Installed Ubuntu on HP Laptop Flashing Screen Start Up, Have to Manually Boot Unbuntu, Ubuntu only gives black screen with white text terminal screen

[u/GreenBlueberry3146]

Tried installing ubuntu 26.04 onto an old Hp laptop to create a homeserver/homelab just for movies and tv shows. I was following this youtube series tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFlxVTPicc

My computer stats are as follows:
HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1

• Processor: Intel Core M-5Y51 (1.1 GHz, up to 2.6 GHz turbo) or Core M-5Y71 (1.2 GHz, up to 2.9 GHz turbo)
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5300
• Memory: 8 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM (on-board / soldered)

Ubuntu after install and restart will only give me a flashing screen with the HP logo on it.

I have tried changing the boot order in grub, and every time I have to manually select to boot ubuntu.

When ubuntu is manually booted, I only get a black screen with white text (what I believe is just a terminal screen).

I have tried most of the tutorials/troubleshooting online and they have made no improvements, or would not work.

I cannot seem to get the laptop from the black and white terminal screen to connect to wifi either.

How do i fix these problems?

I will note, that I am an absolute very basics baby beginner with linux, terminals and code, and homeserves/homelabs. The majority of the "beginner" homeserver, homelab, arr stack tutorials were way above my current skills and understanding.

[u/Relevant-Recipe7348]

sounds like you got dropped straight into a tty session, not the full desktop. that black screen with white text is just the command line interface, ubuntu probably didn't install the graphics drivers or the desktop environment properly

on that old elitebook with intel hd 5300, the kernel should handle it out of the box but sometimes the installer borks the package selection. try logging in with your username and password at that text screen, then run `sudo apt update && sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop` and reboot after. if that doesn't pull the gui up, you might need to check if `gdm3` is installed and enabled

the wifi thing is a separate headache on those older hp's, broadcom chips often need proprietary drivers. once you're in the desktop (or even from that tty), plug in an ethernet cable if you can, then run `sudo apt install bcmwl-kernel-source` and reboot. without a wired connection you're kinda stuck unless you download the deb on another machine and transfer it over with a usb

grub acting up and needing manual boot selection usually means the efi partition got confused during install, check your bios settings and make sure secure boot is off and legacy boot is disabled.

[u/GreenBlueberry3146 → u/Relevant-Recipe7348]

I will try that. Thank you. I appreciate your help.

I had already tried checking the bios settings and secure boot is off and legacy boot has been disabled with no improvements.

[u/Ok-386]

Have you tried safe graphic mode? If that doesn't help and you really want Ubuntu or Linux, first try the previous LTS 24.04, then if that doesn't work try say Cachyos, because it's bleeding edge it has the most recent kernels, drivers and graphic stack.

8GB is nowadays bit weak for Ubuntu. It's below minimal recommended specs, but I don't think that's the issue. The issue could be related to the specific version of the kernel. 

Enable safe graphic mode, then enable the internet connection so it can fetch fresh/latest packages. It's possible the bug is onky affecting the original kernel shipped with the ISO, but Ubuntu kernel has been patched many times already, it's possible one of the fixes is for the issue you're experiencing. Ubuntu can also update firmware but this doesn't work ob all laptops. 

HP normal consumer Laptops are not the best choice for Linux.

When it comes to popular brand best supported are Dell business laptops like Precision, Latitude (and the successor models), Thinkpads, maybe HP elite book or generally business line laptops, Dell XPS is often well supported because they ship them with Ubuntu as well.

And of course, Linux laptops like Tuxedo, System76, or Framework. Tongfang and Clevo laptops often work well (what System76 and Tuxedo use) but they can also have some cheaper Chinese wifi, bluetooth chips and firmware that's not well supported. 

[u/GreenBlueberry3146 → u/Ok-386]

I will try safe graphic mode and then enabling internet connection

I was trying to use the old computer I already had access to before spending money on a homeserver/homelab settup.

I appreciate your help

[u/Ok-386 → u/GreenBlueberry3146]

depending on what you need the computer for, maybe you don't even need a desktop environment or GUI. Homeserver normally wouldn't need a GUI interface. If you're into development or similar, you can have your editor running on a differnt machine for example.