X server failure- unable to reconfig GDM

hi,
tried the above steps,
After booting into the recovery mode and goin down to 'root shell prompt' and typed the
command: nano/etc/x11/xorg.conf.
it returnrd with the error: no such file or directory.
couldn't go any further ..
please help.

anil> To: <email address hidden>> From: <email address hidden>> Subject: Re: [Question #50463]: X server failure- unable to reconfig GDM> Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2008 10:42:55 +0000> > Your question #50463 on xorg in ubuntu changed:> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/50463> > Status: Open => Answered> > ByteJuggler proposed the following answer:> It would appear you're having some sort of driver problems. Things you can do:> 1.) Force the X Window system to start using the generic VESA driver.> 2.) Try the proprietary NVidia driver. > > To perform 1. Do the following:> > 1) Boot your machine, from the boot menu select the "recovery" option.> 2) When the menu displays, select the "root shell" option.> 3) At the prompt, type:> nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf> 4) Find the "Device" section in the file and insert a line as follows:> Section "Device"> [...]> Driver "vesa"> [...]> EndSection> 5) Save the file (can't remember offhand, but I think it's Ctrl-O)> 6) Exit the editor (think it's Ctrl-X)> 7) Exit the root shell by typing:> exit> 8) See if the machine will now boot with the VESA driver. If it does, the resolution used will likely not be optimal, and the display might be slightly sluggish, which is normal for the VESA driver.> > If this works, then you should try installing the Nvidia proprietary> driver for you card next. You should be able to enable/perform this> from the "Administration" menu using entry "Hardware drivers".> > -- > If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us> know that it is solved:> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/50463/+confirm?answer_id=0> > If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the> following page to enter your feedback:> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+question/50463> > You received this question notification because you are a direct> subscriber of the question.
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hi,tried the above steps,but after booting into 'recovery mode' and goin down to 'root shell prompt',then when i typed "Nano/etc/x11/xorg.conf,it returned with the error: No such file of directory found.
please help...

when i looked in,there is no directory named 'nano' ,and in the directory 'etc' there is no 'x11' directory either ..

This time when i tried to boot in normally,it showed the following error:
segmentation error:
services terminated status:139.

previously while booting into recovery mode,it directly opened into the root prompt without the recovery console showing the options display,had to reboot to open into the recovery console.then went to to the root shell prompt.

jus thought the above info might be useful...if there is any useful info in above observations.

OK, please note:
1) Case is important: "X11" is not the same as "x11".
2) In the command I gave you, "nano" is the command, followed by a space, followed by a path, namely "/etc/X11/xorg.conf"

It is most important you copy every single thing exactly as I show you. If need be, copy the text from the page into a text editor using a monospace font so you can clearly see where there's a space and where not. And make sure you have the case exactly right.

A few extra commands to help you check out your environment while in a root shell:
1.) "cd" command changes your current folder. E.g.
cd /
- Changes to the root toplevel folder
cd /etc
- Changes to subfolder "etc" in the root folder
cd X11
- Notice the missing slash. This changes to the subfolder "X11" from the current folder, whatever that may be.

2.) "ls" lists folder contents.
ls -a
- Lists "all" files, e.g. including hidden ones (default is not to show them)
ls -l
- Lists files in long listing, printing permissions and size (normally just lists the names)
ls -al
- Lists all files (hidden) in long listing. etc.

Using these 2 commands you can navigate around the filesystem moving to new (sub) folders and listing their contents to stepwise see where to go next.

3.) "nano" is a text editor, the first paramter is taken to be the file to edit. E.g.
nano foobar.txt
- edits the file called "foobar.txt" in the current folder, wherever that may be
nano /foobar.txt
- edits the file called "foobar.txt" in the root folder, regardless of what the current folder is. (This is because you've specified the folder via the leading slash.)

etc.

So, you could for example go:

cd / (change to root folder)
ls (notice the "etc" folder)
cd etc (change into "etc" folder)
ls (notice the "X11" folder)
cd X11 (change into X11 folder)
ls (check the contents, noticde xorg.conf file)
nano xorg.conf (edit the file)

All of that is effectively equivalent to just:

nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf (which explicitly specifies to edit the file located in /etc/X11 called "xorg.conf", avoiding all the incremental steps shown above. Both sets of steps however have the same effect ultimately.)

Thanks ByteJuggler, that solved my question.