"sudo service lightdm stop" will go into a blank screen

Solution 1:

Just press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, run the command(s) below:

If you are using GNOME:

sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm stop

to start again:

sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm start

If you are using GNOME:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

to start again:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

If you are using kde:

sudo /etc/init.d/kdm stop

to start again:

sudo /etc/init.d/kdm start

Once you stop X, you need to get to virtual terminal. In Ubuntu its Ctrl+Alt+F1 - F7, to login, and gain access to the system.

Solution 2:

Here is another not so elegant solution that worked for me, I had same problem (still don't know why..): Just start up an ssh server before you kill the X server and do the driver install remotely from another machine.

Solution 3:

Try pushing Ctrl+Alt+F1 (or whatever the Mac has) and login to install your drivers