Fresh install of 9.10 on new Alienware M17 laptop. Enabling NVIDIA drivers crashes GUI on reboot.

[[e-mail]]

Binary package hint: xorg

I have tried NVIDIA 173, 180 and 185 drivers for my Alienware M17 laptop with NVIDIA C79 [GeForce 9400M G] card. After GRUB I get a completely black screen (no cursor). I can get to TTY but GUI is fully crashed, startx fails.

I would love to be able to show off Ubuntu 9.10 on this amazing laptop but it is not very impressive with embedded graphics.

Thanks in advance for your help!

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
CheckboxCommand: resolution_test
CheckboxData: Cany run 3D or NVIDIA as it crashed GUI on reboot.
CheckboxDescription:
 This display is using the following resolution:

 $output

 Is this acceptable for your display?
CheckboxTest: resolution
Date: Wed Nov 4 10:45:43 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
MachineType: Alienware M17x
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
Package: xorg 1:7.4+3ubuntu7
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=fd269f50-348b-4ed6-affa-9067a152568c ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 SHELL=/bin/bash
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-14.48-generic
RelatedPackageVersions:
 xserver-xorg 1:7.4+3ubuntu7
 libgl1-mesa-glx 7.6.0-1ubuntu4
 libdrm2 2.4.14-1ubuntu1
 xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.9.0-1ubuntu2
 xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.12.99+git20090929.7968e1fb-0ubuntu1
SourcePackage: xorg
Tags: checkbox-bug
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-14-generic x86_64
XorgConf: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/etc/X11/xorg.conf'
XsessionErrors:
 (gnome-settings-daemon:2126): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (gnome-settings-daemon:2126): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:2181): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed
 (nautilus:2164): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
dmi.bios.date: 07/30/2009
dmi.bios.vendor: Alienware
dmi.bios.version: A01
dmi.board.vendor: Alienware
dmi.board.version: A01
dmi.chassis.type: 8
dmi.chassis.vendor: Alienware
dmi.chassis.version: A01
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAlienware:bvrA01:bd07/30/2009:svnAlienware:pnM17x:pvrA0123:rvnAlienware:rn:rvrA01:cvnAlienware:ct8:cvrA01:
dmi.product.name: M17x
dmi.product.version: A0123
dmi.sys.vendor: Alienware
fglrx: Not loaded
system:
 distro: Ubuntu
 architecture: x86_64kernel: 2.6.31-14-generic
xkbcomp:
 Error: command ['xkbcomp', ':0', '-w0', '-'] failed with exit code 1: Error: Cannot open display ":0"
                   Exiting

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Thank you for seeking to improve Ubuntu. It seems you have filed a bug
against X using the new System Testing utility. Unfortunately, this tool
is filing bugs without collecting sufficient information to properly
diagnose the issues. I wish we could reply to every report to guide you
to gather the correct information, but it happens that so many people
are using this testing feature to file bug reports that we simply cannot
keep up with the influx. I'm replying in bulk so I can get everyone
pointed into a direction most likely to result in getting you a useful
workaround and us a complete bug report that can be solved.

Most of these problems describe issues that have documented
troubleshooting procedures, so perhaps the most helpful thing I can
do is point you to them:

  http://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Troubleshooting

These guides explain why things break the way they do, and in some cases
provide workarounds.

I would ask that you first go through the appropriate guide for your
problem, particularly if you are having problems with resolution,
crashes, fonts, or blank screen issues, and then file a bug report using
the following command:

   ubuntu-bug xorg

This collects more detailed information than the System Testing tool
does. Please also write a detailed explanation, indicating when you
first discovered the problem, analysis steps you've done, workarounds
that work, and so on.

Or, if you suspect the problem has something to do with the way the test
script itself is working (such as if Ubuntu worked fine until you ran
the script), then file the bug against the test suite:

   ubuntu-bug checkbox

Thanks again, and good luck!