Ubuntu 11.10 minimal install - black screen

[Icoo]

So this is a problem I am having for a while now. When I try to install Ubuntu via the mini.iso the whole installation goes right except that it wont boot (start the command line) after...I just get a black screen with a white blinking _ in the left corner. Sometimes it shows the purple ubuntu bootloader screen before going black again but thats it. It happens with 3D enabled and with 3D disabled. I know my installation is ok because I have a WinXP guest system where 3D and everything is working fine. Any ideas?

Host: Ubuntu 10.04
Guest: Ubuntu 11.10 Minimal ISO
VBox version: 4.1.2 (via VBox PPA)

[Perryg]

You say via vbox PPA, do you mean the launchpad PPA?
Regardless 11.10 more that likely will not work on anything lower than 4.1.2 and even then have issue. The next maintenance release will work better.

[Icoo]

I get it from here (deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian lucid contrib non-free)...I just updated to 4.1.2 and its still not working (although I havent tried doing a fresh install)

[Icoo]

I tried a fresh install of the mini.iso with Vbox 4.1.2...still nothing. The weird thing is that when I try to run the usual LiveCD ISO it just works...but I need a minimal system.

Can someone try the mini.iso so I know I am not alone on this (and just ahve to wait for a VBox fix)...

The ISO (Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric):

http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/ ... t/mini.iso

[Sasquatch]

Hold down the left Shift key when the VM boots. Grub will now appear where you can select the OS or recovery. Press 'e' to edit the normal OS line and remove 'quiet splash' from the kernel parameter line so you will see the boot process (else, it will be very minimal on what you see). Then look at the lines a bit up, it's below recordfail. Change the following:

Code: Select all   Expand viewCollapse view

set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
to
set gfxpayload=text

Your problem is the framebuffer Ubuntu is using. VB doesn't work well with it.

To make it permanent, edit /etc/default/grub and add the following:

Code: Select all   Expand viewCollapse view

GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=text

Run update-grub as root. Now you will have your screen as it should.

[Icoo]

Ok I did that...now the system hangs while initializing (when the big list with [OK] at the right of each entry appears)...my system stops at

* Stopping System V runlevel compatibility [OK]

and it doesnt move from that point on...the only entry that has failed is:

* Starting load fallback graphic devices [fail]

Any ideas? This loading graphics devices fail is probably my problem...

[lassekongo83]

It's just a simple bug in Ubuntu. I'm surprised that they haven't fixed it yet, it has been there since 10.10. Everything should work fine if you press ALT+F1 (or CTRL+ALT+F1.) It tries to boot into TTY7 which is bugged when there's no graphical login-manager installed. Switching to another TTY solves this so you can login normally.

[ssantosh78]

i would suggest to go for new release of VirtualBOX i.e. 4.1.4 & Ubuntu 11.10 Beta2 Or wait for couple of days as Final release is on 13 Oct 2011.. There are no issues with Ubuntu 11.10 Beta2+ VirtualBox. Some users are facing issues with Ubuntu 11.10 Beta2+ Vmware workstation 8 i.e graphical user interface issue. Check below guide for more help..

http://www.mytricks.in/2011/10/guide-in ... ic-in.html

http://www.mytricks.in/2011/10/guide-in ... in_07.html

[eriohm]

I still have this problem with VBox 4.0.14 and Ubuntu Server 11.10. I have Mac OS X 10.6.8 as host OS.

I see the Ubuntu splash screen and then the screen goes black with a blinking _. However I can connect to the Ubuntu Server over SSH.
I have had this problem since I upgraded to Ubuntu Server 11.04.

[eriohm]

BUMP!

[chrisinspace]

I see the Ubuntu splash screen and then the screen goes black with a blinking _. However I can connect to the Ubuntu Server over SSH. I have had this problem since I upgraded to Ubuntu Server 11.04.

I have the exact same problem. The only differences are that my host is Debian 6 (Squeeze) and I'm using VBox 4.1.6. I am running Ubuntu server as a guest. It was at version 10.10 and everything was fine. I upgraded to 11.04 and this problem began. I was able to SSH into the server, so I went ahead and upgraded to 11.10, but the issue persists. VBoxAdditions are installed and up to date.

[deesto]

I had a similar problem with the previous VB version when upgrading my Ubuntu 11.04 VM guest to 11.11. I eventually got past that with a /var/[run|lock] trick and by repeating the installation a few times. Then it was running fine again for a while, until yesterday, when I upgraded VB from 4.1.4 to 4.1.6, rebooted the host, tried to fire up the guest VM, and now I'm back at the black screen after grub loads.

[deesto]

I just booted my broken VM with an Ubuntu 11.10 64-bit ISO mounted, and got the following error:

This kernel requires an x86-64 CPU, but only detected an i686 CPU.
Unable to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU.

This is certainly peculiar, as this _was_ a 64-bit Ubuntu VM before I upgraded VirtualBox to 4.1.6. What would make the Ubuntu Live CD think the VB guest was 32-bit?

[Perryg]

No VT-x/AMD-v in the bios. (hardware virtualization)

[deesto]

No VT-x/AMD-v in the bios. (hardware virtualization)

Doh! Thanks Perry. You're right: I'd done a BIOS upgrade and I guess the default is to disable virtualization.

For anyone else having trouble: try downloading and booting your VM from a live ISO, and then mount and poke around in your VM disk for clues: logs, etc.