Re: no graphical x session needed

[dsavage@peaknet.net]

On Sat, 2005-03-05 at 08:49 -0600, bntly_rhds wrote:
> i'm trying to install my nvidia driver and it won't let me do so from a
> command prompt in X, and it won't let me in a failsafe mode either (as
> root in either case).  is there a way i can get into a command prompt
> only during boot up?  like by pushing F8 or something?
>
Bentley,

Of course there is (but you already KNEW that Linux has more options than
you can count, right?).

The moment you see the grub boot menu appear on your screen, hit the space
bar. That will pause the bootup process.

Select the kernel you want and hit Enter. Then arrow down to the
"kernel..." line and press the E key for Edit. Arrow over to the end of
that line and append a " 3" (that's a space and the numeral 3, without the
quotes) to the end of that line. Press Enter to leave Edit mode, then B to
boot that modified entry.

The 3 corresponds to runlevel 3, which is your text-only non-X mode with
full networking. You'll see a text logon prompt at the upper left hand
corner of the screen. For what you're trying to do, you could also use
runlevel 1 (append a " 1" instead of " 3"). That's single-user
yer-already-root no-networking mode, sometimes known as "maintenance
mode".

Incidentally, runlevel 3is exactly where you would end up if you typed
"init 3" as root from a bash prompt in Gnome-terminal when your X system
is working. Runlevels are set by running "telinit N" or "init N" at a
command prompt. Those commands initiate the sequence of scripts found in
/etc/rcN.d which start (Snnxxxxx) or kill (Knnxxxxxx) process and service
scripts in an "nn" ascending numeric order. Check the directory in
/etc/rc3.d and you'll see dozens of these Start/Kill scripts. They're
linked to masters in the /etc/init.d directory. For a complete description
of runlevels, type 'man init'.

-- Doc
Robert G. (Doc) Savage, BSE(EE), CISSP, RHCE | Fairview Heights, IL
Fedora Core 3 kernel 2.6.10-1.766_FC3 on a P-III/M IBM Thinkpad A22p
"Perfection is the enemy of good enough."
                         -- Admiral of the Fleet Sergei G. Gorshkov

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