The hack of putting i915.modeset=1 to the kernel boot line is not necessary using driver version 2.11 from http://ppa.launchpad.net/glasen/intel-driver/ubuntu repository. This upgrade also solved the visual effects problem. This is extracted from my lspci output:
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device (rev 02) 00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device (rev 02) -- blank screen and complete lockup when X starts on Intel 855GM Chipset https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/566103 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
