I was trying to install Ubuntu Server 6.10 (Edgy) in a virtual machine and as noted earlier in one of the posts, Ubuntu server does not install the desktop component (ubuntu-desktop) by default. You have to install it separately (a download of around 1.5 Gb) if you want it.

I tried to install it on the VM from my previous knowledge by running the following command.

mukul@usrvr:~$ sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

Ubuntu downloads the desktop component and configures it. While configuring, it asked me for the screen resolution to use. I happily gave it the resolution that my monitor support 1400x1050. Ubuntu was taking a long time to complete the configuration so I thought maybe the VM was not able to support the resolution and panicked and shutdown Ubuntu abnormally by closing the VM. When I next tried to restarted Ubuntu, it completed loading around 85% and then hung there. I tried a couple of times to reboot unsuccessfully. By now I had realised that I had totally messed up the desktop installation and was thinking about removing it and reinstalling it. Command to do it:

mukul@usrvr:~$ sudo apt-get remove ubuntu-desktop

While booting, Ubuntu provides a way to go into boot menu just like any other operating system and in the menu it provides an option to boot into recovery mode. The recovery mode is nothing but the "Safe mode" that we are all very much familiar in the Windows world. The recovery mode essentially provided me with root access to the file system without asking for the login prompt. Once I was at the bash prompt, I entered the command mentioned above to remove the desktop and it gave me a very helpful message saying that dpkg was aborted during configure and to fix it Ubuntu gave me the command to run.

mukul@usrvr:~$ sudo dpkg --configure -a

Once I ran the command above, it started running the configuration of the desktop from where it had left and completed the installation without further troubles.