So I decided to have a go at Debian (on a VM) everything went smoothly, pretty fun playing around with it and a nice change from Slackware.

I did notice one thing though, I never really got a choice on what startup to use, so I am assuming it is utilising systemd. I guess maybe there is no choice? Although I thought the devs would allow you to choose the classic startup or systemd after install... Or I am totally clueless and missed it somewhere? --Probably the latter though I checked all options and even tried expert install...

I have never seen any system ever give a choice, either it was made with InitV or SystemD, though the skeletal structure of both systems will be in place on the filesystem, at least whenever I look at it. Though due to the complexity how how both system operate, I can imagine it being too problematic to try to release a choice between both variants. That alone could imaginably double the man hours of pre-release testing, simply that it would not be a good logistical choice.

Nope, no choice, you get what you get there. Lots of other choices, but not that one. Debian voted for systemd, and it's what comes with it. It's possible, if you have the knowledge, to remove systemd, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. It's not to me, but it's your computer. There have been many discussions of systemd, Debian, and Linux in general here, and Google will tell you how to get rid of it if you really want to.

If you run these commands:
You will find entries in the "Advanced Options" section of the GRUB menu to boot the system using SysVinit rather than systemd.

This command will tell you which init system you are using:
To switch to SysVinit permanently, use this command:
https://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebi...9_on_Jessie.3F

3 members found this post helpful.

This rides the fine line of two questions:

1) Can it be done?
2) Should it be done?

I just tend to be very weary of giving suggestions that could potentially be very hazardous should any reader happen to stumble upon this question while working on a business production server. If anything goes wrong and any form of tech support is ever needed, their reply would automatically be "Format and Reinstall".

1) Yes, it is an option that has been provided by the Debian developers to allow users upgrading from Debian wheezy to carry on with SysVinit.
2) If the OP doesn't want to use systemd or wants to try SysVinit, yes.

The first two commands just add extra entries to the GRUB menu, nothing else.

The last command switches the system away from systemd but keeps systemd and all libraries on the machine so should maintain compatibility with all the software in the repositories.

I say again: this is an option provided *by the Debian developers* -- read the link I posted.

EDIT: Posted from my Debian sid box whilst running SysVinit

2 members found this post helpful.

Thats perfect! Though still disappointing that I did not get any sort of prompt, but details details. I don't have too much experience with SysV, (BSD style only, from Slackware) but I really have no interest in systemd.

I found this:

But obviously I was doing a fresh install, so does not apply. Again, no biggie if I can do just a few simple commands and not have to do anything too major, its all good .

This will tide me over until Devuan comes out and then I can play with that as well .

Success! , Sorta


However this kinda confused me:

Its as if I can't verify if I really am running sysv, even though I chose it in grub. Oddly enough I also encountered the same error before using apt-get to install sysv base. Maybe Debian is just being weird because of Virtualbox? I dunno, I don't see why but I can't think of what I did wrong, though it 'seemed' to have worked, but can't really verify it.

You have used:
You should have used:
It should be the number "one" rather than the letter "l"

EDIT: In a machine using systemd as PID1, this will be the output:
For SysVinit, it will say "init" (see my post above)

AAH, curse the font! LOL! 1 and l got me confused , derp!

--edit

So I don't really see any noticeable difference in boot time, between sysV and systemd. To be fair it is a fresh install with no real changes... *shrug*

+1

I recently removed systemd and installed sysvinit for Debian jessie. You only really need to install sysvinit and it uses it. If you remove systemd it removes a lot of packages with it. I wouldn't suggest removing it unless you know how to install packages without a network.

Being that I have no real experience with Debian I think just being able to switch to sysV is sufficient, and since most packages now require systemd as a dependency rather than risk screwing things up, I'll just leave it installed, since it won't really hurt anything if its just there. If I want a pure Debian without systemd I can wait for Devuan .

i
YOu will however notice the shutdown time happens in seconds.

Worked perfectly for me:

Cheers Head_on_a_Stick, been wondering the best way to do this for a while.