My computer boots to a black screen, what options do I have to fix it?

I love Ubuntu and use it every day, but when a major version upgrade on a laptop with one of the commonest graphics and mobo chipsets in the world leaves you at a situation with a black screen and blanking cursor that probably only a reinstall from a live CD will fix, it makes me wonder why people think it will displace Windows any time soon. Why do I have to choose between crap graphics …

 https://askubuntu.com/questions/162075/my-computer-boots-to-a-black-screen-what-options-do-i-have-to-fix-it