Enable/Disable GUI on bootup

[Ian Malone]

Tim Alberts wrote:
> Paul Howarth wrote ..
> 
>> In the file /etc/inittab you have a line:
>> 
>> id:5:initdefault:
>> 
>> Change the 5 to a 3 to disable the GUI startup.
>> 
>> To switch between runlevels 5 and 3 without rebooting (which is
>> what you are trying to do), use "telinit 3" to go to runlevel 3 (no
>> GUI), and "telinit 5" to go to runlevel 5 (GUI).
>> 
> 
> 
> That's really what I was looking for '/etc/inittabl' ->
> id:3:initdefault:
> 
> I was previously under the impression that switching from run level
> 5-3 I might loose some server apps such as MySQL or other.
> Apparently the only thing that is in run level 5 'should be' GUI and
> X Windows then, correct?
> 
> Are there dangers with using the telinit command?  I have vague
> memories of reading an article that says this is a 'lower level
> command' and it is used as more of a last resort?  I'm wondering if
> what another suggestion of 'run init 3' is the preferred command?
> 

'run'?

telinit can change levels to:
0 shutdown
1 single user mode (i.e. root only)
2 multiuser, w/o networking
3 multiuser
5 XWindows
6 restart

For 0 and 6, the shutdown command is sometimes preferred (or using
a gui on a single user machine), since it does handy things like
send warning messages to users and allow you to set a delay.  Maybe
that's what you read?  The other one is that 'init' will start a run-
level without shutting down services for the current one, which can
cause complications, whereas 'telinit' is intended to change run-
levels.

-- 
imalone