Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - Blinking cursor and cannot start after Nvidia driver upgrade

source : http://superuser.com/questions/651596/ubuntu-12-04-lts-blinking-cursor-and-cannot-start-after-nvidia-driver-upgrade

4down vote

I think I figured it out.

First, I had to use my Ubuntu installation CD, and chose "Try Ubuntu".

Next I logged into a terminal session, and have to remount my system partition (ie: /dev/sda1 is where I installed Ubuntu).

sudo mount /dev/sda1     /mnt
sudo mount --bind /dev  /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys  /mnt/sys
sudo chroot /mnt

This mounts everything I need to run apt-get against my hard drive, rather than the non-persistent Ubuntu running in RAM.

Now I just have to clobber Nvidia drivers, so I can get my system booting again.

# Remove existing drivers
sudo apt-get remove nvidia*
sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
# Housekeeping
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoclean
# Handle any errors to due incomplete apt-get operations
sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
# Remove xorg/X11/XFree86 references to graphics drivers
sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
# Clean up and unmount everything
exit
sudo umount /mnt/sys
sudo umount /mnt/proc
sudo umount /mnt/dev
sudo umount /mnt
exit

Now, I will NOT re-install the drivers just yet. Reboot the system, and eject the liveCD. I am now able to log into my existing Ubuntu installation.

Now, go into Jockey (ie: The "Additional Drivers" program, also /usr/bin/jockey-gtk), and see if any Nvidia drivers are "Active". De-activate them with the "De-activate" button, and reboot. Check if any new nvidia driver has been automatically activated. If so, de-activate it, and reboot again. Repeat until jockey no longer automatically activates any nvidia drivers at all.

Now, install the nvidia drivers we want:

sudo apt-get install nvidia-current
sudo apt-get install nvidia-common
sudo apt-get install nvidia-304

Now reboot the system. When you start jockey next, it should default to nvidia-304, and you're set.

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edited Sep 28 '13 at 18:38

answered Sep 28 '13 at 17:39 Dogbert