I prefer logging in through the console. How do I turn off the graphical login that is default in Debain 3.x (sarge)? Thank you!

Edit /etc/inittab and change the following:

# The default runlevel.
id:5:initdefault:

to:

# The default runlevel.
id:3:initdefault:

The default debian runlevel is 2. I remember a time when the default was 3 for X and 2 for console, but having just had a quick look through /etc/rcN.d, X is started in all of them except 0,1 (single user mode) and 6 (shutdown) - obviously.

The Debian-ish way to change what init scripts are run is to use the tools that Debian provides. To remove the X start-up from all run levels do this:

# update-rc.d xdm remove

To put everything back to its default do this:

# update-rc.d xdm defaults

To stop xdm running in, say run-level 2 do something like this:

# update-rc.d xdm stop 99 2

If you're then in a runlevel where X isn't working and you would like do it to temporarily. Do this:

# invoke-rc.d xdm start

Thank you!

Thanks for the Debian way tips.

I might be missing the point but:

Why is this so complicated in Debian. Today I ran into this issue myself. I wanted to do something while I was sure that X was not running. Not a ctrl-alt-F1 to get TTY1 or so. It simply is IMPOSSIBLE in Debian to quit X!

Telinit 3 doesn't do anything (or at least it does not shut down X), kill X doesn't work, it respawns immediately, kill kdm doesn't work, /etc/init.d/kdm doesn't work, and editing inittab doesn't work either. Debian does not respond to the latter because it starts in level 2 anyway and then does some magic in rcS.d and rcN.d to get to level 5 and start X.

Weird. I though it was Linux *POLICY* to be able to switch to text mode/runlevel without a hassle. Preventing this or requiring altering rc-something and reboot looks like Windows policy!

Can someone explain the benefits of this?

Otherwise Debian is a great distro, I run 3 workstations, 4 servers, a process controller and a laptop on Debian.

jlinkels

what about:

/etc/init.d/kdm stop

?

That is what I said. I used "stop".

I agree that it is more complicated than need be.....................Granted, I cut my Linux teeth on Slackware, which uses the simpler BSD style startup scripts instead of the more complicated Sys-V startup..........I like simple....

However, jlinkels, you should be able to kill the xserver by using it's "three-finger salute", which is Ctrl+Alt+Backspace.......

And the benefits of the Sys-V style, I'm still trying to find any.........
<EDIT> I also don't like the Debian way of populating ALL the rc?.d directories with links by all the daemon packages...........It doesn't allow for any fine-grained control of the startup routine.....
</EDIT>

FYI - As for the traditional runlevels, 2 was for running in text mode without any networking, 3 was for text mode _with_ networking, and 5 was for the gui mode............I forgot where I read this bit of trivia from.....

I know the "three finger salute" (reminds me of...), but X restarts immediately. Same as with killing X from TTY1. It respawns. (reminds me of...)

Contrary to you, I do like the rcN.d mechanism of Debian. I grew up with RH, but I found it easy to adapt to Debian, and even straightforward.

However, what bugs me, is that this behavior is not really in line with that mechanism. If it were, you would be able to switch to level 3, and X would be killed by those famous scripts. It makes me feel like I am not fully in control of my computer anymore. (reminds me of...)

If you do not install X-windows-system, Debian starts up in level 3, no problem.

jlinkels

But /etc/init.d/gdm stop is working fine with me. X Server stops properly without any complains.

even, init 1 also stops X properly. By putting S* and K* scripts in proper directories, this thing can be done.

I had the same problem. All I did was "apt-get remove gdm". When I rebooted, It went to the console rather than the graphical interface. If I want to go to the graphical interface (gnome in my case), I just type "start x". When I logout, it takes me back to the console. Now it works just like I want it to.

Tons of Fun