X and Text Consoles

A "common" piece of Linux knowledge is how to use the text consoles and X and how to switch between them. This is so common that it's not written down a lot and it may not be quite as intuitive as we'd like. The purpose of this document is to introduce people using the text consoles and X.

There's a text login screen and not the usual X display. How do I get the X display back.

On the systems in the ISRL, try hitting Alt-F7. If this doesn't work, read on...

I've heard that Linux has "virtual consoles". What is a virtual console?

A virtual console is nothing more than a text login screen. What makes multi-user systems (like Linux and others) nice is the ability to have many seperate "consoles" into which one may log in. Older systems use to have the system console into which one would log in. The ability to have more than one has lead them to be referred to as "virtual consoles".

How do I switch to other virtual consoles?

There are a couple ways. You can get to virtual console 1 from another text console by hitting Alt-F1. To get to virtual console 2, you hit Alt-F2. The pattern continues like this.

One can also switch to the next console by hitting Alt-<right arrow> and to the previous one by hitting Alt-<left arrow>.

I tried to hit Alt-F7 to get back to X, but it didn't work. Now what?

X-Windows on the ISRL systems tends to be run automatically from virtual console 7, but it need not be. The way to find the console on which it was run is fairly simple. Hit Alt-F1 to go to the first virtual console and hit Alt-< > and cycle through the consoles. Eventually you will find the one from which X was launched.

How do I get to the text console from X?

To get from X to the first virtual console, you should hit Ctrl-Alt-F1.