Installed Ubuntu and now the display/boot is gone? Rescue your data, then repair
Windows & Ubuntu Guides · 0 views
Installed Ubuntu (fresh or alongside another OS) and now you get a black screen, no display after GRUB, or no boot at all? Follow this order: get the display back if it is just a driver, otherwise rescue your data FIRST, then repair or reinstall.
STEP 1 — TRY THE 2-MINUTE DRIVER FIX (very common on NVIDIA laptops)
1. Power on. At the GRUB menu (hold Shift during boot if it does not appear) highlight "Ubuntu" and press "e".
2. Find the line starting with "linux" and add nomodeset just after "quiet splash".
3. Press F10 to boot. If the desktop appears, install the proper driver permanently:
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
sudo reboot
That is it in most cases. If even nomodeset gives nothing, continue below.
STEP 2 — BOOT THE RECOVERY USB
Use your Ubuntu 24.04 USB (see the Rufus article to make one on any other PC). Boot-menu key (F9/F12/Esc) > pick the USB > "Try Ubuntu". You are now in a full temporary desktop that runs from the stick and can see your disk.
STEP 3 — MOUNT YOUR DISK PARTITION
Open Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):
lsblk -f
Identify your Ubuntu partition — the big ext4 one, e.g. /dev/nvme0n1p2 (on dual boot the Windows one shows ntfs). Then:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/rescue
sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt/rescue
ls /mnt/rescue/home
You should see your username folder — your data is alive.
STEP 4 — COPY YOUR DATA OUT
Plug in an external drive/pendrive — it auto-mounts under /media/ubuntu/<DriveName>. Copy with progress:
rsync -avh --info=progress2 /mnt/rescue/home/YOURNAME/ /media/ubuntu/DRIVENAME/backup/
(Replace YOURNAME and DRIVENAME with what you saw in ls /mnt/rescue/home and ls /media/ubuntu.) Verify the copy opened from the external drive before proceeding.
STEP 5 — REPAIR OR REINSTALL
- Repair route: with data safe, follow "Repair install" in the Ubuntu install article (chroot + grub-install + update-grub, or Boot-Repair).
- Clean route: run the installer from this same USB, "Erase disk and install Ubuntu", then copy your backup back into your new home folder.
When you raise a ticket about this, mention: laptop model, whether nomodeset worked, and the exact lsblk output — it saves a full round trip.
Still stuck? Email [email protected] or raise a ticket from the Help Center — include your asset tag and what step failed.
STEP 1 — TRY THE 2-MINUTE DRIVER FIX (very common on NVIDIA laptops)
1. Power on. At the GRUB menu (hold Shift during boot if it does not appear) highlight "Ubuntu" and press "e".
2. Find the line starting with "linux" and add nomodeset just after "quiet splash".
3. Press F10 to boot. If the desktop appears, install the proper driver permanently:
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
sudo reboot
That is it in most cases. If even nomodeset gives nothing, continue below.
STEP 2 — BOOT THE RECOVERY USB
Use your Ubuntu 24.04 USB (see the Rufus article to make one on any other PC). Boot-menu key (F9/F12/Esc) > pick the USB > "Try Ubuntu". You are now in a full temporary desktop that runs from the stick and can see your disk.
STEP 3 — MOUNT YOUR DISK PARTITION
Open Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):
lsblk -f
Identify your Ubuntu partition — the big ext4 one, e.g. /dev/nvme0n1p2 (on dual boot the Windows one shows ntfs). Then:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/rescue
sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt/rescue
ls /mnt/rescue/home
You should see your username folder — your data is alive.
STEP 4 — COPY YOUR DATA OUT
Plug in an external drive/pendrive — it auto-mounts under /media/ubuntu/<DriveName>. Copy with progress:
rsync -avh --info=progress2 /mnt/rescue/home/YOURNAME/ /media/ubuntu/DRIVENAME/backup/
(Replace YOURNAME and DRIVENAME with what you saw in ls /mnt/rescue/home and ls /media/ubuntu.) Verify the copy opened from the external drive before proceeding.
STEP 5 — REPAIR OR REINSTALL
- Repair route: with data safe, follow "Repair install" in the Ubuntu install article (chroot + grub-install + update-grub, or Boot-Repair).
- Clean route: run the installer from this same USB, "Erase disk and install Ubuntu", then copy your backup back into your new home folder.
When you raise a ticket about this, mention: laptop model, whether nomodeset worked, and the exact lsblk output — it saves a full round trip.
Still stuck? Email [email protected] or raise a ticket from the Help Center — include your asset tag and what step failed.
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