the psycho cat on an HP Mini with Ubuntu
Just Beginning
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Install Software Next Steps Beyond the Basics Playing Around Troubleshooting * Off-site link
Cheap Plugs You may also want to consider donating directly to the Ubuntu project.
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Troubleshooting X
Note: This tutorial should be obsolete, since Ubuntu has now implemented "bulletproof-X," which prevents the graphical interface from dying unexpectedly. Nevertheless, some users who run into that rare panic situation may still find this helpful, so I'm keeping it around. Sometimes new users, expecting a graphical environment after installing Ubuntu, end up at a black screen with some white text that has a login prompt. When they log in, they see this: username@ubuntu:~$
I haven't experienced this myself, but I've seen it happen to other new users, either because they accidentally did a server install... or Ubuntu just did something funky.
Do you have a graphical environment installed? sudo apt-cdrom add This will add the CD as a software package source since you can't get packages from the internet. To make sure you have a graphical environment installed:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop If you didn't already have it installed, you'll notice Ubuntu downloading and installing a whole bunch of packages, either from the internet or from your CD. If you did have it installed, you'll simply be told ubuntu-desktop is already the newest version.
Run the graphical environment
sudo service gdm start
This should get you to a graphical login screen. If it says it's starting the GNOME Display Manager but after ten seconds or so... it doesn't actually appear to start, try pressing Control-Alt-F7, which should get you to the graphical login screen.
You have a graphical environment, but it won't show the way I want it to Well, then press Control-Alt-F1 and try this:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
This will pop up a text-based graphical "wizard" that will ask you questions about your keyboard, your mouse, your graphics card, and your monitor. Answer the questions as best you can. If you don't know the answer to a question, just go with the default and press Enter. When you're done, press Control-Alt-F7 to get back to graphical mode and then Control-Alt-Backspace to reset the X server (so your changes can take effect).
Next steps If you're still stuck at the command prompt but want to do some research on how to fix the problem, boot up the Desktop CD or install and use the text-only web browser called Links: sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install links links It'll launch a seemingly blank screen. Press g and you can go directly to a URL like www.google.com
Other variations If you're using Xubuntu, it's the same deal—just replace ubuntu-desktop with xubuntu-desktop.
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If you have suggestions or corrections for these tutorials, please post in this Ubuntu Forums thread or leave a comment on my blog. I will not give help to people posting in the above places. If you require technical support, start a support thread on the Ubuntu Forums. That is the appropriate place to ask for help. |