[GRLUG] IBM NetVista not booting graphical environment

[john-thomas richards]

On Tue, Nov 20, 2007 at 03:22:28PM -0500, Rick Vargo wrote:
> john-thomas richards wrote:
> > I am helping a friend with his non-profit's computer (he runs an inner-city
> > ministry that helps with job placement, tutoring for students, leadership
> > development, etc.).  The machine is an IBM NetVista, Pentium III processor,
> > and an nVidia card.  I attempted to install XP (he *needs* Quickbooks) for
> > him.  The install works fine until the machine reboots and attempts to load
> > the GUI.  When it does so, the monitor goes into sleep mode and requires a
> > hard reboot (the keyboard becomes unresponsive).  I thought this was odd
> > behavior so I got another *identical* machine (literally; he received a
> > donation of several identical machines from a local business) and tried
> > installing XP onto that blank drive (after formatting, of course).  Again the
> > monitor went into sleep mode.  I then booted the machine with a Knoppix CD.
> > The initial splash screen (complete with graphic and a "boot:" prompt) comes
> > up but when I type in "knoppix" to start Knoppix, the monitor again goes into
> > sleep mode and requires a hard reboot.  The behavior is identical with XP and
> > Knoppix on three machines.  I suspect it is an idiosyncracy with IBM hardware.
> > Any suggestions?
> > 
> Does that computer happen to have two video cards (possibly an onboard
> card and an AGP card)?

It has onboard video and an AGP nVidia card.  I tried swapping the nVidia
card with an ATI card and got the same response.  I also tried the onboard
video.  It is quite bizarre.
-- 
john-thomas
------
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions,
that I wish it always to be kept alive.
Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)