Live USB won't boot to desktop with NVIDIA

[rockinJ]

Prerequisites

• I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates.

Describe the bug

Live USB won't boot to desktop

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:
Download the latest live DVD, expand it to a USB flash drive. Since it's EFI boot I just open the iso with explorer and copy all the files from the virtual DVD to USB drive.
Then boot with the USB drive. Pressed enter to continue, and the splash showed, then the computer hanged and the display went power saving.
Here's some output after I disabled the splash:
https://youtu.be/BE2TheG6Euc

Expected behavior

The system boots to desktop and let me choose to live or to install.

Screenshots or screen recordings

Logs

Platform Information

• OS: [elementary OS]
• OS Version [Hera]
• Hardware info
  E3 1230-v2, Geforce 1660
• I'm using the latest version from git that I've manually compiled
• I'm using the latest released stable version

Additional context

[cassidyjames]

Since it's EFI boot I just open the iso with explorer and copy all the files from the virtual DVD to USB drive.

That's not at all what the installation instructions—linked to from the download page—say to do. Can you reproduce this issue while following the installation instructions found at elementary.io/docs/installation?

[Frank-vdm]

I have the same problem, I don't want to install Elementary, i want to "try" it and see if it will suite my purpose. To do this as far as i can tell, boot up into the USB drive, then select "Try", this then gives the logo screen after which my computer shuts down. so again not install but TRY

[rockinJ]

Since it's EFI boot I just open the iso with explorer and copy all the files from the virtual DVD to USB drive.

That's not at all what the installation instructions—linked to from the download page—say to do. Can you reproduce this issue while following the installation instructions found at elementary.io/docs/installation?

The only difference between what I did and the instruction is how the usb drive is made bootable. Since it's already bootable and the computer can boot from it, I don't think this difference is related to the problem.
The problem is I can't get into the X-Window.

[lexxkoto]

I've seen this happen on computers with newer nVidia graphics cards. Right when X should start, the display loses signal and goes to sleep.

The solution is to add the nomodeset option while booting from the install media. The first time you boot the new installation, add nomodeset again. Then, install the proprietary nVidia drivers through AppCenter. After this, you won't need to use nomodeset again.

[cassidyjames]

I saw something similar with my Slimbook Pro X which has a NVIDIA Geforce MX250. Installing actually worked fine and I could install proprietary drivers from AppCenter after rebooting, but in the live media, the live session would freeze up/hang.

[cassidyjames]

We should check if this is reproducible with the new setup in early OS 6 ISOs with the new installer.

[lexxkoto]

I'd be more than happy to check my machine in eOS 6 and post anything interesting from the kernel logs. I've got a GeForce 1060 with a 4K display attached via DisplayPort.

[mahmoud-moursy]

Ooohhhhh, been having this issue as well! Just installed Noveau drivers, removed them and then installed nvidia-drivers-440 on top. Seemed to fix it, but could leave a bitter taste in the inexperienced user's mouth.

[jnfinitym]

the requirement for nomodeset to be set as a Kernelparameter in GRUB before NVIDIA drivers are installed are something I can confirm as well, but it is not just Elementary, (I tried both Hera and a Odin ISO I build as per instructions from the repo), but I had the same with other distros, including openSUSE Leap 15.2, using a system with an RTX 2070.

Let me know if you want me to test anything regarding this issue, happy to help.

[syrofoam]

Had exactly same problem, with an RTX 2080. Crash or stop on the elementary logo. The installation where fine with the nomodset kernel parameter.

[edward-riley]

i recommend pressing 'e' in the boot menu, navigating to the 'linux' section and appending 'nouveau.modeset=0' onto the end. then press CTRL-X to boot. This is a common issue

[imreallyliam]

Experiencing this with amdgpu as well, when using nomodeset it disables backlight control. I blame poor address mapping in kernels pre-5.10 with Ryzen mobile processors requiring this change. Any tips?

