How to start Ubuntu in Console mode

I want to know if there is a way to switch to console mode from boot menu.
I've NVIDIA 1070 and every time there is an update, GUI stops working. All I need to do is re-install the drivers however to do that I need console.

[EDIT]: I should have added more information to this question but I'll comment on all answers. In short: I've tried text instead of quite splash I do see booting in text more however I don't get login screen ctrl+alt+f1 doesn't help because GDM keep trying to restart. Previously I managed to kill GDM through multiple tries but is not working since latest update

[EDIT]: After searching for runlevel, I've found Change runlevel on 16.04? but I think it required me to have running system to make changes, please correct me if I'm wrong.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

6

Have you tried appending a 3 to the boot options (adding 3 to quiet splash)?

– muru
Dec 12 '16 at 2:26

I'll try that, so basically just change quiet splash to quiet splash 3 is that correct?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:47

Amazing thanks a lot, this is what I was looking for. I would like to know if I can somehow make NVidia (proprietary) drivers configure properly with every kernel update. But even if not this should help me. You can add it as an answer and I'll accept it.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 6:02

The most correct answer is here: superuser.com/a/1139020/403009

– Eric Wang
Mar 29 '18 at 19:15

add a comment |

[EDIT]: After searching for runlevel, I've found Change runlevel on 16.04? but I think it required me to have running system to make changes, please correct me if I'm wrong.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

6

Have you tried appending a 3 to the boot options (adding 3 to quiet splash)?

– muru
Dec 12 '16 at 2:26

I'll try that, so basically just change quiet splash to quiet splash 3 is that correct?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:47

Amazing thanks a lot, this is what I was looking for. I would like to know if I can somehow make NVidia (proprietary) drivers configure properly with every kernel update. But even if not this should help me. You can add it as an answer and I'll accept it.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 6:02

The most correct answer is here: superuser.com/a/1139020/403009

– Eric Wang
Mar 29 '18 at 19:15

add a comment |

[EDIT]: After searching for runlevel, I've found Change runlevel on 16.04? but I think it required me to have running system to make changes, please correct me if I'm wrong.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

[EDIT]: After searching for runlevel, I've found Change runlevel on 16.04? but I think it required me to have running system to make changes, please correct me if I'm wrong.

16.04 nvidia

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:24

Community♦

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

asked Dec 11 '16 at 22:45

wisemonkey

1,81852034

6

Have you tried appending a 3 to the boot options (adding 3 to quiet splash)?

– muru
Dec 12 '16 at 2:26

I'll try that, so basically just change quiet splash to quiet splash 3 is that correct?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:47

Amazing thanks a lot, this is what I was looking for. I would like to know if I can somehow make NVidia (proprietary) drivers configure properly with every kernel update. But even if not this should help me. You can add it as an answer and I'll accept it.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 6:02

The most correct answer is here: superuser.com/a/1139020/403009

– Eric Wang
Mar 29 '18 at 19:15

add a comment |

6

Have you tried appending a 3 to the boot options (adding 3 to quiet splash)?

– muru
Dec 12 '16 at 2:26

I'll try that, so basically just change quiet splash to quiet splash 3 is that correct?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:47

Amazing thanks a lot, this is what I was looking for. I would like to know if I can somehow make NVidia (proprietary) drivers configure properly with every kernel update. But even if not this should help me. You can add it as an answer and I'll accept it.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 6:02

The most correct answer is here: superuser.com/a/1139020/403009

– Eric Wang
Mar 29 '18 at 19:15

Have you tried appending a 3 to the boot options (adding 3 to quiet splash)?

– muru
Dec 12 '16 at 2:26

I'll try that, so basically just change quiet splash to quiet splash 3 is that correct?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:47

Amazing thanks a lot, this is what I was looking for. I would like to know if I can somehow make NVidia (proprietary) drivers configure properly with every kernel update. But even if not this should help me. You can add it as an answer and I'll accept it.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 6:02

The most correct answer is here: superuser.com/a/1139020/403009

– Eric Wang
Mar 29 '18 at 19:15

add a comment |

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

Yes you can. As described here (ubuntuhandbook.org - Boot into text console ubuntu) you need to edit /etc/default/grub to have the next boot end up in text mode. In summary you will set these parameters:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

GRUB_TERMINAL=console

After saving changes you need to run:

sudo update-grub

sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Undoing text-mode

To undo sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target simply type

sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:24

Did you try the grub method described in the answer?

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 2:17

I can't login to system to edit /etc/default/grub though.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:53

1

@wisemonkey I have updated the answer with manual updating of grub from Live DVD/USB.

