switch to minimal mode
 

(using Debian_testing_amd64, lxde) I need to free as much RAM as possible. I've tried:
'sudo init 1'
but mountpoints are then lost.
I also tried adding 'text' to 'ro quiet' in grub2, but that does nothing.

is there some simple way to boot to text only?
thanks

http://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=sysv-rc-conf


Use the tool in the link above ( command line tool) then edit /etc/initab file to set your default run level (or just edit the default to how you like).

If you want to free some memory space then what's the point of going into runlevel 1?
You should stop some of the unnecessary services which are of no use running at runlevel 5. That would help in free up some space.
And using "free -m" command you can check the free memory size.

thanks, but 'init 1' seems to be perfect as it shuts down all but essential stuff. I've managed to restart mount points in it. the only other problem is that tty2 and others do not work.

Ok, at first to all posters here suggesting to change the runlevel. Debian uses only the runlevels 1 and 2, runlevels 3-5 are the same as 2. But basically jv2112's idea is the right one. Use sysv-rc-conf to create a custom runlevel 3 with all the services you need and disbling all services you don't want to run. Then you can just change to runlevel 3 if you need, no need to go to single user and then re-mount everything.