I'm customizing Slax-Frodo to be used as a WinXP system recovery tool -- basically I want to install it on a partition and have it automatically launch partimage so I can back up/restore my NTFS partition. Therefore, I want to boot into single-user mode so I don't need to bother logging in as root. Unfortunately, changing the default runlevel to 1 and specifying "single" in the kernel parameters in GRUB doesn't work. The system boots, goes single-user, and at the end brings up a login prompt and hangs. I can't type anything into the terminal, not even a Ctrl+Alt+Del.

Now, I only have a USB keyboard, so could the fact that going single-user kills all processes make it seem like the machine has hung? And why is it bringing up a login prompt -- I thought that single-user mode was supposed to immediately dump me at a root shell?

It is possible to password protect your single user mode -- check your /etc/inittab (I think it's one of the options in there). Also check that the necessary kernel modules to handle your USB keyboards are being loaded -- sounds like they aren't.

Well, I tried adding the call to /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug to /etc/rc.d/rc.K, right before the call to "telinit -t 1 1". I got a whole host of "Operation not permitted" errors, and it hung at the login screen again.

I still don't understand how runlevel 1 works. Why would /etc/rc.d/rc.K need to call telinit to change the runlevel to 1 if rc.K is called in response to the runlevel changing to 1? Or does the runlevel change to S, which I've seen all over the Internet? If so then why is rc.K set to respond to a change to runlevel 1 in /etc/inittab? SO CONFUSING.