i read the topic just a few down from this one and i dont think its the same problem (http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6144)

i got knoppmyth installed and it booted fine as far as i can tell
it started linux, went through and did a bunch of start like it should and then i just get a blank screen

this same sort of thing happened to me after installing fedora a few weeks ago

i have a p3 800 with an ati 9000 display card

i know ati cards can be a bitch, but i did at one point have X running on gentoo about 6 months ago.

thanks

If you only saw one "black screen" or "blank screen" message you didn't search far enough. Try Ctrl-Alt-F1 which should take you to an alternate virtual console. This should let you login as root and make adjustments to the XF86Config-4 file.

thanks for the noob treatment

neither ctrl-alt-f1 or ctrl-alt-backspace work, my computer is still running but i cant do anything

it is probably an X problem, how do i get to a command line to edit my config file, and are there any common problems i should try first

??? Black or blank screen after install is a FAQ. We get at least two new threads on this same question every week. There are 2-3 common causes and corresponding sets of directions. I gave you the most common starting point...

That's what Ctrl-Alt-F1 (or F2, F3, F4, ...) is supposed to do. Hold down the "Ctrl" and "Alt" keys then hit one of the first six Function keys. You should see a text console with a login prompt in the upper left corner. Once you login there as root you'll be at a bash shell command line and can make whatever repairs are needed.

If you don't, then your next option is to either SSH into the box (using another Linux/Unix system, or "putty" under MS-Windows. There is a VERY complete and detailed write up on how to do that in the forums (I'd have to search too), and possibly on the wiki http://www.knoppmythwiki.org as well.

Still another choice is to boot using the CD as a rescue disk, mount the root partittion and edit your XF86Config-4 that way. (Actually I'd probably change the default run level so it didn't try to start X right away and then reboot to a text console.)

... ok, lets be civil

i think i'll ssh over
thanks for the help

Dude, you've UTTERLY mistaken the intended tone. I wasn't being nasty. Even the first time I was just being terse. Read it again with the assumption that I'm puzzled and slightly distracted rather than annoyed.