installed an nvidia driver, now my computer boots into terminal

[kilent49]

I just installed the only Nvidia driver available in the software center for Ubuntu. I'm running Ubuntu 9.10. I don't know which Nvidia driver I installed, but the screen resolution the Nvidia driver tried to set fails at login, so now I'm stuck booting my computer into the terminal. . I used sudo apt-get install xerver-xorg in attempt to restore the screen; however, the xerver-xorg package cannot be found. How do I restore xerver without reinstalling Ubuntu? How do I restore my original driver?

[kados]

ok, cd /etc/X11 or maybe in /usr/lib/X11

rm xorg.conf

startx

[devils casper]

Hi and Welcome !

How did you install Nvidia Driver?

Try to use "vesa" driver and it override default nvidia driver.
Execute this

cd /etc/X11
sudo nano xorg.conf

Above code will open xorg.conf file in nano editor. Replace Driver "nvidia" with Driver "vesa".
xorg.conf file might be empty because X Server try to detect Graphics Card/Monitor and use Generic values. In that case, add this code:

Section "Device"
       Identifier "Configured Video Device"
       Driver   "vesa"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
         Identifier "Configured Monitor"
         HorizSync    31.5 - 70.0
         VertRefresh 50 - 160
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Default Screen"
        Monitor "Configured Monitor"
        Device "Configured Video Device"
        DefaultDepth 24
        Subsection "Display"
             Depth 24
             Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768"
        EndSubsection
EndSection

Press Ctrl+X, Y and hit Enter key to save file.
** Contents of xorg.conf file are case sensitive.


Reboot machine.

sudo shutdown -r now

[Rubberman]

As DC said, you don't need to uninstall or reinstall anything. You just need to change the driver in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to use the vesa driver. However, the best thing to do first is from the console terminal, login as root and then run the nvidia-xconfig command. That will interrogate the hardware (and monitor(s)) and configure your xorg.conf properly for the hardware you have. If you still cannot get a GUI after that, then manually alter the xorg.conf file as DC suggested.

[kilent49]

Hi and Welcome !

How did you install Nvidia Driver?

Try to use "vesa" driver and it override default nvidia driver.
Execute this

cd /etc/X11
sudo nano xorg.conf

Above code will open xorg.conf file in nano editor. Replace Driver "nvidia" with Driver "vesa".
xorg.conf file might be empty because X Server try to detect Graphics Card/Monitor and use Generic values. In that case, add this code:

Section "Device"
       Identifier "Configured Video Device"
       Driver   "vesa"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
         Identifier "Configured Monitor"
         HorizSync    31.5 - 70.0
         VertRefresh 50 - 160
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Default Screen"
        Monitor "Configured Monitor"
        Device "Configured Video Device"
        DefaultDepth 24
        Subsection "Display"
             Depth 24
             Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768"
        EndSubsection
EndSection

Press Ctrl+X, Y and hit Enter key to save file.
** Contents of xorg.conf file are case sensitive.


Reboot machine.

sudo shutdown -r now

I installed the driver using the synaptic package manager, I believe.

When I put "Vesa" in as device driver, the following message appeared after reboot:

usplash: setting mode 1152X864 failed.
usplash: using mode 1024X768

nmdb is running.

All I get is the terminal after this asking me to login.

I tried using nvidia-xconfig in root but was told "No such file or directory." Now what?

[devils casper]

Execute startx command and post error message here, if any.

[kados]

I had this same problem, I run an older presario r3000 with a nvidia card, after I installed the linux drivers from nvidia, startx worked, but everything was scrambled. I just deleted the xorg.conf file from /etx/X11 and it has worked perfectly since.

[navets]

i am also new to linux .. but i have the same problem before ..

i just sudo apt-get remove gdm and then download the gdm again sudo apt-get install gdm

and my gdm works

[Rubberman]

I installed the driver using the synaptic package manager, I believe.

When I put "Vesa" in as device driver, the following message appeared after reboot:

usplash: setting mode 1152X864 failed.
usplash: using mode 1024X768

nmdb is running.

All I get is the terminal after this asking me to login.

I tried using nvidia-xconfig in root but was told "No such file or directory." Now what?

How did you install the nvidia driver? Did you download a file named something like this, NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-195.36.24-pkg2.run (some parts of the name may differ), and then execute it as a shell file? Or did you install the driver using the system package manager?

[kilent49]

I installed the driver through the system package manager. It was the *only* driver listed available for Nvidia with a wide range of supported cards.
Log file from startx:

Using config file: etc /x11/xorg.conf
(EE) Failed to load module "Vesa" (Module doesn't exist, 0)
(EE) No drivers available

Fatal server error: No screens found
Please consult the x.org foundation support. Wiki.x.xorg.