Get to terminal/command line if GUI/login/display is not working

Owned by Joey Houy (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Nov 07, 2018
1 min read

Applies to most Linux distros. You may run into this issue if someone updated the kernel or installed conflicting packages.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Boot system, carefully observe the boot sequence to see if you encounter the OS boot grub/kernel selection screen
  2. If either of the below are encountered, use 'ctrl+alt+F2 or F3' or 'alt+(right)arrow key' to get to a terminal/command line
    • Couple of messages, but does not proceed to GUI/login (typically an 'i8042' or 'PCCT header not found' message)
    • Verbose lines filling the screen, but eventually hangs at some point
    • Absolutely nothing, but maybe a blinking line on the top-left
  3. If you take too long (typically ~1-2 minutes after the system proceeds from the OS boot grub/kernel), you may need to reboot the system and try again

If you have a terminal/command line now, make sure to check if your NVIDIA driver is working using:

nvidia-smi

If it reports anything other than the status/readings of your installed graphics card, it needs to be re-installed; or to boot from an earlier kernel depending how much was done after the initial update/change to your system/OS.

If you have a terminal/command line now AND had GUI working before, please visit the following article to check if your NVIDIA driver is working.
Reinstall NVIDIA drivers for Ubuntu 16.04

Reinstall NVIDIA drivers for CentOS 7.x