I found that when running Ubuntu 18.04 headless, I was presented with a black screen. This occurred with VNV and Teamviewer.
Untested Solution - One post stated that you could simply add a VGA adapter/dongle to the video output and it would "trick" the device into thinking a monitor was installed and start up the video/GUI. I opted for the solution below and it worked beautifully.
Tried, Tested & Validated Solution (at least on my device)
Install Video Dummy Package
- SSH into the system
- If you didn't get sshd setup already, then hook up a monitor and get it setup. Could just do the fix while connected direct or remote using CLI.
- Install xserver-xorg-video-dummy
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-dummy
Create Default X Windows Configuration File
- Create / Edit xorg.conf file
- Rename the file if already exists for backup
- Note: I did not have this file and thus just created it.
sudo vi /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/xorg.conf
- Add the following content to the file
- Set the resolution to what you like (whatever resolution the screen is that is used to connect remotely is probably is a good idea)
- I found the resolution 1920x1080 to be adequate...but that's just me.
Section "Device" Identifier "Configured Video Device" Driver "dummy" EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "Configured Monitor" HorizSync 31.5-48.5 VertRefresh 50-70 EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "Default Screen" Monitor "Configured Monitor" Device "Configured Video Device" DefaultDepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Modes "1920x1080" EndSubSection EndSection
- Save the file