Ubuntu 12.04 updates make Ubuntu installation inaccessible

I have had Ubuntu 12.04 installed on my Dell laptop for almost two years now. I then discovered that I was behind on updates so I downloaded the updates and allowed them to reinstall. Normally, when I book Linux, it launches the GUI and then asks for the password. Now, after the updates, however; the GUI doesn't even launch. Instead, I am asked for a user name and a password and when I enter them, instead of launching the GUI, I just get a command line system prompt. The only way I can launch Ubuntu now is to select from the GRUB menu "Previous Linux Versions" and then select the previous version I was using.

Is it possible to correct this so that the GUI is launched like it did before, or is there a way to revert back to the previous version of Ubuntu that worked?

This is a shot in the dark about the possible source of your problem, but did you install a "hardware upgrade" using the Update Manager (a selectable line near the top of the UM window if the hardware upgrade is offered)?

A friend of mine, who is running 12.04, did this recently and found his GUI messed up afterwards, although he did boot into the GUI instead of stopping at the command line as you did.

What happened to him was that the UM installed a new graphics driver in place of the one he had running before the upgrade. To fix his problem, he went to System Settings/Hardware/Display Drivers and re-installed his original driver. This restored his display.

Originally Posted by sdtrott I have had Ubuntu 12.04 installed on my Dell laptop for almost two years now. I then discovered that I was behind on updates so I downloaded the updates and allowed them to reinstall. Normally, when I book Linux, it launches the GUI and then asks for the password. Now, after the updates, however; the GUI doesn't even launch. Instead, I am asked for a user name and a password and when I enter them, instead of launching the GUI, I just get a command line system prompt. The only way I can launch Ubuntu now is to select from the GRUB menu "Previous Linux Versions" and then select the previous version I was using. Is it possible to correct this so that the GUI is launched like it did before, or is there a way to revert back to the previous version of Ubuntu that worked?

Hi sdtrott; maybe you instead of update you upgraded and maybe your machine can't handle the upgrade due hard ware short on resources,i myself have an old Sony Intel 1.5MHZ M 1GB and every time i open the update applet on top it suggest that is an upgrade available,but i never click on that besides my old Sony is no PAE it will not upgrade,maybe yours is PAE compatible but low on Hardware resources

When I boot the computer and the list of operating systems comes up, if I let it default to the supposedly upgraded version, it ends up at a command line prompt. However, if I catch it on time during startup, and select Previous Linux versions and then select the previous version of Linux 3.2.0-55-generic, the laptop boots. Is it possible to run a command from the command prompt in the supposedly upgraded version to get the operating system to launch? Or, is there a way to remove the supposedly upgraded version so that the laptop launches in the version 3.2.0-55-generic that actually works?