I experienced the same problem as you when I replaced Ubuntu 10.10 by a fresh install of Ubuntu 11.04 (and later on, Ubuntu 11.10): my "console" tty's were desperately blanks but actually working -- i.e. I could log in and enter commands that actually work, but there was nothing visible on my screen.
I spent a huge number of hours on Google and various Ubuntu forums, I tried plenty of suggestions and I finally came to the following conclusion: the problem is linked to the proprietary NVIDIA driver -- if I remove the proprietary NVIDIA driver and use the "nouveau" driver, the problem disappears but then of course I can't benefit from the hardware acceleration any more.
I managed to fix the problem on my system (ZOTAC ZBOX with on-board NVIDIA GT218) by using the Uvesafb framebuffer driver.
Here is the procedure I used:
apt-get install v86d
apt-get install hwinfo
hwinfo --framebuffer
From hwinfo's output, I picked up the "best" resolution compatible with my screen -- in my case 1280x800 24-bit -- and I added the following line at the end of /etc/initramfs-tools/modules file:
uvesafb mode_option=1280x800-24 mtrr=3 scroll=ywrap
(The string "1280x800-24" comes from the resolution I chose -- your mileage may vary.)
Then I rebuilt grub and initramfs images as follows:
update-initramfs -u
update-grub
Finally I rebooted the system and my console tty's were finally visible again.
I don't use encrypted filesystem, so I cannot check whether or not the passphrase is to be entered "in the dark", but anyway I hope the above workaround will help you.
Best Answer
1. Get supported video mode (use
vbeinfo
instead of hwinfo)set pager=1
, then hit ENTERvbeinfo
, then hit ENTERMode 0x031b: 1280x1024 (+3840), 24 bits
2. Modify / add the following lines to
/etc/default/grub
to match the ones below3. Update GRUB
4. Reboot
Note1: I've tested the above solution with Ubuntu 18.04 Server and Desktop on VirtualBox.
Note2: Didn't include linux terminal (emulator), putty, cygwin, conemu and other fancy tools, because this is about the bare console.
None of the sources I used had a complete solution, but putting the parts together, solved the problem for me.
Change Ubuntu Server 14.04 Screen Resolution
https://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1468789.html