[mdlug] Laptop woes - Knoppix boots but Ubuntu doesn't?

[Robert Citek]

On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 9:19 AM, Ingles, Raymond
<Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com> wrote:
>  I tried Ubuntu desktop live CDs (both 9.04 and 9.10), and it came up
> with the basic splash screen... but attempting to boot the full kernel
> failed - just a blinking cursor in the corner of the screen. On a whim,
> I tried a Knoppix live DVD... and to my surprise I was able to boot to X
> and everything. A bit of tweaking and I was even able to mount the hard
> drive.

Try booting the Ubuntu CD, pressing F4 to bring up the modes, and
selecting Safe Graphics Mode.  Also, press F6 and remove "quiet
splash" from the end of the boot command line.

See this page for more details:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions

What make and model of laptop?

Regards,
- Robert