Kubuntu 16.04 GUI not working, goes straight to terminal login

Question

I recently updated to Kubuntu version 16.04 from version 14.04 after getting the upgrade notification. It successfully downloaded and installed, but after rebooting the system, it went straight to a terminal login screen. Even after successfully logging in, the GUI doesn't auto-load.

Solution 1

While you're on terminal after boot, install sddm.

sudo apt-get install sddm

This will install the required display manager for KDE and you'll be presented with graphical login after reboot.

Solution 2

A bit late to give a working solution but I had the same issue. I'm in the progess of going 14.04 -> 16.04 -> 18.04. (Seems like that last update only becomes available when 18.04.1 is released.) I was able to fix it by running:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure sddm

This command didn't show any output though.

Found it here: https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showthread.php/70629-Kubuntu-16-04-does-not-start-up-to-GUI

Comments

[Zanna]

can you get the GUI to start by pressing ctrl+alt+F7? Or by typing the command startx?

[Tornado118]

I tried ctrl+alt+F7 first and that just sent me to a black screen, but the startx command did launch the GUI after I logged in on the terminal. Thank you for the help!

[Zanna]

Do you have to do that every time, or do you get a normal GUI login screen now?

[Anwar]

@Tornado118 have you tried the answer given?

[Tornado118]

I apologize for being so long in getting back. Yes Zanna, I have to type it every time I restart the system.

[Tornado118]

thank you for your reply; although I can't confirm whether or not this fixes the issue for me due to the fact that I reverted back to windows on the pc I was having this issue on, and got myself a new laptop on which I'm currently running Ubuntu 18.04. Thank you for the reply nontheless!