This article aims to contribute the growing pool of solutions for when one’s Ubuntu Operating System(OS) broken after an update.

The solutions will be presented in order of incrementally layered symptoms:

1. After an update, my OS is now booting into a tty terminal instead of the normal Login Screen.

The reason you are seeing the tty terminal is because ubuntu-desktop is missing. This could be because the update in question removed it for unknown reasons. However, it is now up to install it back.

Follow the commands below:

a. Log in within tty terminal by typing your username first and then your password.

b. Update the package index files:

sudo apt-get update

c. Install ubuntu-desktop:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

2. Unable to install ubuntu-desktop due to unmet dependencies.

The reason you are seeing this is due to broken packages concerning dependencies needed by ubuntu-desktop. Understandably, because the update broken them to begin with.

Follow the commands below:

a. Clean up your packages:

sudo apt autoclean

sudo apt clean

sudo apt autoremove

b. Fix the broken packages:

sudo apt --fix broken

sudo apt install -f ubuntu-desktop

c. If the above command did nothing to fix it, try the following alternative:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

sudo apt install -f ubuntu-desktop

3. Tried all solutions above to install ubuntu-desktop. None of it works.

If, like me, you have reached this stage of debugging and your issue is still persisting, run the commands below:

a. Open /etc/apt/sources.list:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

b. Add the following 2 lines:

deb http://ir.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://ir.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jammy-backports main restricted universe multiverse

c. Update the package index files:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop

4. Able to boot to the Login Screen now but my screen resolution is all messed up.

Also, if, like me, your GUI is now at a low resolution and you cannot change it, your nvidia graphics card driver is still broken from the update. Here’s what you need to do to set thing right:

a. Remove nvidia drivers:

sudo dpkg -P $(dpkg -l | grep nvidia-driver | awk '{print $2}')

b. Switch back to nouvea driver:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install xserver-xorg-video-nouveau

c. Shut down (not restart) your system and then boot it up.

d. Once your GUI is now back to the original resolution, install nvidia drivers:

ubuntu-drivers devices

sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

References