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I want to make sure when my pc starts up, it boots into tty1, instead of tty7. And also, in case I need it, I should also be able to switch to the graphical desktop using ctrl +alt+f7 in case I need it. How do I do that?

twodee
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1 Answers1

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Find GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub (with a sudo nano /etc/default/grub and change it to ...

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

and update grub with ...

sudo update-grub

Tell systemd to not load the desktop with ...

sudo systemctl enable multi-user.target --force
sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

And the initial boot will end up on a tty. By default it will be tty1. You can still go to the desktop by using the command startx on commandline.

I should also be able to switch to the graphical desktop using ctrl +alt+f7 in case I need it.

You will need to issue the sudo systemctl start lightdm command before using control+alt+f7. Probably impossible to get around that: if a desktop is loaded during boot it will take precedence.

Rinzwind
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  • It seems like with startx all I find is my desktop background with an 'X' as my pointer. No launcher, no icons. @Rinzwind – twodee Sep 15 '16 at 12:01
  • do any of these work: http://askubuntu.com/questions/320042/why-does-startx-usr-bin-unity-not-load-my-desktop-settings ? – Rinzwind Sep 15 '16 at 12:26
  • I am not using startx, but instead figured out I needed to start the lightdm. So I did this- systemctl sudo start lightdm and works fine now. – twodee Sep 15 '16 at 18:03
  • check! added it. – Rinzwind Sep 15 '16 at 18:04
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    I did a minimal install of ubuntu server 16.04.2 and for some reason it had GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash quiet" as the default. Changed that to text as suggested and updated grub and now I'm booting to tty1. Thanks. – Jens Bodal May 04 '17 at 20:43