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 11:08

4

This does not seem to work on Ubuntu 15.04 and up (I tried 16.04 LTS). A crucial step after you fixed the grub file and run update-grub is to execute: sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target - only then it started booting straight into console for me. Solution from @yury in the comments of the link you gave.

– f055
Sep 20 '17 at 14:41

|
show 2 more comments

Boot into recovery mode

Immediately after the BIOS/UEFI splash screen during boot, with BIOS, quickly press and hold the Shift key, which will bring up a GNU GRUB menu screen. With UEFI press (perhaps several times) the Esc key to get to the GNU GRUB menu screen. Sometimes the manufacturer's splash screen is a part of the Windows bootloader, so when you power up the machine it goes straight to the GNU GRUB menu screen, and then pressing Shift is unnecessary.

You will see a GNU GRUB menu screen that looks like this:

enter image description here

The timing when to press the left Shift key can be tricky, so sometimes if you miss it you need to try it again.

Press the down arrow key until you select the 2nd entry from the top (the one with the recovery mode in the description) and then press Enter twice.

Now you should see this menu:

enter image description here

Using the arrow keys scroll down to root (the second entry from the bottom in the Recovery Menu) and then press Enter.

You should now see a root prompt and you can run commands from it.

lightdm is called lightdm because it is a lightweight application compared to GDM which is heavy and takes longer to load. If you still have lightdm installed you can switch back to using lightdm as the default login display manager with the command: sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm3. This will open up a new window allowing you to select either gdm3 or lightdm as the default login display manager.

Reboot the computer with the command sudo reboot

After that the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Alt+F3 may start to work properly, and allow you to start Ubuntu from the console.

Start Ubuntu from the console

Open a text-only virtual console by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F3.

At the login: prompt type your username and press Enter.

At the Password: prompt type your user password and press Enter.

Now you are logged in to a text-only console, and you can run terminal commands to reinstall the NVIDIA driver from the console. To reboot the system after you reinstall the NVIDIA driver run the command: sudo reboot. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F7 to exit the virtual console. In Ubuntu 17.10 and later press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F2 to exit from the virtual console.

After you have logged in in the terminal type sudo systemctl start graphical.target and press Enter to bring up your default login screen, and then login to your Ubuntu desktop environment as usual.

edited Jan 4 at 11:25

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

(Just copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

I replied to your comment by editing my answer.

– karel
Dec 12 '16 at 2:07

Thanks Karel, but this assumes I can get system running somehow. Is that correct? Is there a way to issue sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm without logging in?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:49

This does not waor anymore sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm-> package gdm is not installed(ubuntu 16.04). And sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm does not do anything.

– Robert
Mar 30 '18 at 12:44

@Robert You are partially right. The reason why I referred to gdm is that gdm is mentioned in the question, therefore I was required to address it in my answer. However if you run the command apt policy gdm in Ubuntu 16.04 you will see that gdm is indeed a package in the default Ubuntu 16.04 repositories.

– karel
Mar 30 '18 at 12:48

|
show 2 more comments

Press CTRL+ALT+F1 or any other function (F) key up to F7, which takes you back to your "GUI" terminal. These should drop you into a text-mode terminal for each different function key.

Otherwise you can boot into recovery mode if you need:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecoveryMode

Basically hold down SHIFT as you boot up to get the Grub menu.

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

1

(copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console. And for recovery mode its same results if I say clean start. I'll read up on other recovery modes and see if they are helpful

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

add a comment |

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3 Answers
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3 Answers
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oldest

votes

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

GRUB_TERMINAL=console

After saving changes you need to run:

sudo update-grub

sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Undoing text-mode

To undo sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target simply type

sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:24

Did you try the grub method described in the answer?

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 2:17

I can't login to system to edit /etc/default/grub though.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:53

1

@wisemonkey I have updated the answer with manual updating of grub from Live DVD/USB.

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 11:08

4

This does not seem to work on Ubuntu 15.04 and up (I tried 16.04 LTS). A crucial step after you fixed the grub file and run update-grub is to execute: sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target - only then it started booting straight into console for me. Solution from @yury in the comments of the link you gave.

– f055
Sep 20 '17 at 14:41

|
show 2 more comments

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

GRUB_TERMINAL=console

After saving changes you need to run:

sudo update-grub

sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Undoing text-mode

To undo sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target simply type

sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:24

Did you try the grub method described in the answer?

