http://askubuntu.com/questions/306543/how-do-i-troubleshoot-boot-problems-when-stuck-at-the-ubuntu-splash-screen


Besides the below, if the GUI does not start automatically, run "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop" and then "sudo reboot".

Some keys to remember.
Alt + left arrow turns the boot splash into terminal login prompt during the boot.
Ctrl + Alt + F1 switches back to the command prompt from GUI.

How do I troubleshoot boot problems when stuck at the Ubuntu splash screen?

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I was tweaking some settings on my Ubuntu 12.04 install. Specifically I was altering the default color scheme of the terminal, following these instructions Now whenever I boot Ubuntu, I get stuck in the purple screen that says "Ubuntu" with the moving dots. If I hit ENTER Ubuntu booting continues. I'm not asking about solving my specific problem (which is definitely caused my be doing weird things) instead I'm asking how would I go about digging into what's going on at boot? What logs should I look at? What kind of thing should I look for? How would I troubleshoot this issue? I would like to "learn how to fish" and go figure out what is probably a stupid issue. I tried the boot repair utility, however that does not appear to do the trick. Boot repair appears to be focussed more on GRUB, which is functioning fine. 12.04 boot debugging share|improve this question asked Jun 10 at 18:07 Doug T. 1388

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There's a few things you can try. First, if I were you, I'd like to know what's happening in the background (booting in) that causes you to have to hit Enter to get it to continue on. Try editing your GRUB load manually, so you can see what's happening during the boot and provide the error/issue that's actually happening in more detail. In a terminal window, run: gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub Find this line: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" and change it to: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="" Leave anything else within the quotes as-is, but remove the quiet splash portion. Then, do, in terminal: sudo update-grub Then, finally just reboot. Now.. see all the loading data, and let us know what the actual problem is. share|improve this answer answered Jun 10 at 18:19 gravity 696113