I recently installed Ubuntu server 18.04 and decided to try the Mate Desktop. After a few weeks, I decided it wasn't for me, and uninstalled it with "sudo apt-get remove mate-desktop".
Upon rebooting, the Mate desktop login screen appeared. Not the command line I was hoping for. When I log in, I get a desktop with Plank, Desktop, and Clock showing at the bottom. Nothing else. Ctrl-Alt-T doesn't work, in fact no shortcut key combos work. I can't seem to do anything except log in and shut down with Ctrl-Alt-Del.
I tried bringing up Grub by holding shift while rebooting, and that did not work either. I can enter the bios at startup, which means I could boot from a USB stick probably if needed.
I really don't want to wipe everything and start from scratch. Hoping someone here has a suggestion that will at least get me to terminal so I can do something.