Kubuntu 12.04 just KILLED my Nvidia 9600GT Graphics Card! Not even BIOS Screen works!

[couchbotato]

Oh how pissed I am right now.. So I make it short.

I installed the new Kubuntu just this morning. It installed just fine. Then I booted the first time and everything worked just fine. I installed Chromium Browser and tested some 720p clips and noticed that they were not GPU accelerated. Not a big deal. Then I just changed the Metric system on from KDE Regional settings, so that CPU temperature widget would show temps in Celsius format.. And then --> Restart System.

And it has been black screen since then! Not even BIOS screen shows up anymore and I've tried with different monitors and with both DVI connections and nothing... Black screen and monitors go to sleep. No signal from the GPU what so ever

The computer
- AMD x2 5000+ cpu
- Nvidia 9600GT passive cooled silent model

! EDIT EDIT EDIT !

Now I took my HDD off and I got the BIOS screen back. Maybe it is not broken, this is mysterious... I contiunue testing wtf is wrong with my machine?

Now it is booting again and everything is working... Maybe my old machine is dying, this is weird stuff.

But the issue is not Ubuntu specific I over reacted and this thread can be DELETED now! Sorry about this.

PS. Nvidia Settings tells me that GPU temp = 42 celcius and AMD X2 5000+ cpu temp = 30 Celcius when idling so temps are brilliant

[bishb25]

The last time I had something like you described happen to me it turned out to be a cooked GPU. I'm glad you got it working again, but don't be surprised if it dies on you real soon. If it does act up again (which i hope it doesn't) try swapping the video card out if you have the luxury of a spare. A dying video card and a weak CPU fan caused the exact symptoms you described on my PC. Good luck!

[whatthefunk]

It could be a driver issue. There have been a lot of problems with the newest nVidia drivers....

[couchbotato]

The last time I had something like you described happen to me it turned out to be a cooked GPU. I'm glad you got it working again, but don't be surprised if it dies on you real soon. If it does act up again (which i hope it doesn't) try swapping the video card out if you have the luxury of a spare. A dying video card and a weak CPU fan caused the exact symptoms you described on my PC. Good luck!

I think that it cannot have cooked because last time I was using this with FreeBSD and the temperatures never went over 70C ... Now GPU is 50C as we speak and CPU temp 33C ...
There must be something wrong perhaps with my power supply or the motherboard is dying.. I dont know. Now it is working perfectly again.. very weird indeed..

[couchbotato]

It could be a driver issue. There have been a lot of problems with the newest nVidia drivers....

Thats what I thought at first but it wouldnt show even the BIOS before I first removed my HDD sata and power cables, then booted and BIOS came up again. Then power off and re-attached HDD --> everything is back to normal

[bishb25]

That's what happened to me. No BIOS, just a blank screen. I would fiddle with the hardware and it would work fine a while then quit again. This happened over and over untill finally notghing would make it boot. Once i replaced the video card i've had no problems. I'm not saying i'm right about your PC just telling what happened to me.

[aybesea]

This is an nVidia driver issue. Since I installed the latest, I no longer see anything (I get a D-SUB error and I don't even run a D-SUB connector) until KDM loads. Then I had the nVidia sluggish issue, but I fixed it with the fix I posted in this thread. Now it still goes blank and gives me the D-Sub issue, but once it boots everything is good.

They really did a number on these nVidia drivers. nVidia needs to get these fixed pronto!

[couchbotato]

This is an nVidia driver issue. Since I installed the latest, I no longer see anything (I get a D-SUB error and I don't even run a D-SUB connector) until KDM loads. Then I had the nVidia sluggish issue, but I fixed it with the fix I posted in this thread. Now it still goes blank and gives me the D-Sub issue, but once it boots everything is good.

They really did a number on these nVidia drivers. nVidia needs to get these fixed pronto!

So you can SEE the "d-sub errors" what ever they are? My machine wouldnt even show the bootup BIOS screen.. I dont think that the Nvidia drivers can screw up so badly the GPU that it wont show even the BIOS screen when I restart the machine? Or was that the case with you too?

Well anyway, I removed Kubuntu and installed Gentoo Linux with KDE 4.8.1 (stable) and it works very well now.. GPU is idling around 48 celsius and CPU with 100% load around 45 celsius so my machine is pretty darn cool 8)

LoL but now my old WD hard disk is failing, I can hear it making squeaking noises... I have to buy SSD drive soon.

[dibl]

I have seen something like this caused by a minor/partial failure in a PSU. The secondary suspect would be the GPU, especially if you did hear the mainboard beep. The "black screen before BIOS" could be from (a) no power on mainboard (but if there is no power, then there is no beep) or (b) no signal from GPU.