3rd March 2017, 11:33
(2nd March 2017, 17:21)AJSlye Wrote: OK fist, I'm not 100% sure the issue is graphics driver related, especially if your not getting a display before the OS even boots (aka. can't get into the UEFI/BIOS, no system posting graphics).
I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. I specifically wrote the opposite, two [of my] replies ago:
Quote:2. Unlike all last night, this morning from a cold boot there was no *initial* black screen; the monitor immediately received the HDMI signal from Tower right from my press of the Tower power button, so i saw the BIOS SSD/HDD unlock prompt & could enter my password without typing blind [like yesterday arvo & night]; i could then successfully enter BIOS*; I could see the Maui grub menu; & it did show me the 1st splash-screen.
It is true that prior to that note of mine, there was no signal to the monitor all thru' the bootup stages, but the major improvement occurred from the time of the first cold boot [all previous troubleshooting attempts had involved hot reboots].
Therefore, does this clarification now alter your view that "I'm not 100% sure the issue is graphics driver related"? Ie, do any alternative corrective action possibilities now arise, or do you still feel that the chroot process is the necessary next step? (I'm only asking because the chroot process continues to confuse & scare me, so if there's other things i can first try, i'd be happy to do so].
(2nd March 2017, 17:21)AJSlye Wrote: I didn't realize you had encrypted your drive/partition. This could also cause issues if the system doesn't or can't decrypt prior to needing access. However, you wouldn't need access to /home or /DATA to fix system issues, you only need to be able to chroot (change root) the systems. This means mounting and having access to /, /etc, /usr, and so on from the installed system instead of the live environment. Since only the base of the system changes, there is no need to access your personal data.
Thank you; your reassurance gratifies me. That said [& sorry, i know i keep moaning], i still feel so anxious about chroot [= still do not yet understand exactly what i need to do, & also if it will actually fix my Tower], that i chose to take a temporary detour today. It took all day, doing the research & testing multiple suggestions [most failed], & then after eventual success doing the file copying. I am massively relieved to report that i have been able now to access my Maui's encrypted /home & /DATA partitions, using a LiveUSB*, mount them to the Live system, & then decrypt them. Yay - phew!! So now i have all my latest data since my previous formal backup, safely copied to USB sticks... just in case i stuff up the chroot, or it doesn't work.
* In case any reader is interested, the successful data recovery method was as per section "For live cd/usb" at http://askubuntu.com/questions/38336/how...tory#39776 . Please note however: this method failed with both my Maui 1 & Maui 2 LiveUSBs, but it worked beautifully with my Mint 17.2 KDE LiveUSB. Yay.
Tomorrow i shall intensively study chroot via your links, & my own research. Hopefully it will eventually make sense to me, so that i can attempt to do it [unless, per above, you now consider there's still other things i can try?]. Knowing that my data is all now safe, i will be able to attack chroot, or Timeshift**, or even a full Maui reinstallation, feeling a lot more "relaxed" now that i know i won't lose my data.
** Following Pliny's positive remarks at https://forums.mauilinux.org/showthread....7#pid41427 , I installed Timeshift back on 9Feb & initiated weekly root backups. The last of these occurred 23Feb 21:00, which places it in-between Posts 85 & 86 of this topic... ie, after i'd removed kernel 4.9.9, but before the HWE upgrade, & still with the Nvidia GT610 gpu installed. So, maybe, if the chroot fails [or if i never can understand how to do it], i could try to recover my root structure from that last TS snapshot, then shutdown, then reinsert the Nvidia gpu, then reboot...?