Display selection issue Kali Linux black screens on boot.

[vailixi]

I installed Kali on my new laptop. There's an issue when it boots. Everything works fine except when it boots Kali doesn't find a display to use. I think it's an issue where by default the system uses both displays (The regular laptop screen and the HDMI output). In some cases you can fix issues like this in the BIOS by setting the default display device. My BIOS doesn't have that option. So what I think is going on is that since there isn't a display set Kali doesn't know which of the two to use and it just black screens. I think that's the issue. Not totally sure though. It sounds legit though. KEK. If I boot into recover mode I get a shell. Can I fix the issue from here? Is there a boot parameter I can feed it for the display? Is there a config I can edit. Can I edit the config file then live build the thing so it works without hassle? What's the best way to fix something like this?

Edited September 29, 2016 by vailixi

[digip]

If you're using gnome, might try installing kde version, see how that goes. If still no good, then most likely graphics driver compatibility issue and you can try the live boot version to see if that works. Sometimes live boots work fine, and then on native install seems to not(I've seen this happen on my old laptop). If the live disc option works, then you might want to build a persistent live disc version on USB or use the HDD for storage till you figure out the graphics issue. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[0phoi5]

If I remember rightly, you can force certain Linux distros to pick a display by editing 99-fbturbo.conf in a folder called X11.

There's a line that mentions /dev/fb0, you can change fb0 to fb1 or whatever is relevant.

This may not be the case for Kali, I'm not at home so can't test sorry.

[digip]

Forgot to ask, but does the laptop have a function key for projector or second monitor? Can try hitting that key combo to switch screens, see if you get one to come up, but I'd say try the live boot. If you have it working while live the the whole time, a native install removes one of the safe drivers or methods it used to control the screen initially, and this is something I've had issues with in the past. I still forget how I got it working on BT5 on my old laptop, but I'm sure its something simple we're overlooking.

 

What kind of output do you get when you type  "xrandr" or do you have no terminal screen at all? (try hooking up an external monitor too, see if you get any screen to show).

[Wallruss]

If you have an NVidia graphics card, some Linux distros will load the Nouveau (generic) driver but then attempt to load the proprietary driver.  I've found in the more current distros that running the generic driver works quite well.  If you attempt (or your OS opts) to install the proprietary driver, it usually involves blacklisting nouveau to prevent it from loading.  Another easy try is to simply rename the X11.conf to anything else (located in your X11 folder).  Then reboot and allow the OS to redetect the graphics.