Did all this happen because I switched monitors? Or because I did all my setup over ssh?
Otherwise, this is an FYI for other newbies who get confused by this like I did.
Yesterday I set up a new centos 7 install, did updates, made all the config tweaks I like to make, and rebooted at the end to see if it would start up properly. No problem. (I logged in as the single user to see if it worked but did *nothing* as that user and did the rest of my work over the network via ssh.)
This morning I shut it down and moved to a different location with a *different monitor.* During boot, it stopped with the following on the screen:
After [ OK ] Started D-Bus System Message Bus. ==================================================== ==================================================== Initial setup of CentOS 7 (Core)
1) [!] License information (License not accepted) Please make your choice from above ['q' to quit | 'c' to continue | 'r' to refresh]:
My caffeine-deprived response was to try q, c, and r, none of which got me unstuck. Forced to actually use my brain, I typed 1. More confusing text appeared, and I finally understood that in order to accept the license I must type 2. Then I had to type 1 again for some reason.
Then my machine booted.
It is probably apparent that I wouldn't have all this text to email you if the process had been as smooth as described. I have elided a certain amount of cursing and hair-pulling as unnecessary and embarrassing detail. I am curious as to the cause of the timing of this interruption.
An attempt at a helpful suggestion: I am assuming that in some other circumstance, I might have more than one problem presented to me to deal with at the same time using this interface. I should think that the prompt should read like this: Please choose the number of the item above that you wish to try to fix, 'q' to quit and shut down, 'c' to continue booting, or 'r' if you are unable to read this text (or wish to petition the gods for mercy).
cheers, Dave