Stuck on black screen with blinking cursor after update

Hello everyone,
new Manjaro user here.

Last week I tried updating my work desktop PC with Manjaro-i3 edition on it. After the update, I tried booting up my system and it was stuck on a black screen with a blinking cursor. I did a clean install, as I did not have the time/expertise to solve this problem quickly.

As I understand, the problem is the NVIDIA drivers. Currently I haven’t upgraded my system (nor the drivers), but would like to understand what I should do at this point to elude further problems when upgrading my system.

Thanks for the help.

inxi --full output:

System:    Host: rokas-13111306 Kernel: 5.13.13-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: i3 4.19.1 Distro: Manjaro Linux
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z87P-D3 v: x.x serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: F4
           date: 05/16/2013
CPU:       Info: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-4770S bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache: L2: 1024 KiB
           Speed: 1828 MHz min/max: 800/3900 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1828 2: 3835 3: 959 4: 3774 5: 3784 6: 3888 7: 3882
           8: 3794
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel
           Device-2: NVIDIA GK106 [GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost] driver: nvidia v: 470.63.01
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: loaded: modesetting,nvidia resolution: 1: 1920x1200~60Hz
           2: 1920x1200~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.63.01
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
           Device-2: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
           Device-3: NVIDIA GK106 HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.13.13-1-MANJARO running: yes
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169
           IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 94:de:80:b9:e8:92
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 26.06 GiB (5.6%)
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 870 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 97.87 GiB used: 9.74 GiB (9.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
           ID-2: /boot/efi size: 511 MiB used: 288 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1
           ID-3: /home size: 326.96 GiB used: 16.32 GiB (5.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda4
Swap:      ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 32 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) dev: /dev/sda2
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8 C mobo: 27.8 C gpu: nvidia temp: 46 C
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 23%
Info:      Processes: 212 Uptime: 3h 52m Memory: 31.25 GiB used: 1.64 GiB (5.2%) Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.09
rokas@rokas-13111306:[~]: inxi --full
System:    Host: rokas-13111306 Kernel: 5.13.13-1-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: i3 4.19.1 Distro: Manjaro Linux
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z87P-D3 v: x.x serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: F4
           date: 05/16/2013
CPU:       Info: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-4770S bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache: L2: 1024 KiB
           Speed: 3582 MHz min/max: 800/3900 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 3582 2: 2256 3: 2618 4: 3153 5: 2618 6: 3040 7: 1766
           8: 3796
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel
           Device-2: NVIDIA GK106 [GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost] driver: nvidia v: 470.63.01
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: loaded: modesetting,nvidia resolution: 1: 1920x1200~60Hz
           2: 1920x1200~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.63.01
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
           Device-2: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
           Device-3: NVIDIA GK106 HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
           Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k5.13.13-1-MANJARO running: yes
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169
           IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 94:de:80:b9:e8:92
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 26.06 GiB (5.6%)
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 870 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 97.87 GiB used: 9.74 GiB (9.9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
           ID-2: /boot/efi size: 511 MiB used: 288 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1
           ID-3: /home size: 326.96 GiB used: 16.32 GiB (5.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda4
Swap:      ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 32 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) dev: /dev/sda2
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 51.0 C mobo: 27.8 C gpu: nvidia temp: 48 C
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 26%
Info:      Processes: 212 Uptime: 3h 52m Memory: 31.25 GiB used: 1.64 GiB (5.3%) Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.09

mhwd -li output:

> Installed PCI configs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  NAME               VERSION          FREEDRIVER           TYPE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
video-hybrid-intel-nvidia-prime            2021.07.28               false            PCI
     video-modesetting            2020.01.13                true            PCI

yay output:

:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 community is up to date
 multilib is up to date
:: Starting full system upgrade...
:: Replace python-ueberzug with community/ueberzug? [Y/n] n
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...

