switch users --> black screen, no response [in 12.04]

[rikona]

Hello rikona,

Thursday, May 16, 2013, 11:54:14 AM, rikona wrote:

> This has happened a few times: switching users gives me a black
> screen, no response to anything, keys or mouse. alc-ctl f(whatever)
> does nothing. Assuming that it actually is switching, entering the
> password also gives nothing. So far, in past occurrences, I have not
> found a way to recover except pull the plug.

> But - this time I have a couple of USB drives attached and have been
> copying files to/from these disks, so a final sync may not have been
> done. A power-off shutdown might damage the backup disks, which would
> be a serious problem.

> My primary concern now is saving the USB disks. I can confirm that the
> box is still running - a Win2k box on the net can see and access
> files, so it's not a complete crash.

> What can I do to preserve the USB's and/or restore the box to
> operational status?

> If there is no way, is there a way to repair the damaged USB disks,
> short of another full recovery process?

Aaaaarrrrrgggggg - the disks were laying on the floor, and I
accidently hooked my toe on the power cord and pulled it out!

So, I accidently did a test to see if might survive. Good news is
that they did. Whew! So that worry is gone, but I'd still like to know
how to recover from the blank screen when switching users, which I do
often.

Maybe I should just back up the d at mn box every time before switching.
[He says in a grumbly, bad-mood way...] Why do problems seem to come
in bunches?

-- 

 rikona