I could enter ctrl+alt+F1, but when I got there it was just ouputting lines
and lines and lines of text
Those lines are errors that must have been written in /var/log/syslog. They
may be informative. On the contrary, reinstalling at every problem does not
teach you anything and the same problem occurs.
Trisquel's default desktop includes "GNOME System Log" to read/search the
logs. Trisquel Mini probably has nothing alike. However, you can use any
text editor (I believe Leafpad is Trisquel Mini's default) to "open"
/var/log/syslog.
By the way, the first text session being unusable, you could have switched to
the second text session with Alt+F2 (once you are in another text session,
Ctrl+Alt+F2 from the graphical session).
You seem to have many obscure problems. I wonder if your hardware is
defective. If I were you I would install "memtests86+" (in Trisquel's
repository) and let it test you RAM during one full night. Memtest86+ is run
from the menu of GRUB, the bootloader, that lists the installed operating
system. If its blue screen turns red, your RAM is defective.
You can self-test your hard drives with SMART too. The regular edition of
Trisquel has "Disks" in its "System Settings". I do not think Trisquel Mini
has anything alike. As a consequence, you would either need to install
"gnome-disk-utility" (in Trisquel's repository) or to run the tests from a
terminal. But start with the RAM.
