Need to Access TTY

Specs:
RHL Enterprise Linux Developer Workstation edition (the evaluation version)

I am having the hardest problem access the TTY. The normal keyboard command I use to access it (ctrl + alt +F(1-7)) bring me to a black screen with nothing on it. F1 takes me back to the GUI.

Steps I have taken:
- I have reinstalled the operating system in multiple configurations
- I edited the Grub files in different configurations
- I logged into the GUI and used the init 3 command
- I tried updating the system via yum and also via the GUI with or without updates it doesn't work
- I removed the GUIs and it just booted to a black screen
- I installed without the GUIs and it just booted to a black screen
- Tried the recovery option on the disk and I got a screen with penguins that stayed like that for 30 minutes