Packages (302) acpid-2.0.33-1  adwaita-icon-theme-41.0-1  aom-3.2.0-1  archlinux-appstream-data-20211018-1  at-spi2-core-2.42.0-1  audit-3.0.6-1  automake-1.16.5-1  bison-3.8.2-1  bluez-5.62-1  bluez-libs-5.62-1  bluez-utils-5.62-1
               btrfs-progs-5.15-1  ca-certificates-mozilla-3.72-1  cantarell-fonts-1:0.303-1  clipit-1:1.4.5+21+ge5fa64c-1  coreutils-9.0-2  cpupower-5.15-1  cryptsetup-2.4.1-3  cups-1:2.3.3op2-4  dav1d-0.9.2-1  device-mapper-2.03.14-1
               dnsmasq-2.86-1  dunst-1.7.1-1  dunstify-1.7.1-1  ecryptfs-utils-111-5  egl-wayland-1:1.1.9+2+gdaab854-1  eglexternalplatform-1.1-2  exiv2-0.27.5-1  expac-10-5  f2fs-tools-1.14.0-3  fakeroot-1.26-1  ffmpeg-2:4.4.1-1
               fftw-3.3.10-1  file-5.41-1  filesystem-2021.05.31-1  fluidsynth-2.2.3-1  foomatic-db-3:20211116-1  fribidi-1.0.11-1  fuse-common-3.10.5-1  fuse3-3.10.5-1  fzf-0.28.0-1  gawk-5.1.1-1  gc-8.2.0-2  gcr-3.41.0-1  gd-2.3.3-3
               gdbm-1.22-1  geoip-database-20211026-1  ghostscript-9.55.0-2  glib-networking-1:2.70.0-1  glib2-2.70.1-1  glibc-locales-2.33-1  glibmm-2.66.2-1  glslang-11.7.0-1  gnupg-2.2.32-1  gobject-introspection-runtime-1.70.0-2
               graphviz-2.49.3-1  gsettings-desktop-schemas-41.0-1  gssdp-1.4.0.1-1  gst-libav-1.18.5-1  gst-plugins-bad-1.18.5-3  gst-plugins-bad-libs-1.18.5-3  gst-plugins-base-1.18.5-1  gst-plugins-base-libs-1.18.5-1
               gst-plugins-good-1.18.5-2  gst-plugins-ugly-1.18.5-2  gstreamer-1.18.5-1  gtk-update-icon-cache-1:4.4.1-1  gtksourceview4-4.8.2-1  guile-2.2.7-2  gupnp-1:1.4.0-1  gupnp-igd-1.2.0-2  gzip-1.11-1  haveged-1.9.15-1
               hexchat-2.16.0-2  hidapi-0.11.0-1  hplip-1:3.21.10-1  hwinfo-21.78-1  i3-gaps-4.20.1-1  i3-scrot-2.1-2  iana-etc-20211025-1  imagemagick-7.1.0.14-1  imath-3.1.3-1  imlib2-1.7.4-1  inetutils-2.2-1  inxi-3.3.09.1-1
               iproute2-5.15.0-1  iso-codes-4.8.0-1  iw-5.16-1  jansson-2.14-1  js78-78.15.0-1  json-c-0.15-2  kauth-5.88.0-1  kcoreaddons-5.88.0-1  kitemmodels-5.88.0-1  krb5-1.19.2-1  kvantum-qt5-0.20.2-2  kwindowsystem-5.88.0-1
               ldb-2:2.4.1-1  lib32-brotli-1.0.9-1  lib32-curl-7.80.0-1  lib32-glu-9.0.2-1  lib32-krb5-1.19.2-1  lib32-libffi-3.4.2-3  lib32-libidn2-2.3.2-1  lib32-libssh2-1.10.0-1  lib32-libxcrypt-4.4.26-1  lib32-libxi-1.8-1
               lib32-libxml2-2.9.12-1  lib32-llvm-libs-13.0.0-1  lib32-mesa-21.2.5-1  lib32-ncurses-6.3-1  lib32-nvidia-utils-495.44-2  lib32-vulkan-icd-loader-1.2.194-1  lib32-wayland-1.19.0-2  libass-0.15.2-1  libatomic_ops-7.6.12-1
               libavif-0.9.3-1  libblockdev-2.26-1  libcaca-0.99.beta20-1  libcap-2.60-1  libcups-1:2.3.3op2-4  libdrm-2.4.108-1  libedit-20210910_3.1-1  libevdev-1.12.0-1  libexif-0.6.23-1  libexttextcat-3.4.6-1  libffi-3.4.2-4
               libgexiv2-0.14.0-1  libgpg-error-1.43-1  libgusb-0.3.8-1  libhandy-1.4.0-1  libheif-1.12.0-2  libibus-1.5.25-3  libical-3.0.11-1  libimagequant-2.16.0-1  libinput-1.19.2-1  liblouis-3.19.0-1  libmd-1.0.4-1
               libmm-glib-1.18.2-1  libmtp-1.1.19-1  libnewt-0.52.21-6  libnghttp2-1.46.0-1  libnm-1.32.12-1  libnotify-0.7.9-2  libnsl-2.0.0-1  libp11-kit-0.24.0-2  libpipeline-1.5.4-1  libproxy-0.4.17-3  libqmi-1.30.2-1
               libraqm-0.7.2-2  libreoffice-still-7.1.7-1  librsvg-2:2.52.4-1  libsamplerate-0.2.2-1  libseccomp-2.5.3-1  libsoup-2.74.1-1  libsrtp-1:2.4.2-1  libssh2-1.10.0-1  libtar-1.2.20-6  libtasn1-4.18.0-1  libupnp-1.14.12-2
