Although it is not a common error, some users may encounter a black screen when using Ubuntu Linux. The error is most likely to occur when first logging into Ubuntu, and usually indicates that there is a missing video driver. In this tutorial, we will look at a solution to fix a black screen on Ubuntu.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to boot into safe graphics mode
- How to enable proprietary video drivers
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | Ubuntu Linux |
| Software | N/A |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
Ubuntu black screen solutions
This usually means that your desktop environment is not loading, and instead showing a black screen. Your mouse cursor may or may not be present, but either way the system remains unusable. Sometimes the system may also get stuck on the Ubuntu logo. Try our step by step instructions below to see if it fixes your problem.
If you have no luck with the following solution, or you are convinced that graphics drivers are not the problem, check out our troubleshooting guide on GNOME not loading solution.
- Start by powering on your system. Hold the
Shiftkey during the boot process in order to access the GNU GRUB menu. When it appears, select the “Advanced options for Ubuntu” option.
Boot into the Advanced options for Ubuntu - Then select recovery mode for the latest kernel driver version your system has.
Select recovery mode - On the recover menu, select “Resume normal boot” to proceed with a normal boot process that will include safe graphics mode. This mode will circumvent your current graphics driver (in case there is a problem with it) and load graphics that are guaranteed to work (barring any sort of hardware issue).
Boot into normal / safe graphics mode - Open up Ubuntu’s Software and Updates application, select the Ubuntu Software tab, and make sure the box is checked for “Proprietary drivers for devices.” Close this app when done.
Enable proprietary drivers in Software and Updates app - Next, open the Software Updater application. This will search for new updates for your Ubuntu system, including any required proprietary drivers that you are currently missing. Install all the updates and reboot.
Install all system updates
Reboot like normal and you will hopefully find that your system loads in without the black screen.
Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, we saw how to fix an Ubuntu black screen error. The black screen or persistent freezing usually indicates that a needed video driver is missing. In this case we must enable proprietary video drivers to be downloaded through Ubuntu’s updates, but that setting can only be enabled if we first boot successfully into the system, which safe graphics mode allows us to do. See our GNOME not loading solution guide in case this did not work for you.