[sunsetblvdtatha]

I have been trying to do a fresh install and get a blank screen past the selection screen. Tried nomodeset, nouveau.modeset=0 burned different USB’s. I have a very old Nvidia Quadro 4000 GPU with 2 monitors attached to it - 1x Dell HD via DVI converted to VGA and 1x LG 1440p, 144hz.

I can confirm that elementary OS was running on this machine before I formatted the SSD. The initial install was done on a different machine (HP Z420 with Nvidia 1070ti) and everything was smooth. Just took out the SSD and installed in this machine and ran a ‘Ubuntu-drivers install’ and everything ran smoothly. The same USB boots into live environment on a HP laptop (no discrete Graphics).

let me Know if I need to do anything different or test something.

fyi, pop_os, open suse, zorin, endeavour OS, Manjaro, system rescue CD boot into live environment. Some have issues with the LG monitor frequency. However no issue on the dell monitor.

anaconda based installer has the same issue ‘blank screen’ - tried fedora33, 34 and AlmaLinux.

cheers

[carniz]

I'm also having this issue on my Dell Precision 5510 equipped with a Nvidia GM107GLM (Quadro M1000M). Tried nomodeset and nouveau.modeset=0 but after pressing CTRL+X or F10 on the Grub screen the display stays black no matter what. I can also confirm that I have the same issue with Ubuntu 20.04.1

Edit 1: I was testing this with elementaryos-6.0-daily.20210523, not with Hera.

Edit 2: It boots properly in legacy mode (non-UEFI) with the default kernel parameters.

[mahmoud-moursy]

@carniz

Solution

Check if your BIOS has a CSM option. It stands for Compatibility Support Module and it allows for BIOS backwards-compatibility while still using UEFI. Most modern motherboards have a CSM option (which is on by default). If yours doesn't, check for BIOS updates, it may have been added as a feature!

Context of how I found the solution

I turned mine off for RAID 0 back when I was running on Windows-only, and it came back to bite me. Took an hour of debugging/googling. For me ZorinOS (devbox) would not boot without CSM (I suspect GRUB is the offender here), but Windows (for gaming, dotnet/C#) would not boot in the legacy BIOS.

[carniz]

@T-O-R-U-S Turning off CSM (which in the Dell BIOS is labeled "Enable Legacy Option ROMs") did sadly enough not change anything for me: the screen still goes black after booting with F10/CTRL+X from the GRUB menu. In my previous attempts I had this option enabled, so my issue seems to be unrelated to enabling/disabling the CSM option.

[cassidyjames]

I'm no longer able to reproduce this on a Slimbook Pro X 14 with GeForce MX250; it boots, installs, and boots into the installed image without changing anything BIOS or grub related. I believe this machine is set up to use UEFI, but I'm not sure about legacy BIOS support.

[aghosh0605]

Same problem for me also.

My system is Asus TUF Gaming 15 inch series laptop with Ryzen 5 4600H and Nvidia GeForce 1650.
ISSE:
After booting the ISO from USB. No desktop is coming. Live boot also fails for Nouveau error. If I choose install option then after install same error occurred and it's not booting. I tried with Ubuntu, Kubuntu everything works fine but not Elementary OS. It's not the grub issue I can assure it. It is a graphic driver issue with hybrid graphics laptops or desktop.
Tried

1. I tried with nouveau modeset also but nothing changed.
2. Secure Boot is off.
3. Fast boot ia disabled in windows and also in BIOS.
4. Tried with Rufus and Etcher also. Nothing solved the problem.

Attachments

1. First picture shows that the background desktop is not rendered only the install or Try elementary tab rendered.
2. Error comes while booting.
3. This picture also contains error that shows while booting from USB.
4. This last picture shows the error after installing Elementary.

[fadedgreenpeace]

I have the same issue using UEFI boot without CSM on a Dell XPS 9370. First had to replace the /boot/.efi files from Ubuntu 20.04.2, that got me to the grub menu where I tried adding nomodeset parameter to just wind up at a plain blank screen. A bit of a frustrating experience.

[carniz]

FYI: For me the issue had nothing to do with modesetting, but with set gfxmode=auto in /boot/grub/grub.conf which for some reason made my 4K monitor go black (see #546 (comment))