FAQ:My monitor turns itself off after booting
That means the X server (which is the base of the graphical user interface) is asking for refresh rates (Hz) that your monitor doesn't handle (chances are you're using an old monitor).
To fix this, you'll have to get to a command line without the flickering by turning off any attempts to enter the graphical user interface:
Reboot. In the grub menu (that is the menu listing all installed operating systems), move the cursor to the Ark Linux line using the arrow keys, then press e.
In the list that follows, move the cursor to the line starting with "kernel " using the arrow keys, and press e again.
Append " 3" (that's a space and a 3, no quotation maks) to the line, press enter, then press b.
Wait for the system to boot. You should now see a "localhost login:" prompt.
At the login prompt, type arklinux and press enter.
You should now see a command line prompt ("[arklinux@localhost ~]$").
Type "su -" (without the quotation marks) to get system administration permissions.
Edit the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf (note that file names are case sensitive and the "11" is an eleven - it's /etc/capital X eleven/xorg.conf) by running "nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf".
In Ark Linux versions older than 2007.1-rc1, we enforce fairly safe standard refresh rates.
Look for lines saying
VertRefresh something HorizSync something
In a first try, let the monitor try to set its own refresh rates by just commenting out those lines, by prefixing them with the "#" character.
In Ark Linux 2007.1-rc1 and newer, we default to asking the monitor what refresh rates it can handle - unfortunately some (mostly older) monitors report invalid values, so you may have to enforce refresh rates the way older releases did. Look for
# VertRefresh something # HorizSync something
and remove the "#" character to activate those lines.
Save the file and exit.
Run Xorg (again, note that file names are case sensitive, it's Xorg, not xorg or XORG). If the monitor doesn't turn itself off, you're ready to go -- reboot and you'll be on the desktop.
If it still turns itself off, edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf again.
Remove the "#" characters you added, and make the refresh rates something your monitor can handle (consult the monitor's manual for details).
Something like
VertRefresh 60 HorizSync 31.5-60
is very likely to work.