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 2:17

I can't login to system to edit /etc/default/grub though.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:53

1

@wisemonkey I have updated the answer with manual updating of grub from Live DVD/USB.

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 11:08

4

This does not seem to work on Ubuntu 15.04 and up (I tried 16.04 LTS). A crucial step after you fixed the grub file and run update-grub is to execute: sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target - only then it started booting straight into console for me. Solution from @yury in the comments of the link you gave.

– f055
Sep 20 '17 at 14:41

|
show 2 more comments

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

GRUB_TERMINAL=console

After saving changes you need to run:

sudo update-grub

sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Undoing text-mode

To undo sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target simply type

sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

GRUB_TERMINAL=console

After saving changes you need to run:

sudo update-grub

sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Undoing text-mode

To undo sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target simply type

sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

edited Sep 13 '18 at 9:47

abu_bua

3,27481026

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:54

WinEunuuchs2Unix

44.6k1079169

Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:24

Did you try the grub method described in the answer?

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 2:17

I can't login to system to edit /etc/default/grub though.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:53

1

@wisemonkey I have updated the answer with manual updating of grub from Live DVD/USB.

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 11:08

4

This does not seem to work on Ubuntu 15.04 and up (I tried 16.04 LTS). A crucial step after you fixed the grub file and run update-grub is to execute: sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target - only then it started booting straight into console for me. Solution from @yury in the comments of the link you gave.

– f055
Sep 20 '17 at 14:41

|
show 2 more comments

Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:24

Did you try the grub method described in the answer?

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 2:17

I can't login to system to edit /etc/default/grub though.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:53

1

@wisemonkey I have updated the answer with manual updating of grub from Live DVD/USB.

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 11:08

4

This does not seem to work on Ubuntu 15.04 and up (I tried 16.04 LTS). A crucial step after you fixed the grub file and run update-grub is to execute: sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target - only then it started booting straight into console for me. Solution from @yury in the comments of the link you gave.

– f055
Sep 20 '17 at 14:41

Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:24

Did you try the grub method described in the answer?

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 2:17

I can't login to system to edit /etc/default/grub though.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:53

@wisemonkey I have updated the answer with manual updating of grub from Live DVD/USB.

– WinEunuuchs2Unix
Dec 12 '16 at 11:08

This does not seem to work on Ubuntu 15.04 and up (I tried 16.04 LTS). A crucial step after you fixed the grub file and run update-grub is to execute: sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target - only then it started booting straight into console for me. Solution from @yury in the comments of the link you gave.

– f055
Sep 20 '17 at 14:41

|
show 2 more comments

Boot into recovery mode

You will see a GNU GRUB menu screen that looks like this:

enter image description here

The timing when to press the left Shift key can be tricky, so sometimes if you miss it you need to try it again.

Press the down arrow key until you select the 2nd entry from the top (the one with the recovery mode in the description) and then press Enter twice.

Now you should see this menu:

enter image description here

Using the arrow keys scroll down to root (the second entry from the bottom in the Recovery Menu) and then press Enter.

You should now see a root prompt and you can run commands from it.

Reboot the computer with the command sudo reboot

After that the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Alt+F3 may start to work properly, and allow you to start Ubuntu from the console.

Start Ubuntu from the console

Open a text-only virtual console by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F3.

At the login: prompt type your username and press Enter.

At the Password: prompt type your user password and press Enter.

Now you are logged in to a text-only console, and you can run terminal commands to reinstall the NVIDIA driver from the console. To reboot the system after you reinstall the NVIDIA driver run the command: sudo reboot. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F7 to exit the virtual console. In Ubuntu 17.10 and later press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F2 to exit from the virtual console.

After you have logged in in the terminal type sudo systemctl start graphical.target and press Enter to bring up your default login screen, and then login to your Ubuntu desktop environment as usual.

edited Jan 4 at 11:25

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

(Just copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

I replied to your comment by editing my answer.

– karel
Dec 12 '16 at 2:07

Thanks Karel, but this assumes I can get system running somehow. Is that correct? Is there a way to issue sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm without logging in?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:49

This does not waor anymore sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm-> package gdm is not installed(ubuntu 16.04). And sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm does not do anything.

– Robert
Mar 30 '18 at 12:44

@Robert You are partially right. The reason why I referred to gdm is that gdm is mentioned in the question, therefore I was required to address it in my answer. However if you run the command apt policy gdm in Ubuntu 16.04 you will see that gdm is indeed a package in the default Ubuntu 16.04 repositories.

