after updating nvidia driver it just takes me to tty1

I just installed Ubuntu 10.10 and did a complete update with the Update Manager. After downloading the nvidia drivers and doing a restart it takes me to tty1 where I can log in. ctrl + alt + 7 just brings up a black screen with a flashing _ in the upper left. Im completely new to ubuntu and searched high and low for an answer. Yesterday it was turning off my monitor when it would auto log in, I did something and now I have to type in my log in and password on a normal boot. Your help is much appreciated, I would love to have this computer up and running.