Hi guys;i have an old P4 with Xubuntu 14.04 installed and lately it wont go to Desktop it stays on a black screen at first turn on, i have to turn off power then turn on power a second time then it boots to Desktop,beside that it runs fine,Any help will be apreciated

 

Hi guys;i have an old P4 with Xubuntu 14.04 installed and lately it wont go to Desktop it stays on a black screen at first turn on, i have to turn on power a second time then it boots to Desktop,beside that it runs fine,Any help will be apreciated

There was a bug that would prevent booting properly if a usb mouse (or other device?) was connected on some hardware. Disconnect all your USB peripherals and try again. If the problem goes away, do a apt-get update/apt-get dist-upgrade to fix it.

Edit: Regardless, when you do get it to boot, do a dist-upgrade immediately. This may fix the problem if it was reported.

 

This happens some times when the battery that stores the bios is gone.

...

Edit: actually, my bedroom computer (an old Win XP) began to do it a couple of months ago and didn't have the time to buy a new one.

 

Thanks: i checked the battery it's good

 

Just took mine off, now that you reminded me, and it's definitely low; but still has some juice to turn on the computer when I switch it on twice like you.

 

There was a bug that would prevent booting properly if a usb mouse (or other device?) was connected on some hardware. Disconnect all your USB peripherals and try again. If the problem goes away, do a apt-get update/apt-get dist-upgrade to fix it.

Edit: Regardless, when you do get it to boot, do a dist-upgrade immediately. This may fix the problem if it was reported.

Thanks joeyd999; i think your right, i had this USB extender cable since the USB ports on the back and one on the front are not easy access so i took off and turned pc off and on a few times and it boots ok,thanks for the tip.

 

This happens some times when the battery that stores the bios is gone.
...

Edit: actually, my bedroom computer (an old Win XP) began to do it a couple of months ago and didn't have the time to buy a new one.

Last night I dared to disassemble a Compaq mini CQ10 and change the (gone) battery. No more staying there "thinking". Now it boots OK.

 

Some of the older ones came with rechargeable batteries instead of button cells, and these rarely needed to be replaced. The other day I completely dismantled my very first PC -a 25 year old Commodore PC10- and the rechargeable battery was still good enough to be reused.

 

Thanks everybody for pointing out good tips solutions for these troubles,very good forum this is ,thanks.