How do I boot to a prompt such that X isn't running in Ubuntu 10?

[Occulus]

Title says it all. I need to install the Nvidia drivers without X running, but they got rid of /etc/inittab, so now I don't know how to boot to a prompt by setting the runlevel.

I wish linux devs would stop fooling with where config settings are applied. I knew what I was doing for years, and now I'm lost again trying to do the simplest of things.

[RoyGBiv]

1. Yes, this is annoying ...

"This" being the way some developers keep changing stuff that is supposed to be standardized. This is also why you'll hear a lot of complaints from purists about Ubuntu. They do this more frequently than others. I'll shut up before I get on my own rant about it but will say that after reading through some of the blog posts put up there by Ubuntu developers, I understand why. Some of these people really have no idea what they're working with and see it all as a big art project.

Anyway ...

To answer your question, what I've always done is just let the system boot, then CTRL-SHIFT-F1 to switch to the first console, go ahead and login as root, then:

init 1

Now, this also takes down the network, so just be aware of that and make sure you have everything you need. The main reason I do it this way is that, other than the runlevels changing from distro to distro (why this can't be standardized, I have no idea), it works regardless of the distro.

After you're done, init 2 to bring everything back up.

Out of curiosity, are you having to do this because you're using the NVidia installer script?

[Occulus]

2. What's the default root password again? Also, CTRL+SHIFT+F1 does *nothing*.

I have a user account, but no root password was ever set up.

I'm really, really hating Ubuntu right now. This used to be a five minute job that I could do in my sleep, and it's turned into an opaque mystery that makes me feel like I'm using RedHat 3.0 all over again.

I have just spent an hour an a half trying to change the runlevel Ubuntu boots to. This is completely unacceptable.

I tried installing the nvidia drivers via the ubuntu automagical driver activation dialog, but got a natch for my trouble. I have to build the kernel module and install it myself, I guess. :shrug:

I cannot log in as root. I don't know my own password for the root account, because I never set it up.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Root Password

Your root password in a default Ubuntu installation is the same as the first user account's password, i.e. your password.

And, sorry about that. Major typo on my part. It's CTRL-ALT-F1.

I guess you could do it from a terminal. When you change to runlevel 1, it'll take you to a console anyway, but try that key combo.

When the automatic NVidia driver install fails, you can usually install and run "envyng" and it will do it.

I usually build the driver myself anyway 'cause the driver in the repository is not the newest version.

[Occulus]

5. Okay, this has entered the "what a pantload" realm

I'm really disappointed with Ubuntu 10. This. Should. Not. Be. This. Hard. It sure as hell wasn't in 9... it was as easy as editing /etc/inittab, setting the runlevel to boot without X, sudo sh Nvidiablahblah DONE.

In Ubuntu 10.... not so much.

Sudo init 1 freezes my entire system. It throws up the Ubuntu splash screen and that's it; I have to reboot every time. So that's out; it appears I must boot directly to a prompt without starting X first. Of course, they changed the method to something really arcane that's more effort.....

I got a "kernel module load error" when trying to build with the Nvidia installer script. It's telling me something to the effect of the module being built against the wrong kernel, but I have the headers for my kernel installed (yes, I triple-checked). doing a sudo sh Nvidiablahblah -k $(uname -r) got the drivers to install properly, but they fail to load on boot.

I'm just about to give up.

[RoyGBiv]

6. I've run into that before ...

Somehow you've managed to get two different Nvidia kernel modules installed. Passing the -k option will in fact prevent the installer script from deleting any previous versions of the module, which is handy if you keep around previous kernels also but can cause problems like this if the wrong one is getting loaded. This probably happened because of the automated installation routines with Ubuntu that failed on you initially.

You need to start from scratch. Run the installer script and pass the --uninstall option. Then run it again, passing no options. Just let it use its default settings. Afterward, make sure xorg.conf is changed so that it is loading the nvidia driver. Then reboot and pray.

I honestly don't remember the exact steps I took to fix this, but it was some variation of the above.

Have you tried using EnvyNG?

As for init 1 not working, I can't imagine ... If they've truly screwed up the standards so badly that that doesn't work, I'm about to go from mildly annoyed at some of their shenanigans to straight out pissed. This is not the direction Linux needs to be heading.

Also, which graphics card is it?

[backscatter712]

14. Kinda-sorta.

By default, Ubuntu installs with a null root password - it's set up so you can't directly log in as root at all.

Instead, it gives the first user account equivalent sudo privileges, and ensures that when you need to do something that requires root privileges, you can do so using sudo, gksu, or some other program that gives you privileges as you need them.

