Boot to black screen after 32bit driver install

Support and Help
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Ubuntu Version

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

Desktop Environment (if applicable)

GNOME

Problem Description

Fairly basic issue here… When I start my computer I get the grub menu. I choose Ubuntu and then my screen goes black, then the Ubuntu spinner comes up. The screen goes black again - even the backlight on the monitor goes dark. I can tell that the system is still booting by the activity on the HDD LED on my computer case, and that the NumLock and CapsLock toggles on my keyboard still work.

The only thing that I did that could cause this issue was install the 32bit nVidia drivers. I did that only because Steam popped up a box complaining that the 32bit display drivers were missing.

sudo apt install libnvidia-compute-595:i386 libnvidia-decode-595:i386 libnvidia-encode-595:i386 libnvidia-fbc1-595:i386 libnvidia-gl-595:i386

I do not know how I can start Ubuntu with the basic video driver, instead of the nVidia driver. It should be a simple task of uninstalling the 32bit drivers (I hope) using APT, IF I can get back into the system to a terminal window.

Any idea how I can correct this issue?

Side question… Is there a sequence of keystroke to shut down the computer if I can’t see the display?

Relevant System Information

nVidia RTX 3060 video card. Intel 12th generation i9 CPU, 32 gig DDR4 memory.

What I’ve Tried

Sometimes I am able to get to a CLI login prompt with ALT-F4. I’ve tried uninstalling the 32 bit drivers, but that hasn’t helped.

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So… once I was able to get to a CLI using ALT-F4 I tried using APT to uninstall the i386 drivers I had installed previously. That did not help.

After this, I reinstalled the 595 driver using the sudo ubuntu-drivers installcommand and rebooted. I can now get to my desktop. The system seems fine at this point. I did have to re-enable my gnome extensions.

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For future reference, yes there is. The so-called “magic sysrq” can reboot your system or even shut it down (if you have it configured properly).

While holding down the Alt+SysRq key combination, press the keys R E I S U B in sequence. Note that most modern keyboards map the SysRq key to the “Print Screen” key.

Full information here: https://docs.kernel.org/admin-guide/sysrq.html

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You left us with a cliffhanger !!! :slight_smile:

Is that original issue gone too now ?

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For 32-bit games you only need the OpenGL library :slight_smile:

sudo apt install libnvidia-gl-595:i386

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Is that original issue gone too now ?

Yes. Steam is not complaining about missing drivers anymore.

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