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Whenever I start Ubuntu (running via VMWare), the boot process gets stuck at

Stopping System V runlevel compatibility

I browsed through many answers here and elsewhere, but they mention going into tty1 using Ctrl+Alt+F1. However, the combination of Ctrl+Alt+F(1-9) doesn't seem to work, because there is no change in the screen contents. All I can see are the displayed boot commands. So how do I resolve this error? Please note that I am unable to get past this screen, so cannot make any changes in Ubuntu's files via the terminal.

Edit: Not a duplicate question, because the suggested approaches (of going into tty1) don't work.

2 Answers2

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I ran into the same problem after updating Ubuntu yesterday.

Apparently the newly installed kernel is the problem. To solve this restart your virtual machine from the top down menu of VMWare. During restart hold the "Esc" key pressed. Choose the advanced settings option. Choose the second newest kernel. You should be able to log in now.

Now you have to remove the newly installed Kernel:

Adapted from How to delete a non-working kernel after update?:

To safely remove the unwanted kernel, open a terminal session and run the command:

Find the kernel package name

dpkg -l | grep 3.19.0-51

On amd64/x86_64 it is linux-image-3.19.0-51-generic.

Remove (purge - remove all configuration files as well)

sudo apt-get purge linux-image-3.19.0-51-generic

Hope this helped!

Community
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Tim
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  • Thanks, @Tim. Where exactly would 'the advanced settings option' appear? Also, when the VMWare is restarting, the control is in my host machine (Windows 10). It can be passed to the booting guest (Ubuntu) only once the booting has proceeded substantially (i.e., after I am able to see the booting messages like Stopping System V runlevel compatibility). –  Feb 25 '16 at 08:50
  • I think this is called the grub menu. You will get the choices "Ubuntu", "Advanced options for Ubuntu" and "Memory test ...". The second one is the one you want to choose. – Tim Feb 25 '16 at 08:59
  • Okay, you mean the "advanced options for Ubuntu", correct? And in that, the second newest kernel? Thanks! –  Feb 25 '16 at 09:04
  • Yes, that is correct! – Tim Feb 25 '16 at 09:16
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    It worked like a charm! Thank you. Unfortunately, I don't have the points to upvote. :) –  Feb 25 '16 at 19:09
  • @Tim i think you meant hold the "shift" key, at least that's what worked for me – Zagen Feb 26 '16 at 16:01
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I encounter the same problem when upgrading ubuntu 14.04LTS, my ubuntu run on VMware Fusion 7.1.1 and the Host OS is OSX Elcaptain. To get into ubuntu grub : "Restart" from VMware menu and press and hold "shift" until the grub menu pop up. select an old version kernel( In my case it is 4.2.0-27-generic) and boot successfully. Then use @Tim's answer to remove the newly installed kernel(In my case it is 4.2.0-30-generic).

This is a temporary solutino since it does nont actually solve the updating problem.

biggreyhairboy
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