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I'm fairly new to Linux, excuse me if I'm missing something obvious.

Until recently, I used a GTX 750TI for my Server (Ubuntu 20.4 LTS), but then a friend of mine needed a GPU. I took the GPU out, since I still have the integrated graphics from Intel (i7 6700), which should have been more than enough for a headless server.

When I restarted the Server, I only got a black screen after login via XRDP. I connected the Server to a screen and noticed that I'm using LLVMPIPE instead of the HD630. I searched for many fixes online, and tried this one:

https://www.computersnyou.com/4945/re-install-xorg-xserver-completely-ubuntu/

I followed these steps and then rebooted my system:

sudo apt-get purge xorg "xserver-*"
sudo apt-get purge lightdm plymouth
sudo rm -rf /etc/X11/xorg
sudo apt-get autoremove

Now I'm stuck in some kind of grey screen with different colors after the BIOS screen. I tried rebooting, unplugging the power... but that obviously didn't help.

The Problem is definitely caused by me uninstalling XORG, but I have no idea how I should install it now since I can't access the console.

Where should I go from here?

Christoph Straten
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1 Answers1

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The worst thing you can do is to remove Xorg. This is the "glue" that keeps everything graphical together. In order to get your device running you need to reinstall Xorg and remove all NVIDIA Drivers (which block the use of your Intel GPU).(by using sudo apt purge nvidia*)

Get your display manager back:

sudo apt install lightdm plymouth

Then you need Xorg:

sudo apt install Xorg*

see here for more infos.

Just to explain: those packages are GPU agnostic. You need them if you want a decent graphical environment, no matter what GPU you are using. The Xorg server will provide you with all the drivers you need to get a GPU running. Without you're doomed.

Since you've removed all the important packages, you'd need a desktop environment. Do get a decent one:

sudo apt install xfwm4

Still - I would try to save my data unto an external disk and setup the system new with a live disk. That's the reason why there are distros out there. They know how to keep the different parts together.

Linux is really good using the Intel GPU. But it needs a chance to use them. Without Xorg, you won't have graphics, just text.

kanehekili
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  • Yeah, after removing it I realized that this was probably a bad idea. As long as I don't lose my data I'm happy, since I still need to learn a lot about Linux. I'm going to try to fix it via SSH when I come home later today, seems like that's the way to go. – Christoph Straten Sep 24 '20 at 05:32
  • I tried to connect to my Server via SSH, but it seems like I'd have had to install it prior to this bad situation. It simply says "connection refused". XRDP via XORG still lets me log in, but shows a green screen, XRDP via XVNC tells me it had "some Error". Is there any way I can connect to my Server and make changes? – Christoph Straten Sep 25 '20 at 19:22
  • yes, you have to install and/or activate the sshd. Do you have direct access to your server? If yes just boot into the shell (there should be an option during startup). There you could either sudo apt install sshd and sudo systemctl enable sshd.service to setup your remote connection or install lightdm, plymoutn and Xorg directly – kanehekili Sep 26 '20 at 18:56
  • I've updated my answer, because some parts were missing – kanehekili Sep 26 '20 at 19:06
  • I just realized I forgot to mark your answer as solution. I ended up doing what you suggested, getting the data from the SSD with an Ubuntu Live USB stick. Then I made a complete reinstall of Ubuntu. – Christoph Straten Sep 27 '21 at 06:57