 7 installation, with undoubtedly all sorts of data on it, my first instinct was to wipe the hard drive. I put in a 32 bit usb debian installer, booted into the installer without issue, and wrote random data to the drive basically to wipe it.

Since then I have tried the amd_64 versions of the live cd (on usb) and installer, and just now the 32 bit live cd on usb stick and every time I get past the Dell splashscreen the computer inmmediately goes to black screen with the blinking cursor.

I have looked at the bios options, in advanced chipset options there was an init display option (I think it was called). I tried on board, pci, and pci express (it was originally on pci express) but without luck. There were no other options. None of the other bios settings jumped out at me as baing useful. Any ideas how to progress, my guess/assumption is it is a graphics card driver thing (or something like that) but I can't see where I can make any changs...!

Al help much appreciated, thanks

Ralph

[ralph44]

I would say the windows 7 install was 32 bit. The processor is definitely an intel core 2 duo, which is 64 bit. Maybe I should install windows 7 again and go from there! I'd prefer a better way of course... thanks again.

[vbrummond]

Hold on. You are unable to get it to boot from cd or usb at all? But it worked previously? Possibly this computer has some odd "on hard drive" kind of firmware that that early boot process needs. I have an HP computer that freezes solid with cpus at max the moment I get to the HP splash. It requires some hidden partition on the hard drive to work at all.

Otherwise just make sure there isn't a key that accesses the boot menu.

Also, look for bios boot order.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

By which method are you transferring the ISO image to the USB stick?

Please post the exact command used and note that the popular unetbootin utility does not work with Debian images and the Rufus program will only work if "DD" [sic] mode is selected.

[ralph44]

I suspect you might be right re some kind of on-drive firmware to help the boot process. Other than the options listed below and 'Enter Setup' the last option in the Boot Menu is 'Boot to utility partition'. When I do this I get 'No diagnostic Utility Partion Identified: etc etc'

It could be something in the bios I need to set; there are a range of options I don't fully understand in there). However this is a very basic office computer, and having googled a lot I haven't come up with anything matching my problem (other than issues with what is apparently the on board graphics card). I would have thought I would have. The on board graphics card seems the obvious suspect however it goes to black screen immediately after the Dell splash screen so I don't know when I could fix it... In the bios there is the option to Load Defaults, which I did and just now do again.

Anyway, I realise the other likely option is this is a stupid error on my part so I am going through the process I have been using and posting it below. Please anyone feel very free to point out where I am going wrong. (First the processor is definitely a core 2 duo (according to the bios hardware tab, and the sticker on the computer ), and the core 2 duo is definitely 64 bit, according to the internet. Besides my last attempt to run a 32bit live debian resulted in the same black screen on boot issue.)

Here goes:

When the Dell splash screen comes up I am given two options F2 and F12, getting me to either the bios settings ('Setup') or the boot order ('Boot Menu'). In the Boot Menu I can get to Setup and Diagnostics. FTR the BIOS version is 1.2.2.

I had to select the correct USB option to boot into the 32 bit debian installation the first time, when I was successful, and wrote random data to the hard drive, the USB Generic - SMI USB Disk was the option.I now double-check by trying every USB option to make sure:

USB:Generic - Compact
USB:Generic - SM/XD - Picture
USB:Generic - SD/MMC
USB:Generic - MS/MS-Pro/HG (I think, bad hand-writing!)
USB:Generic - SMI USB Disk

As I said, the last usb option enabled me to get to the installer last time, now they all give me a black screen.

I ran the Diagnostics and it came back with a message saying words to the effect of 'everything was working fine/as expected'..

Here is my process for creating the bootable USB drive as I do it again now:

To create the bootable USB I:

su into root - enter root password...

gparted [deleted partition, then created a new fat32 partition across entire 8 gig stick, quit gparted]

fdisk -l ([to find usb drive] (it is /dev/sdc)

umount /dev/sdc (it returns: umount: /dev/sdc: not mounted)

dd if=/home/ralph44/Downloads/debian-8.6.0-amd64-DVD-1.iso of=/dev/sdc bs=512k

(I have successfully made tons of bootable usb sticks previously...)

... Wait...
Insert usb stick (I actually removed all other peripherals and tried each usb port in turn), to get the black screen...


My feeling actually is that I need to install windows again and install debian from there. Pretty weird concept, but when I look at a few dell forums with similar problems I see the line 'You must format and install Windows on a new drive'. Putting on my tinfoil hat for a moment, and assuming this is the case, I can't help but wonder why.

[ralph44]

By which method are you transferring the ISO image to the USB stick?

Please post the exact command used and note that the popular unetbootin utility does not work with Debian images and the Rufus program will only work if "DD" [sic] mode is selected.

I think I was writing up my other post at the same time as you wrote this...

[ralph44]

Same issue with windows 7 on a bootable usb stick. Wonder now if it needs to be on a cd rom, or alternatively, what happens if I disconnect the cd/dvd drive, and maybe even the hard drive momentarily.

[ralph44]

Ok so disconnected cd/dvd write - same problem.
Disconnected the hard drive and finally I could boot to the usb stick. Don't know why it ignored the options I was choosing in the Boot Menu, but I was definely doing it right.

I just connected the drive before the start of the installation process. Have more important things to learn than why this happened, hopefully I save someone else a bit of faffing should they encounter the same problem. Thanks to those that offered suggestionsn

[Hypex]

gparted [deleted partition, then created a new fat32 partition across entire 8 gig stick, quit gparted]

fdisk -l ([to find usb drive] (it is /dev/sdc)

umount /dev/sdc (it returns: umount: /dev/sdc: not mounted)

dd if=/home/ralph44/Downloads/debian-8.6.0-amd64-DVD-1.iso of=/dev/sdc bs=512k.

Can I ask what the purpose of this is? I mean you format the USB stick but then you copy an image over the top! Wouldn't this just write over the data that was written to it on the format? To me it looks redundant. All that should be needed is the dd command.