8500GT Black Screen Why Mint 11?

[Mereyub]

I just installed a dual boot of Windows 7 with Mint 11, I got the Black screen that i have seen others talk about. I will try some of the fixes Later, Like picking the 173 driver from Safe video mode and so on....
Whats odd to me, I have done this Dual boot on this same computer a few times using Windows Vista with Mint 11 and pick the same driver but it didn't Happen

[AlbertP]

The nvidia driver used in Mint 11, the new 270 version, contains quite some bugs. And 173 contains bugs too. Only the experimental driver is relatively bug-free on any card except the newest GeForce 400 and 500 series. But it doesn't yet have the performance of the official one.

[Mereyub]

Oh Okay so I guess i will go with the experimental until there is an upgrade to the other drivers, When it comes to ATI cards is there the same issue?
Also I was looking at the computers over at System 76 They use Nvdia Video cards, what drivers are they using? or do they make their own?

[AlbertP]

ATI cards have their own issues with the 11.4 Catalyst driver, but there are much more forum posts about NVidia 270 problems. Generally Catalyst 11.4 is considered better, but you need a Radeon HD card: older cards aren't supported anymore.
System76 are using the official driver. I don't know if it's 173, 260, 270 or 275 but at least they're using the official one.

[Mereyub]

Thanks for the Info.
I still seem to have an issue:
Driver - 270 / No luck Black screen
Driver - 173 / No luck Black screen with lines of code and actions listing stopping at - Stopping Save udev log and update rules - Stayed that way for over 8 hrs
Driver - Experimental option / Better luck screen is there - Issue The screen flickers once every 10 sec almost as if a lose connection but the connection is secure and the flicker is not happening on the Windows side of the dual boot

Also followed some instructions found here https://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/+bug/781377

Thanks for any other thoughts

[Mereyub]

Well Still No Luck getting Drives to work cant find anymore info on the issue
I guess the 8500gt is just not a good choice, maybe a new driver will be made ( i don't know)

I still can run Mint in my Virtual Box until a solution comes about or maybe I'll try something else
any ways Stay cool

[AlbertP]

The 8500GT was not a bad choice; it's supposed to work well with all 3 drivers. But for some reason your 8500GT does not.

Did you reboot between uninstalling a driver and installing the next driver? This is a very important step for NVidia. If you fail to do this, the driver often does not work or you can even break your system.

Maybe you can install the 260 version of the driver:
32-bit: http://packages.ubuntu.com/maverick/i38 ... t/download
64-bit: http://packages.ubuntu.com/maverick/amd ... t/download

Or the 275 version:
32-bit: http://packages.ubuntu.com/oneiric/i386 ... t/download
64-bit: http://packages.ubuntu.com/oneiric/amd6 ... t/download

You can install those .deb files by double-clicking.
In case the archiver opens instead of the installer, you can right-click > Properties > Open With and choose GDebi Package Installer.

[Mereyub]

Hey Albert Thanks for stopping By
I think i did uninstall the drivers but maybe i didn't do it right I'm very new to Linux but having fun
i tried stopping the x server as well but for all i know i could have just screwed up everything while trying to figure this whole thing out

So today i will try again and pay close attention to every step as while as try the other drivers that you suggested

Its funny i did a dual boot once and it work with no fuss then i upgraded to windows 7 with a total clean install redid the dual install with Mint 11 and then all this happen
I even wiped out everything and reinstalled Vista and try again but i have never been able to redo the dual boot again with Mint 11.

Now I am back with a fresh install of Windows 7 and totally fresh HHD and will try again - Another thing that i found odd was i did do a successful dual boot with Mint 10 and the Nvidia driver loaded with no problem

My father wont let me give up but he wont help me either - He told me i have to work thru it and use the forums hes new to Linux as well but much better at it, well maybe just a little lol
Any ways thank you very much

[Mereyub]

Well another day gone by, still no Luck
LOL i have never installed something so many times in my short life
but O well I guess maybe my card just wont work, Maybe its the card it's self
There was this one time when the screen stop flickering but i was stuck with Low Res
My screen is a 24 in Wide and need better Res

- Tomorrows another day and i will try it again or maybe my father will let me work off some cash and get a different card altogether
Wish me Luck

[AlbertP]

If you are OK with the performance of an open-source driver, you could probably best get a second-hand ATI card. Older ATI's are often well-supported by the open-source driver, and if it's a Radeon HD you can also choose to try the official driver.