               libva-2.13.0-1  libvpx-1.11.0-1  libwebp-1.2.1-2  libwpe-1.12.0-1  libx86emu-3.4-1  libxcrypt-4.4.26-1  libxcvt-0.1.1-1  libxfce4ui-4.16.1-1  libxi-1.8-1  libxkbcommon-1.3.1-1  libxkbcommon-x11-1.3.1-1  libxml2-2.9.12-2
               libxnvctrl-495.44-1  libxslt-1.1.34-6  libyuv-r2266+eb6e7bb6-1  libzip-1.8.0-1  linux-firmware-20211027.1d00989-1  linux513-5.13.19-2  linux513-nvidia-495.44-1  llvm-libs-13.0.0-3  lshw-B.02.19.2-3  luit-20210218-1
               lvm2-2.03.14-1  manjaro-alsa-20210928-1  manjaro-release-21.2pre-1  manjaro-settings-manager-0.5.6-18  manjaro-settings-manager-notifier-0.5.6-18  manjaro-zsh-config-0.22-2  matcha-gtk-theme-20210924-1  mhwd-db-0.6.5-18
               mhwd-nvidia-495.44-4  mhwd-nvidia-470xx-470.86-2  mjpegtools-2.2.1-1  mkinitcpio-30-3  modemmanager-1.18.2-1  mousepad-0.5.7-1  mpg123-1.29.2-1  ncdu-1.16-2  ncurses-6.3-1  neon-0.32.1-1  netctl-1.26-1
               networkmanager-1.32.12-1  networkmanager-openvpn-1.8.16-1  nitrogen-1.6.1-4  nss-3.72-1  ntfs-3g-2021.8.22-1  nvidia-utils-495.44-4  openal-1.21.1-2  openexr-3.1.3-1  openmpi-4.1.1-3  openvpn-2.5.4-1  p11-kit-0.24.0-2
               p7zip-1:17.04-3  pacman-6.0.1-2  pacman-mirrors-4.22.0-3  palemoon-bin-29.4.2.1-1  pam-1.5.2-1  pambase-20211111-1  pango-1:1.48.10-1  papirus-icon-theme-20211101-1  pcre2-10.39-1  pcsclite-1.9.4-1  perl-alien-build-2.42-1
               perl-http-daemon-6.12-1  perl-libwww-6.57-1  perl-path-tiny-0.120-1  perl-uri-5.10-1  php-8.0.12-1  pinentry-1.2.0-1  pkcs11-helper-1.27.0-2  pkgconf-1.8.0-1  polkit-0.120-2  poppler-data-0.4.11-1  python-3.9.7-2
               python-certifi-2021.10.8-1  python-cffi-1.14.6-2  python-click-8.0.3-1  python-cryptography-35.0.0-1  python-dateutil-2.8.2-2  python-distro-1.6.0-1  python-dnspython-1:2.1.0-1  python-gobject-3.42.0-1  python-idna-3.3-1
               python-importlib-metadata-4.8.1-1  python-markdown-3.3.5-1  python-more-itertools-8.10.0-1  python-packaging-20.9-2  python-pillow-8.4.0-1  python-pyqt5-5.15.6-2  python-pyxdg-0.27-2  python-reportlab-3.6.2-1
               python-setuptools-1:57.4.0-2  python-typing_extensions-3.10.0.2-2  python-urllib3-1.26.7-1  python-xapp-2.2.1-2  python-zipp-3.6.0-1  python-zope-interface-5.4.0-2  qt5-base-5.15.2+kde+r256-1  qt5-svg-5.15.2+kde+r13-1
               qt5ct-1.5-1  run-parts-5.5-1  scrot-1.7-1  sdl2-2.0.16-4  shaderc-2021.2-1  smbclient-4.15.2-1  snapd-2.53.2-2  spirv-tools-2021.3-1  srt-1.4.4-1  sudo-1.9.8.p2-1  syslog-ng-3.34.1-1  systemd-249.6-3  systemd-libs-249.6-3
               systemd-sysvcompat-249.6-3  tlp-1.4.0-3  ttf-liberation-2.1.5-1  tzdata-2021e-1  udisks2-2.9.4-1  v4l-utils-1.22.1-1  vulkan-icd-loader-1.2.194-1  wayland-1.19.0-2  wayland-protocols-1.23-1  webkit2gtk-2.34.1-2
               wireless-regdb-2021.08.28-1  wpebackend-fdo-1.12.0-1  x264-3:0.163.r3060.5db6aa6-1  xclip-0.13-3  xdotool-3.20211022.1-1  xf86-input-elographics-1.4.2-3  xf86-input-evdev-2.10.6-3  xf86-input-libinput-1.2.0-2
               xf86-input-void-1.4.1-6  xkeyboard-config-2.34-1  xmlsec-1.2.33-1  xorg-server-21.1.1-3.1  xorg-server-common-21.1.1-3  xorgproto-2021.5-1  xterm-369-1  zenity-3.41.0-1  zensu-0.3-3  zeromq-4.3.4-2  zimg-3.0.3-1
               zsh-theme-powerlevel10k-1.15.0+66+g3e515a7-1