– karel
Mar 30 '18 at 12:48

|
show 2 more comments

Boot into recovery mode

You will see a GNU GRUB menu screen that looks like this:

enter image description here

The timing when to press the left Shift key can be tricky, so sometimes if you miss it you need to try it again.

Press the down arrow key until you select the 2nd entry from the top (the one with the recovery mode in the description) and then press Enter twice.

Now you should see this menu:

enter image description here

Using the arrow keys scroll down to root (the second entry from the bottom in the Recovery Menu) and then press Enter.

You should now see a root prompt and you can run commands from it.

Reboot the computer with the command sudo reboot

After that the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Alt+F3 may start to work properly, and allow you to start Ubuntu from the console.

Start Ubuntu from the console

Open a text-only virtual console by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F3.

At the login: prompt type your username and press Enter.

At the Password: prompt type your user password and press Enter.

Now you are logged in to a text-only console, and you can run terminal commands to reinstall the NVIDIA driver from the console. To reboot the system after you reinstall the NVIDIA driver run the command: sudo reboot. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F7 to exit the virtual console. In Ubuntu 17.10 and later press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F2 to exit from the virtual console.

After you have logged in in the terminal type sudo systemctl start graphical.target and press Enter to bring up your default login screen, and then login to your Ubuntu desktop environment as usual.

edited Jan 4 at 11:25

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

(Just copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

I replied to your comment by editing my answer.

– karel
Dec 12 '16 at 2:07

Thanks Karel, but this assumes I can get system running somehow. Is that correct? Is there a way to issue sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm without logging in?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:49

This does not waor anymore sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm-> package gdm is not installed(ubuntu 16.04). And sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm does not do anything.

– Robert
Mar 30 '18 at 12:44

@Robert You are partially right. The reason why I referred to gdm is that gdm is mentioned in the question, therefore I was required to address it in my answer. However if you run the command apt policy gdm in Ubuntu 16.04 you will see that gdm is indeed a package in the default Ubuntu 16.04 repositories.

– karel
Mar 30 '18 at 12:48

|
show 2 more comments

Boot into recovery mode

You will see a GNU GRUB menu screen that looks like this:

enter image description here

The timing when to press the left Shift key can be tricky, so sometimes if you miss it you need to try it again.

Press the down arrow key until you select the 2nd entry from the top (the one with the recovery mode in the description) and then press Enter twice.

Now you should see this menu:

enter image description here

Using the arrow keys scroll down to root (the second entry from the bottom in the Recovery Menu) and then press Enter.

You should now see a root prompt and you can run commands from it.

Reboot the computer with the command sudo reboot

After that the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Alt+F3 may start to work properly, and allow you to start Ubuntu from the console.

Start Ubuntu from the console

Open a text-only virtual console by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F3.

At the login: prompt type your username and press Enter.

At the Password: prompt type your user password and press Enter.

Now you are logged in to a text-only console, and you can run terminal commands to reinstall the NVIDIA driver from the console. To reboot the system after you reinstall the NVIDIA driver run the command: sudo reboot. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F7 to exit the virtual console. In Ubuntu 17.10 and later press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F2 to exit from the virtual console.

After you have logged in in the terminal type sudo systemctl start graphical.target and press Enter to bring up your default login screen, and then login to your Ubuntu desktop environment as usual.

edited Jan 4 at 11:25

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

Boot into recovery mode

You will see a GNU GRUB menu screen that looks like this:

enter image description here

The timing when to press the left Shift key can be tricky, so sometimes if you miss it you need to try it again.

Press the down arrow key until you select the 2nd entry from the top (the one with the recovery mode in the description) and then press Enter twice.

Now you should see this menu:

enter image description here

Using the arrow keys scroll down to root (the second entry from the bottom in the Recovery Menu) and then press Enter.

You should now see a root prompt and you can run commands from it.

Reboot the computer with the command sudo reboot

After that the keyboard shortcutCtrl+Alt+F3 may start to work properly, and allow you to start Ubuntu from the console.

Start Ubuntu from the console

Open a text-only virtual console by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F3.

At the login: prompt type your username and press Enter.

At the Password: prompt type your user password and press Enter.

Now you are logged in to a text-only console, and you can run terminal commands to reinstall the NVIDIA driver from the console. To reboot the system after you reinstall the NVIDIA driver run the command: sudo reboot. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F7 to exit the virtual console. In Ubuntu 17.10 and later press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+F2 to exit from the virtual console.

After you have logged in in the terminal type sudo systemctl start graphical.target and press Enter to bring up your default login screen, and then login to your Ubuntu desktop environment as usual.

edited Jan 4 at 11:25

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

edited Jan 4 at 11:25

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

answered Dec 11 '16 at 23:00

karel

57.6k12128146

(Just copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

I replied to your comment by editing my answer.

