Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon Won't Boot

[MikefromMD]

Hi All,
I'm new to Linux and the forum. Originally, I was able to install and configure Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon. After a couple days, I noticed the time wouldn't change to 12-hour format even when I manually set time and date in System settings and Format "Use 24 hour fomat" turned off. I decided to let it go and next thing you know, I was in the Australia time zone and unable to change it (I'm on the east coast of the US and had originally set up for New York time).
Then I re-started my computer and now it continually boots to a black screen. I've tried a bootable USB drive but the computer now doesn't recognize the USB drive. When I try to go to the boot menu now on startup, it continually goes to the black screen. I'm obviously stuck in a loop and don't know what to do next. Any suggestions on Google to solve my problem have been attempted to no avail. Any help would be much appreciated.
Mike

 

[Condobloke]

G'day Mike, Welcome to Linux.org

I run Linux mint, Cinnamon 22.3 as well....and have replicated your changing to 12 hour time...ie turning off 'use 24h clock'

what did

manually set time and date in System settings

Involve?
I altered the time setting by only clicking on todays time and date, which takes me to a calendar...(see below)

.....where I clicked on Date and Time Settings (red arrow) ....

....where I turned off use 24h clock....and that was that.
This has not introduced any other changes in behavior of my pc

Is it possible you clicked something in System settings that has bought things unstuck?

Did you make any alterations in BIOS ?

Is there another OS on the pc (windows ?)

I've tried a bootable USB drive but the computer now doesn't recognize the USB drive

Having that bootable usb stick could be imperative. Is this the usb stick that you installed from initially?...or is it newly made ?....if so, how did you make it?......another pc....using windows or Linux?

I suspect that your grub has been wiped, somehow. Either way, a bootable usb stick is needed.

We will walk you through the troubleshooting to make it work

 

[MikefromMD]

Hi Condobloke, thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately, I only get the black screen no matter what I do at the moment.
I'm unable to do/try anything you suggested at the moment. I do have a bootable USB that contains the Linux Mint version I installed. There is no other OS on the PC as Windows was removed when I installed Linux. Not sure if I modified the BIOS or not at this point. Can't even access the USB right now. When I boot the PC I get two options: GNU Grub : Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon, or Advanced Options for Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon. No matter which one I click on, it goes to the black screen and doesn't respond to any other inputs.

 

[MikefromMD]

I just noticed something that probably impacts what I've done. I have Linux Mint 22.2 on my bootable USB not 22.3. Not sure where to go from here.

 

[kc1di]

Hi @MikefromMD and Welcome to the linux.org forum.
What video card is that computer using? If your not sure the model and can get to the Terminal please type the following command and post the results here.

inxi -Fxxzr

as for the usb drive you may have to go into your EFI boot menu or Bios and set it to boot from usb.

 

[GatorsFan]

When you boot your system, just stop at the Grub screen. If you don’t see this screen, keep holding Shift key at the boot time.

At the grub screen, press ‘E’ key to go into the editing mode.

Now, there are several ways you can try to disable these drivers. My favorite way is to disable all video/graphics card using nomodeset.

In the grub menu look for the line

linux /boot/vmlinuz-(your kernel number)-generic root= blah blah blah quiet splash $vt_handoff

here is where you add nomodeset after the quiet splash $vt_handoff

linux /boot/vmlinuz-(your kernel number)-generic root blah blah blah quiet splash $vt_handoff nomodeset

Don’t be too happy yet just because you are able to login to your system now. What you did was temporary and the next time you boot into your system, your system will still freeze because it will still try to load the graphics drivers.

What you can do here to change the grub configuration so that the Linux kernel will not try to load the graphics driver before the display server.

To do that, open the terminal (use Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut) and then use the following command to open the grub configuration file in Gedit editor:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

gedit here is your text editor yours may be different so modify accordingly

You’ll have to use your password to open this file. Once you have the text file opened, look for the line that contains: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash".

Change this line to: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nomodeset"

Save the file and update grub so that changes are taken into effect. Use this command:

sudo update-grub

Now you should be able to install Nvidia drivers through the driver manager

 

[MikefromMD]

I did the nomodeset after the quiet splash words, hit Enter and the cursor moved down one line. I did a restart and "No irq handler for 1.55 comes up, and then it goes to a black screen. Unable to open "terminal", access USB, only a black screen. Maybe I did something that hosed my computer. I'm a senior (76) and not very computer literate. I wanted to have Linux because I'm tired of Windows mandates.

 

[kc1di]

We really need to know more about your set up. Manufacturer, model Would be a start.

 

[MikefromMD]

I have an older Toshiba Satellite L655 laptop. Another reason I wanted Linux was it's stated to be good for older PCs. I'm unable to get any information on its configuration because all it will do right now is display a black screen.

 

[kc1di]

The video card in that machine is intel and is usually very well supported by the Kernel.
Try the shift key at boot when you get to the grub menu select advanced and then recovery see if that will get you to a desktop?

 

[kc1di]

The video card in that machine is intel and is usually very well supported by the Kernel.
Try the shift key at boot when you get to the grub menu select advanced and then recovery see if that will get you to a desktop?

Something that maybe the problem , but I'm not sure if it's software driven or part of the bios setup on that machine. Toshiba has on that series of laptop as an auto screen shutoff feature. That will turn power off to the screen. you'll have to look in the manual for more info on that could be though that something in the update has triggered that feature. Just a guess.

