How can I fix broken i915 drivers for Intel GPUs?

Try turning off the bootloader graphics. Run this command in a Terminal window:

gksudo xdiagnose

Click the checkbox labeled "Disable bootloader graphics", hit Apply, then reboot.

If you want to report a bug on this, I'd suggest turning on the graphics debug messages (first checkbox above), reproducing the bug, and then collecting the output of dmesg.

Beyond that, see http://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Troubleshooting/BlankScreen for other common ways to diagnose these types of issues. I also have a more in-depth explanation of what happens to cause blank / black screens written up there, if you really want to know what's going on.

Im working through similar issues with my x230, but more focussed on getting external screens running. I had to use the nomodeset flag to get installed. Here is what I have so far: display port on x230 not working

my steps so far to get closer to working:

1. Dont use nomodeset or modeset=0, as it throws off KMS and you wont be able to do anything.
2. sudo vi /etc/initramfs-tools/modules and add in the i915 and intel_agp drivers, save, and rebuild by running update-initramfs -u

Ive also made a custom x config stub in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/ to load the intel driver and give it some specifications, and a monitor config for all my devices. However, I still cant get my second monitor running!

Also - Ive used arandr to create a shell script that sets all my resolutions nicely, except it too wont cause my displayport-connected monitor to function...

Hope that helps,

For me this was a backlight issue. See the article for toubleshooting and reporting instructions.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/Debugging/Backlight