Member Avatar for sneha sirohi

hi everyone,
i m newbie for linux.i have mandrive and i am unable to get GUI. whenever i start linux it shows blank screen with a question mark moving on the screen. Now if i use command like ctrl+alt+f1. I get terminal and now i can use it for programming in CLI(command line interface) mode. How can i get GUI here?

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A brief expert summary and practical next steps tied to the replies above.

reported booting to a blank screen with a moving question-mark cursor and can get a console login; several replies pointed at X configuration, runlevel and the window manager. Those are useful directions, but the symptom usually narrows to two root causes: the X server (graphics driver) failing to initialize, or X starting but the desktop/window-session process crashing immediately.

Useful diagnostics that were not shown in the thread:

  • Inspect the X server log for error lines (look for "EE") and the session error file: grep -i EE /var/log/Xorg.0.log and examine ~/.xsession-errors.
  • Check kernel messages for driver/firmware failures: dmesg | egrep -i '(drm|fb|fail|error)'.
  • Identify the graphics chipset to match a driver: lspci -nn | egrep -i 'vga|3d'.

If the logs show driver crashes or missing firmware, switching to a generic fallback driver or installing the appropriate vendor driver is the normal fix. If X is healthy but no desktop appears, the session startup (display manager or user session) is likely failing — check the display manager logs and the user session error file for the process that dies. Booting a live CD/USB with a working GUI will quickly show whether the issue is hardware/driver related or a local configuration problem.

Notes and cautions: back up any X/session configuration files before editing; avoid running GUI tools as an untested root action. , and pointed at config, runlevel and a missing window manager — combine those checks with the log-driven troubleshooting above for the fastest path to a working GUI.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for John A

You might want to try logging in as root and editing your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and double-check that all the display settings are correct: # nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Member Avatar for Belrog

You can run the 'drakx' command from the command line. If it is not installed, you can run 'urpmi draktools' I think.

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

check /etc/inittab for the default runlevel. it should be 5.

startx starts the gui, unless there is a real problem

Member Avatar for TheNNS

after you check the xorg.conf file, you can try run

startx

as root. This automatically starts the desktop environment.

Member Avatar for blud

Based on your description in the first post, your already in 'X', and you are having to revert to the terminal mode to be able to do anything. It sounds like you have X installed, but no window manager running in it. You may want to look at something like fluxbox, kde, or gnome to use for window management.

Member Avatar for sneha sirohi

i have installed everything properly.i have dual boot when i start linux it shows blank screen with a question mark moving on the screen and if i press ctrl+alt+f1,it reaches to bash or terminal where i can write any i type startx after that also i am getting blank screen with a question mark.

Member Avatar for blud

Have you installed a Window Manager or Desktop Manager to run when x starts? What is in your xinit file?

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