 

[Brickwizard]

Are you dual booting with windows?
If yes, have you recently run Windows update? if yes check that fast boot has not been e-enabled by windows if it has disable it and do a full power re-boot [not a restart from the menu]
If no, then can you get the boot menu if yes select mint advanced options then select repair run then re-start,

 

[MikefromMD]

Not dual booting with Windows as I removed Windows with the installation of Linux Mint. Unable to get to the boot menu currently.

Something that maybe the problem , but I'm not sure if it's software driven or part of the bios setup on that machine. Toshiba has on that series of laptop as an auto screen shutoff feature. That will turn power off to the screen. you'll have to look in the manual for more info on that could be though that something in the update has triggered that feature. Just a guess.

Did the shift key at boot and then advanced and recovery and got farther than previous attempts. Lots of scripts scrolled and stopped at (initramfs) where it is currently.

 

[kc1di]

since it stops at intramfs I suspect that there maybe the problem. Intramfs is one of the last parts of the updates that are compiled and perhaps in your case they did not get finished. At this point I suspect your going to have to do a complete reinstall.
you said it would not accept or book from usb? Or would boot to a black screen even when booted to the live usb?
Do you know how to get to the bios on that machine? it usually an F key the get you there.
Try this shut the machine down completely then power it up as soon as you start the power button press the F2 key repeatedly if that does not work do the same again but press the F12 key. one of those should get you to the bios or boot menu.
once there make you you have it set to boot from usb. Also if secure boot is there and is turn on turn it off. It maybe under security.

 

[GatorsFan]

"No irq handler for 1.55 comes up, and then it goes to a black screen.

Check your IOMMU Settings: The most frequent cause is the IOMMU (Input/Output Memory Management Unit) being enabled or set to "Auto" in the UEFI/BIOS settings. This is particularly common with AMD platforms - if enabled try disabling it - reboot and see what happens

 

[MikefromMD]

since it stops at intramfs I suspect that there maybe the problem. Intramfs is one of the last parts of the updates that are compiled and perhaps in your case they did not get finished. At this point I suspect your going to have to do a complete reinstall.
you said it would not accept or book from usb? Or would boot to a black screen even when booted to the live usb?
Do you know how to get to the bios on that machine? it usually an F key the get you there.
Try this shut the machine down completely then power it up as soon as you start the power button press the F2 key repeatedly if that does not work do the same again but press the F12 key. one of those should get you to the bios or boot menu.
once there make you you have it set to boot from usb. Also if secure boot is there and is turn on turn it off. It maybe under security.

I tried booting to both F2 and F12 to no avail. Both bring up the GRUB menu. I'll need to see if I can troubleshoot/fix my laptop before proceeding. At this point, I want to erase the hard disk and start from scratch (which I'm unable to do at the moment). If I can start from scratch I'll try to load Linux again. I appreciate your time and helpful suggestions. I think I must have inadvertently hosed my computer.

 

[Condobloke]

@MikefromMD, On a Toshiba, to get into the BOOT menu, start tapping F12 as soon as you have pressed the start button.

To get into the BIOS, tap the F2 as soon as you have pressed the start button

When I say tap, do not stop tapping ...approx once a second.....just a comfortable pace.....doesn't need to be rushed.

if you have the means to do so, another attempt at making the usb stick with Linux Mint 22.3 may be worthwhile.

if you are using a windows pc to do this, try using Balena Etcher to do it.

Download etcher from the link above.

Then open etcher and ....Select the Image (the Linux Mint download: linuxmint-22.3-cinnamon-64bit.iso )
Select the drive (this will be the usb stick (make sure you get the right drive)
Flash (this simply means press the flash/go/ok button for it to do its thing)


It will take at least a few minutes, maybe more depending on the speed of the pc. Be patient.

NOTE ....I just read your post above. The is no need to erase the disc. When Linux Mint is installed it automatically formats the disc and removes everything.....Everything ! You CAN trust that process.

Then start off again. Make another usb stick as I described above. Mint 22.3 this time.

Dont hesitate to ask us anything. We will get you rolling !

 

[kc1di]

Ok I think at this point your right you should clean the machine and re-install a linux Distro.
Do you have another machine you can download with? If so download a new .ISO Mint is fine
burn it to a new usb stick and give it a try to boot. If you can get into the live session gparted is install in the live usb. and you can use it to wipe the drive.

 

[MikefromMD]

Hi Condobloke, thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately, I only get the black screen no matter what I do at the moment.
I'm unable to do/try anything you suggested at the moment. I do have a bootable USB that contains the Linux Mint version I installed. There is no other OS on the PC as Windows was removed when I installed Linux. Not sure if I modified the BIOS or not at this point. Can't even access the USB right now. When I boot the PC I get two options: GNU Grub : Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon, or Advanced Options for Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon. No matter which one I click on, it goes to the black screen and doesn't respond to any other inputs.

Hi Condobloke, I was able to fix the problem with booting on my computer. I followed the instructions you provided above for changing the time from 24 to 12 hour format and it worked. It was just as easy as you made it sound. Thanks for your help.
Mike

 

[MikefromMD]

Ok I think at this point your right you should clean the machine and re-install a linux Distro.
Do you have another machine you can download with? If so download a new .ISO Mint is fine
burn it to a new usb stick and give it a try to boot. If you can get into the live session gparted is install in the live usb. and you can use it to wipe the drive.

Hi kc1di, I was able to clean the computer and re-install the Linux distro. I re-installed the one I have on USB. I thought it was Cinnamon 22.3 but it turned out to be 22.2 actually. Anyway, I'm back up and re-configuring my menu and desktop. Thanks for your help and your patience.
Mike