If you want a root prompt, log in with your primary user account (the one created when you installed Ubuntu - that's the one granted sudo privileges), then try sudo -s to get that familiar # prompt. Then, if you really want to log in directly as root, you can change the root password from there.

As far as your nvidia issues go, I'm stumped - every time I've installed Ubuntu, it starts me off with the x.org nvidia drivers, then lets me install the NVidia proprietary drivers using the GUI tools, and they Just Work.

[struggle4progress]

4. You may want the commands

sudo service gdm stop
sudo service gdm restart

[struggle4progress]

7. This link may help:

ubuntu 10.04 N card installed the official driver
... 5. Exit x interface into the command line console:
sudo init 3
sudo service gdm stop ...
http://www.codeweblog.com/ubuntu-10-04-n-card-installed-the-official-driver/

[RoyGBiv]

8. Curious ...

I've been looking for this on and off for a couple days, and I haven't been able to find a clear explanation.

Did Ubuntu change their init <0-5> settings?

They brought over Debians standard, which is 0 = system halt, 1 = single user only, no X, 2 = normal. Init 3 - 5 didn't really mean anything as they were exactly the same as 2.

This suggests they changed it.

Did you know what's going on with this?

[struggle4progress]

9. No, I've never played with runlevels. After several days of trying to figure out this thread,

my crude guess is that anyone, who wants to understand what's up, needs to learn about "Upstart" -- which is some sort of "event-based init daemon" that seems to handle dynamically the issues previously handled by user-set runlevels

Ubuntu's Success Story: the Upstart Startup Manager (Linux Boot Camp p.2)
... Upstart has been around since 2006, but it's only in the last year or so that it's taken a major role in booting distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora. Debian and OpenSuSE are reportedly joining in soon, while it's available as an optional component on most other distros. No distro uses it as the sole boot method yet: even Fedora 12 and the upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 keep a lot of functionality in SysV scripts ... Upstart eschews the old /etc/init.d and /etc/rcN.d in favor of a new directory containing "job definition files". And here's a point of confusion: it doesn't have a standard name ... http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/7033/1/

Ubuntu's Upstart event-based init daemon
By Mark Sobell on February 08, 2008 (9:00:00 AM)
... The event-based Upstart init daemon (upstart package) uses events to start and stop system services. With the Feisty release, Ubuntu switched to the Upstart init daemon and began the transition from the SysVinit setup to the Upstart setup. This article discusses Upstart and the parts of SysVinit that remain: the /etc/rc?.d and /etc/init.d directories and the concept of runlevels ... http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/125977

Runlevel
... Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) and later contain Upstart as a replacement for the traditional init-process, but they still use the traditional init scripts and Upstart's SysV-rc compatibility tools to start most services and emulate runlevels ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runlevel#Ubuntu

[Occulus]

10. YES! That's what I read about yesterday. I was left scratching my head.

I'm still trying to figure out why they did this. Inittab has been the standard way of doing this for years and years.

All I need to do is boot to a prompt (no X startup, kthxbai), install the NV driver, and then restart into X.

They went and made that a hard task. I'm stuck until I learn all about how to control this Upstart.

Apt name, though.

[RoyGBiv]

11. From what I've gathered ...

This switch is a part of how Ubuntu has been able to increase boot times so dramatically.

But I'm with you here. Anything that makes it *hard* to kill off extraneous services and access things via the terminal is ultimately the wrong way to go, imo.

[Occulus]

12. I *still* haven't figured this Upstart thing out yet

And I still don't have the drivers installed.

Argh.....

[struggle4progress]

13. Howto install nVIDIA drivers manually on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

... 5) When an error message pops up saying that Ubuntu cannot load Nvidia drivers, choose Exit to terminal (Exit to console) ...
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/howto-install-nvidia-drivers-manually-on-ubuntu-10-04-lucid-lynx.html

Install Nvidia graphical driver in Ubuntu Lucid (10.04)
http://ubuntuguide.net/install-nvidia-graphical-driver-in-ubuntu-lucid-10-04

How to Install Nvidia Drivers in Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)
... Then install only the needed one:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx-185
in my case it was the 185 one, which… it’s actually the latest..195. don’t ask me why ...
http://trycatch.iblogger.org/tips-n-tricks/how-to-install-nvidia-drivers-in-ubuntu-10-04-lucid-lynx

:shrug:

I really know nothing about this, but the top link at least pretends to tell you how to exit to terminal