OK I'm currently trying to install Ubuntu x64 Server 12.04 onto the following machine:

• Intel Core i5-2320 3.0GHz LGA1155 6MB
• 8 GB DDR3 RAM,
• Gigabyte Z68P-DS3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX M/B,
• OCZ 60 GB SSD,
• 3x Samsung 2TB drives in a RAID 5 array (via M/B)

Now what I think is causing the issue is the following:

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 951MHz 1GB PCI-Express HDMI FPB

As the server CD works in text mode I haven't had a problem with actually installing Ubuntu.

Partioned with:

• 1GB /boot SSD,
• 59GB / SSD,
• 10GB swap RAID5,
• ~4TB /home RAID5

On a straight boot, you briefly see the GRUB menu, followed by a blank screen. The keyboard and mouse blink as they are initialised but no sign of life from the screen.

Followed by a bit of research (otherwise known as google) ...

Booted in quiet splash nomodeset

Now I have a fully working linux distro at the command prompt. I then proceed to try and update the nvidia drivers with apt-get (after updating repositories etc) and rebooting. Still the same problem. I also tried reinstalling from the CD and installing said drivers in the install process before GRUB was installed, still the same symptoms.

Does anybody have any solutions? I'm at my wits end here, I bought this machine to be a linux server / tinkering machine and have just spent 4-5 hours trying to just get a basic install working.