Fixing Ubuntu Stuck on Boot After NVIDIA Driver Installation

March 07, 2024

If you're an Ubuntu user who has recently installed NVIDIA drivers and is now experiencing a boot issue, you're not alone. This is a common problem that can be frustrating to resolve. However, there is a simple solution: purging the NVIDIA drivers.

Why Does This Happen?

When you install NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu, the default behavior is for the system to use the proprietary NVIDIA drivers instead of the open-source Nouveau drivers. However, in some cases, the NVIDIA drivers can conflict with the system's boot process, causing the system to hang or freeze on boot.

How to Fix It

The solution to this problem is to purge the NVIDIA drivers from your system. This will remove all NVIDIA driver files and reset the system to use the open-source Nouveau drivers.

To purge the NVIDIA drivers, follow these steps:

Boot into recovery mode. You can do this by holding down the Shift key while your computer is starting up. You can also try out other keyboard keys f8 , f9 ,f10 , f11, f12 ; the goal is to reach the bootloader screen.
Select "Advanced options for Ubuntu" from the GRUB menu.
Select "Recovery mode" from the Advanced options menu.
In the recovery menu, select "Drop to root shell prompt."
Enter the following command:
```
  sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
  
```
Press Enter and enter your password when prompted.
Once the purge is complete, reboot your system.

Your system should now boot normally using the open-source Nouveau drivers. If you still experience boot issues, you may need to try other troubleshooting steps, such as resetting your BIOS settings , loading a different linux kernel image or reinstalling Ubuntu.

Conclusion

If your Ubuntu system is stuck on boot after installing NVIDIA drivers, purging the NVIDIA drivers is a simple and effective solution. By following the steps outlined in this post, you can quickly resolve this issue and get your system back up and running.