finally after weeks of trying to resolve XFree problem...i have it fully functioning ..(i think)

anyway.....i have a few questions....

first.....i set the runlevel to 3...but i come up in the Debian screen asking for username and password.....when i give it i go directly into gnome.....i want to boot directly into text mode and not into X......then when i am ready...i can type startx to open GNOME...

second.....i want to reconfigure my network......i use the default to setup using DHCP but i want to switch to static IP for each box on the network....i cannot seem to find the configuration script to accomplish this......

and finally......can apt-get secure any program in the repository that already is not on my machine...

it took a while to get it going...but i am thrilled....no more rpm madness...lol

The runlevels 2-5 are identical in Debian if you have installed a display manager it will be used unless you remove the link to start it in this case you want the link (S99gdm or S99xdm depending on which you use) in /etc/rc3.d/ directory or you can apt-get --purge remove the display manager you use then it will not be started.

You need to edit the file /etc/network/interfaces and put your settings in the file then once you have saved it /etc/init.d/networking restart to restart the network with the new settings. You put your nameservers (DNS) in the file /etc/resolv.conf.

Not sure exactly what you mean here but if you mean install then yes depending upon if the package is in the archive(s) you have listed in your /etc/apt/sources.list.

yes this will work but other distros all i have to do is change from init 5 to init 4 and X does not load....even with removal of GDM or XDM portions of X still load...