Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Questions about the installation of FreeBSD
gillles
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:33 pm

Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by gillles »

Hi,

I 'm a Linux user from France who want to try an "easy bsd" ...
On vmware no problem Ghostbsd works fine, so I decided to try it on my old pc (dell optiplex 755 with a ssd ocz vertex 2)

I can boot on DVD even on usbstick... but I'm stuck with a blank screen just before (i guess) the login screen .....

Does the Intel Q35 on-board video is the problem ? ... and how can I solve this problem

thanks
ASX
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed May 06, 2015 12:46 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by ASX »

The Intel Q35 is supported from the i915 driver, while I have not tested the Q35 I know (and tested different hardware using the same driver) that the i915 usually works.

Have you tried some different boot option ? Can you try to boot in single user mode ?
gillles
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:33 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by gillles »

Good morning,

I try :
single mode => ko blanck screen
safe mode => blanck screen
last mode => panic kernel !!

i'm gonna try the xfce installation ... maybe
ASX
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed May 06, 2015 12:46 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by ASX »

the fact you got a blank screen while booting in single-user mode, means it should not be a graphic driver issue, in fact X is not started at all in single user more.

Therefore the problem is something else ... hard to say what ...

how much RAM is installed on your system ? 32 or 64 bit ? UEFI enabled or not ?
check the BIOS/UEFI for AHCI bs legacy support ...
check for available BIOS/UEFI updates ...
Try to boot from FreeBSD ISO/IMG (they differentiate between optical and USB images)
gillles
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:33 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by gillles »

ASX wrote:the fact you got a blank screen while booting in single-user mode, means it should not be a graphic driver issue, in fact X is not started at all in single user more.

Therefore the problem is something else ... hard to say what ...

how much RAM is installed on your system ? 32 or 64 bit ? UEFI enabled or not ?
check the BIOS/UEFI for AHCI bs legacy support ...
check for available BIOS/UEFI updates ...
Try to boot from FreeBSD ISO/IMG (they differentiate between optical and USB images)
My old dell => Ram 2 Go CPU Intel duo core
Not UEFI
With DVD ISO Try AHCI => Plank Screnn - ATA => too - Legacy => too
With USB IMG Try AHCI => Plank Screnn - ATA => too - Legacy => too

I did not try single user because i want to be sure that all my device work proprely specially wifi stick .... the if every thing work ... let's go for an real installation
gillles
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:33 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank scisreen

Post by gillles »

Which device can stop the install process ?
-CPU ?
-GPU ... yout tell me that intel q35 is Ok
-HDD ? SSD?
-Screen ?
- usb keybord usb mouse
-motheboard ?

TrueOs boot well on the same desktop ... but TrueOs for me is not as finished than Ghost !

So is it possible to install ghostbsd without the graphical method ?
ASX
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed May 06, 2015 12:46 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by ASX »

TrueOS is based on FreeBSD 12-CURRENT, last GhostBSD released is based on FreeBSD-10.3-RELEASE
Another difference is that TrueOS now use the traditional FreeBSD loader while GhostBSD use grub2.

There is a GhostBSD 11.0 prealpha, if you wan to try: (use grub2 loader)
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ghostb ... md64/11.0/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ghostb ... i386/11.0/

else you could try FreeBSD 11.0-RELEASE (use FreeBSD loader).

While you may not want the pure FreeeBSD, knowing if boot successfully will be of help.
gillles
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:33 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by gillles »

Ghost 11.0 doesn't work ....
The blank screen appear when Ghost launch X11 ... the desktop screen go to sleep because no signal received ... so i'm pretty sure that the problem is the graphic card but i dont have any to try ...


here are the technical description of this dell optiplex
Modèle : DELL Optiplex 755
Processeur : Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 - 2.2 GHz - Cache : 2 Mo - Socket 775
Mémoire Vive : 2 Go - DDR2
Disque dur : SSD ocz vertex2 (i also try with a HDD 80 go)
Lecteur optique : Combo Lecteur DVD / Graveur CD
Carte graphique : Intel GMA 3100 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 Q35
Carte son : Intégrée
Réseau : Intel 82566DM Gigabit Internet
Alimentation : 280 Watts

PORTS
8 x Hi-Speed USB - USB à 4 broches, type A (2 à l'avant, 6 à l'arrière)
1 x Port Parallèle IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - D-Sub (DB-25) 25 broches
1 x Port Série RS-232 - D-Sub (DB-9) 9 broches
1 x VGA - HD D-Sub (HD-15) 15 broches
1 x Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) 10/100/1000Mbps
2 x Lignes dentrée (stéréo / microphone)
2 x Lignes de sortie (casque / haut-parleur)

EMPLACEMENTS
4 x Slots - RAM
1 x PCI-Express x16 (Low profile)
2 x PCI (Low profile)
ASX
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed May 06, 2015 12:46 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by ASX »

gillles wrote:Ghost 11.0 doesn't work ....
The blank screen appear when Ghost launch X11 ... the desktop screen go to sleep because no signal received ... so i'm pretty sure that the problem is the graphic card but i dont have any to try ...
OK, even in your situation you should be able to switch back to a text console, by pressing CTRL + ALT + F1 or CTRL + ALT + F2, unless the system is completely frozen.

If you can get to a text console, log in as 'root' and look into /var/log/Xorg.0.log, if possible make a copy or a photo of the error lines
(error lines are marked with [EE] in that log files), more interesting are the firsts [EE] you might find.

another interesting info is the list of loaded kernel modules: at the prompt type:

Code: Select all

kldstat
kraileth
Posts: 312
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2016 12:30 pm

Re: Install on dell optiplex 755 blank screen

Post by kraileth »

In general non-Lenovo laptops are still a bit of an adventure with FreeBSD... If the system really freezes completely it might be useful to get more information. You said that TrueOS does boot? Could you perhaps save the dmesg to a file and post it here as well?
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