I just did a dirty upgrade from 12.04 to 14.04 and had all kinds of trouble getting the GUI to load.

Initially, the `nouveau` driver could only operate at `640x480` resolution, so I tried installing some of the proprietary Nvidia drivers as well as drivers from xorg edgers. Most of them would lead to not only a blank screen, but CTRL-ALT-F1 wouldn't even get me to a console login. Driver I tried were `nvidia-340` (supposed to be the right one, but leads to a blank screen and no console) and `nvidia-346` (can login from console, but GUI stuck in bootloop).

After much finangling, I managed to get `nouveau` to not only boot the system, but let me login. However, it is still stuck at a resolution of `640x480`. I had no display issues in 12.04, has something changed in the nouveau driver that it no longer supports my hardware?

`~$ sudo lshw -C display
 *-display UNCLAIMED  

 description: VGA compatible controller
 product: C77 [nForce 780a/980a SLI]
 vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
 physical id: 0
 bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
 version: a2
 width: 64 bits
 clock: 33MHz
 capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list
 configuration: latency=0
 resources: memory:fb000000-fbffffff memory:d8000000-dfffffff memory:e6000000-e7ffffff ioport:dc00(size=128) memory:e0000000-e001ffff`

`~$ lspci | grep VGA
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation C77 [nForce 780a/980a SLI] (rev a2)`

* this is an onboard graphics
* there is no other graphics card in the system
* there is only a single monitor connected
* the monitor is connected to VGA

Is there a better driver for this chipset under 14.04? Is it simply something that needs to be reconfigured?

**UPDATE #1**
I thought I had it fixed. I didn't do anything special, just kept poking around in logs and such. I tried a different repo for a driver, it didn't work, so I re-installed the only driver that works (nouveau, albeit stuck at 640x480).

After a reboot, the display had the proper width but the way wrong height. After logging in, I launched the display properties to see what my resolution options were, and I had the normal selection, and the correct selection was the one I used to use (1600x1200), although it looks wonky (eveything is stretched vertically).

While I was selecting different things for resolution to investigate, the screen kinda became the correct resolution, slowly. I opened a terminal and ran `sudo xrandr -q` as well as `sudo lshw -C display`, and they all reported proper resolutions!

I was satisfied but tired, so I shutdown and went to sleep. The next day, I turned the PC on, it's back to 640x480, with no other selection, `xrandr` and `lshw` are reporting the wrong things again, and the System Settings app is acting weird (some apps, like User Manager don't launch). Looks like the dirty upgrade screwed a few things up.

I found my 12.04 install CD and put it in, the LiveCD launches the desktop with the appropriate resolution, so it's not a hardware problem that just happened. My 14.04 install CD is at a friend (tried to convert him away from Windows), I will give that a whirl later this week (14.04 fresh install, not Windows, lol).

**UPDATE #2:** I did a complete re-install of 14.04 from scratch, I was eventually able to get my system displaying correctly using the nouveau driver by creating a xorg.conf file (there was none). My display was still reported as 'unclaimed', so I started trying the nvidia drivers, without success. Returning to the nouveau driver did not restore my system this time, so I did a complete re-install of 12.04 just to see what drivers it was using.

Here is the VGA section of `lspci` on 12.04:

```
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation C77 [nForce 780a/980a SLI] (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 82e7
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 7
Memory at fb000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
Memory at d8000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=128M]
Memory at e6000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=32M]
I/O ports at dc00 [size=128]
[virtual] Expansion ROM at e0000000 [disabled] [size=128K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidiafb

```

The kernel modules in use are `nouveau` and `nvidiafb`. Here is the version of those modules:

`$ dpkg -l | grep -i nouveau
ii libdrm-nouveau1a 2.4.52-1~precise2 Userspace interface to nouveau-specific kernel DRM services -- runtime
ii libdrm-nouveau2 2.4.52-1~precise2 Userspace interface to nouveau-specific kernel DRM services -- runtime
ii xserver-xorg-video-nouveau-lts-saucy 1:1.0.9-2ubuntu1~precise2 X.Org X server -- Nouveau display driver`

And "Settings Details" state that the graphics are using the VESA driver `VESA: MCP77 Board - mcp72xeo`.

I will reinstall 14.04 from scratch, try the same approach that worked last night (creating `xorg.conf`), and compare command outputs. Is it possible to use the saucy nouveau driver in 14.04?