– karel
Dec 12 '16 at 2:07

Thanks Karel, but this assumes I can get system running somehow. Is that correct? Is there a way to issue sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm without logging in?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:49

This does not waor anymore sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm-> package gdm is not installed(ubuntu 16.04). And sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm does not do anything.

– Robert
Mar 30 '18 at 12:44

@Robert You are partially right. The reason why I referred to gdm is that gdm is mentioned in the question, therefore I was required to address it in my answer. However if you run the command apt policy gdm in Ubuntu 16.04 you will see that gdm is indeed a package in the default Ubuntu 16.04 repositories.

– karel
Mar 30 '18 at 12:48

|
show 2 more comments

(Just copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

I replied to your comment by editing my answer.

– karel
Dec 12 '16 at 2:07

Thanks Karel, but this assumes I can get system running somehow. Is that correct? Is there a way to issue sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm without logging in?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:49

This does not waor anymore sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm-> package gdm is not installed(ubuntu 16.04). And sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm does not do anything.

– Robert
Mar 30 '18 at 12:44

@Robert You are partially right. The reason why I referred to gdm is that gdm is mentioned in the question, therefore I was required to address it in my answer. However if you run the command apt policy gdm in Ubuntu 16.04 you will see that gdm is indeed a package in the default Ubuntu 16.04 repositories.

– karel
Mar 30 '18 at 12:48

(Just copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console.

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

I replied to your comment by editing my answer.

– karel
Dec 12 '16 at 2:07

Thanks Karel, but this assumes I can get system running somehow. Is that correct? Is there a way to issue sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm without logging in?

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 5:49

This does not waor anymore sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm-> package gdm is not installed(ubuntu 16.04). And sudo dpkg-reconfigure lightdm does not do anything.

– Robert
Mar 30 '18 at 12:44

@Robert You are partially right. The reason why I referred to gdm is that gdm is mentioned in the question, therefore I was required to address it in my answer. However if you run the command apt policy gdm in Ubuntu 16.04 you will see that gdm is indeed a package in the default Ubuntu 16.04 repositories.

– karel
Mar 30 '18 at 12:48

|
show 2 more comments

Press CTRL+ALT+F1 or any other function (F) key up to F7, which takes you back to your "GUI" terminal. These should drop you into a text-mode terminal for each different function key.

Otherwise you can boot into recovery mode if you need:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecoveryMode

Basically hold down SHIFT as you boot up to get the Grub menu.

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

1

(copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console. And for recovery mode its same results if I say clean start. I'll read up on other recovery modes and see if they are helpful

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

add a comment |

Press CTRL+ALT+F1 or any other function (F) key up to F7, which takes you back to your "GUI" terminal. These should drop you into a text-mode terminal for each different function key.

Otherwise you can boot into recovery mode if you need:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecoveryMode

Basically hold down SHIFT as you boot up to get the Grub menu.

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

1

(copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console. And for recovery mode its same results if I say clean start. I'll read up on other recovery modes and see if they are helpful

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

add a comment |

Press CTRL+ALT+F1 or any other function (F) key up to F7, which takes you back to your "GUI" terminal. These should drop you into a text-mode terminal for each different function key.

Otherwise you can boot into recovery mode if you need:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecoveryMode

Basically hold down SHIFT as you boot up to get the Grub menu.

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

Press CTRL+ALT+F1 or any other function (F) key up to F7, which takes you back to your "GUI" terminal. These should drop you into a text-mode terminal for each different function key.

Otherwise you can boot into recovery mode if you need:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecoveryMode

Basically hold down SHIFT as you boot up to get the Grub menu.

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

edited Dec 13 '16 at 1:22

Fabich

13716

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

answered Dec 11 '16 at 22:53

Kristopher Ives

1,88011016

1

(copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console. And for recovery mode its same results if I say clean start. I'll read up on other recovery modes and see if they are helpful

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

add a comment |

1

(copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console. And for recovery mode its same results if I say clean start. I'll read up on other recovery modes and see if they are helpful

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

(copying previous comment): Is there any way to show login to terminal by default (like init 3 in old times), problem with ctrl+alt+f1 is that GDM keeps retrying to start and I don't get console. And for recovery mode its same results if I say clean start. I'll read up on other recovery modes and see if they are helpful

– wisemonkey
Dec 12 '16 at 1:26

add a comment |

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