desktop blank

[jesse c]

after using 12.04 for a few days i downloaded updates and now i have the 'purple' screen with no icons on left side to access system functions.However i do have the AWN dock on bottom but only have Firefox installed. this Firefox has internet access.There is no 'button' to turn off computer so i have to turn off by holding power button.How can i at least get my system back to 'pre-update' function? Remember i cant open the terminal or at least i dont know how to do it from just keyboard.Also checked at start up to see if there was a previous grub to start but it still is 3.18

[Frogs Hair]

If you were using unity and can't get a terminal from AWN try Crtl + Alt +F1 to enter TTY . Enter your user name, password and use the following.
unity --reset wait until the process is complete and re-enter the desktop with Ctrl + Alt + F7 . If an error report is running wait until finished and unity should load shortly after.

[jesse c]

frogs hair: ifollowed your advice and got the terminal and did the reset but after restart it was the same as it was