text: Q:
  
  Any way to access command line when desktop freezes?
  
  Occasionally Ubuntu 12.04 64-bit on my Panasonic CF-51 laptop will freeze up. The mouse cursor can still be moved, but I cannot access anything and no shortcut keys seem to work. Is there any way to access the terminal when this happens?
  
  A:
  
  You may be able to access the command line only interface by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F1 and then typing your short username (it has no spaces, is all lowercase) and password to login. Then you have a full screen terminal that is not dependent on the GUI.
  You may be able to restart the graphical interface by pressing Alt + Sysrq + R and then Alt + Sysrq + K. Be forewarned though that will log out any graphical sessions so you will loose any unsaved work in the GUI, etc.
  
  