Stopping X windows / dropping to single-user mode

Installing the NVIDIA driver on Linux requires dropping to a command prompt without X windows running in the background.

Switch to root user:

su -
Password:

Stop the window manager:

/etc/init.d/gdm3 stop

After this X windows will stop and a command prompt will be displayed. The option to enter the root password will be given. Enter it and then install the driver as root. To install the driver, do one of the following:

Option 1:

sh ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-346.72.run

Option 2:

chmod 755 NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-346.72.run
./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-346.72.run

When done, start X windows again with:
/etc/init.d/gdm3 start