Total Download Size:   1269,56 MiB
Total Installed Size:  4104,67 MiB
Net Upgrade Size:        79,49 MiB

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] n
 -> error installing repo packages

You have a Kepler GPU. Please read the pertinent information in the post below. :arrow_down:

1 Like

Managed to solve the problem. Here’s what I did, with the help of @Aragorn post. I tried to make these steps somewhat noob-friendly (as I am one of them). USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

  1. My Linux Kernel was 5.13, which was, as I understand, already unmaintained. The first thing here would be to install an LTS (long-term support) version of Linux Kernel (for instance, 5.10, as of December 2021). The installation of Linux Kernel should be done in Manjaro settings manager. For me personally, I was not able to install Linux Kernel 5.10 right away, due to some conflicting dependencies regarding NVIDIA drivers for different Linux Kernels. With this in mind, I just removed my current (and only) Linux Kernel 5.13. After the removal was complete, WITHOUT rebooting the PC, I installed 5.10. Be careful not to turn off your PC until the installation is complete.
  2. Next up, I rebooted and was met with a black screen and a blinking cursor. I probably should have upgraded my system before doing that, but do not fret, that is still possible. Just enter tty mode (press CTRL+ALT+(F2 or F3) when booted up). Basically tty let’s you interact with your computer without a GUI (graphical user interface). When in tty, enter your login and password and do a full system upgrade (with pacman, pamac or yay, whatever suits you better).
  3. After system upgrade is complete, check what drivers are installed with
    mhwd -li
    command. There were two installations for me personally (one for dedicated GPU, one for integrated GPU). I removed both of those with the command
    sudo mhwd -r pci <name>
    After this, I installed older drivers by using
    sudo mhwd -i -f pci video-nvidia-470xx
    Reboot with
    systemctl reboot

After all these steps, my system seems to be working fine (for now).


EDIT (2021-12-02):
In my case, the command
sudo mhwd -i -f pci video-nvidia-470xx
installed just the dedicated GPU drivers. But I should mention that my desktop system has both an integrated GPU and a dedicated GPU (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB). Thus, during step 3 above, after the removal of all video drivers, it is probably better to just let mhwd use automatic identification and installation of drivers with the command:
sudo mhwd -a [pci or usb connection] [free or nonfree drivers] 0300
Of course, double check what driver(s) (which version) are actually installed when running this command. I haven’t tried it myself, so can’t confirm whether the right version (in my case, the older 470xx) will be installed.

2 Likes

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