Tried it all ways mentioned above to no avail...seems no way to get this graphics system back. I was able to get smxi to do a graphics install by chrooting in per aus9 but nothing changed. sgfxi -! 6 hung due to the wrong kernel being run. I'm burning out on the process and need to get a working desktop back for some work I need to be doing.

@techadmin: I was planning to run a debian net-install late tonight but it sounds like that is a non-starter as well if, as you say, the runlevel 2 problem started there. What would you suggest for a clean start?
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Grub-legacy is still available in Wheezy and Sid. I'm using gfxboot in a wheezy install. I don't see what is better in grub2 and it's more difficult to administer and customise

First thing I do in any new Debian install, is change default runlevel to 5, doesn't make sense to me to be unable to boot without X
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wh7qq, actually what I said was that I have only seen lmde users with this problem.

One easy test would be to simply do a business card or net install of testing, and see if it happens again.

I just asked damentz, he said he did a test lmde install with nvidia and sgfxi worked fine.

Here's how you do it:

install, including whatever desktop you want.

Don't install any non free driver. Run smxi to change the runlevel for gui start at 3

Then drop to 2 and install nvidia with sgfxi, reboot, then do the actual install, as per sgfxi instructions. I don't really see how that can fail at that point.

dzz, agreed, why would you not do that? I don't at all understand why debian made this choice, for debian I just leave it all starting in 2 except kdm/gdm, and set that to 3, or 5, makes no real difference, you only really use 1, which is recovery/single user mode, with fewer services etc running, not good to do any complicated work in, 2, everything but x/desktop running as usual, and 3, or 5, desktop.

I can see simply no downsides to doing it this way, and only upsides, so i really cannot understand why Debian didn't do it this way, redhat did, I think most of the originals did, I don't see the point.

Just trying to talk regular users through this is hard enough, and if you don't even have a working init 2, it's almost impossible in my opinion.
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I burned much midnight oil last night doing a net-install so I'll be working it for a bit. I need to do some on-line jobs, taxes and such so for now I have a stable platform for that. Thanks to techadmin et.al. for the help
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Back to try it again with some changes. I did a fresh install of salineOS which is pretty much plain vanilla Squeeze. I then set up sources.list for a switch to testing and upgraded via smxi. All went well. Then I upgraded that with the latest liquorix kernel which went well and finally got my "suspend" function back (doesn't work in squeeze or salineOS out of the box).

Next I will do the nvidia driver install. I will try to follow the instructions as above but I have some confusion about the specifics:
So first, I change default runlevel with smxi to 3.
Next change to runlevel 2 and install nvidia with sgfxi.
Then reboot, then do the actual install, as per sgfxi instructions...here's my confusion...is this a repeat install per sgfxi? sorry I' so dense.
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NO! you change your runlevel to 3, period.

Then you BOOT INTO runlevel 2 to install nvidia.

Or, alternately, you start a terminal session as root and type in: init 2
and hit enter.

Or, alternately, at grub boot screen, you append '2', the number only, after the kernel boot options, then boot, following the directions in grub if you use grub 2 or no graphics mode grub.

The runlevel to 3 is in case something goes wrong and you need to fix stuff without x running, in 2.

And you don't need to go to runlevel 2 to install nvidia, you need to go to the terminal, ctrl alt f1, or login to terminal directly, however.

This is to fix a bad default in debian, that's all, and it is to allow you to save a broken xorg or nvidia install in runlevel 2, which does not have xorg starting.

Got it? The only reason any of this is needed is because Debian decided to use some weird defaults for xorg start, 2, like everything else, Most other systems had used something like 3 5, but since objectively nothing is gained by using 3 instead of 2 for console only login/start, I suggest using 2-3 instead, 2 for regular user login console, 3 for xorg/desktop start.

In a better world I would NEVER have to write this, because this should be a default that users don't even realize exists until they need it, then it would be there, ready to save them.
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Thanks for drawing me the picture...sorry to put you to it. I'll be getting to it shortly and see how it all goes. Thanks again...for the help and especially for smxi, etc.
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YES!!! It all worked a charm. Nouveau did want to stick so had to re-run sgfxi again but then it started up in x like a good child and everything is happy. I'm thinking this discussion should be renamed as "Debian Squeeze Nvidia problems" so that it will show up in more searches.
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