Quick Mandrake/Linux question.

[Shadow07]

I just got a box running with Mandrake Linux 8.1. The install happens to be within a VMWare Virtual Machine. Now, their installation steps to install the VMware Tools says to install the tools from the command line, and not a shell within the X interface. I've already went into Mandrake Control Center and removed the option to start the X-Server, but the X-Desktop keeps starting.

I don't know much about Linux (and I'm trying!), but I need to know how to stop X from starting so that I can install the VMware Tools. Now, the version of X I'm running is 4.0.3 (or a version of 4). I'm also running the KDE interface. This happens to have the 2.4.8 kernel on it.

If you need any further info, please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[avx]

try this

when it comes up hold down ALT and tap F2... this should help

 

[Shadow07]

Thanks for replying. Let me ask you this: What will this do? What will happen? I'm going to try it, but I just want to know what this will do exactly.

Thanks.

 

[Koeppster]

This will take you to a console. On most Linux installations, you are set up with 6 consoles by default, though you could change it if you wanted. CTRL-ALT-F1 thru F6 are the consoles. Everything is in text mode, there are no pretty graphics.
CTRL-ALT-F7 is reserved for X windows.

If you do CTRL-ALT-F1 you should see a text login prompt. You should log in and run what you need to run.

I would assume that for the purposes of what you're trying to accomplish, you don't necessarily need to prevent X from starting, I think they are just suggesting that you not be in X when you do this stuff. If you actually do want to stop X from starting, you need to edit one line in the file /etc/inittab. I'll hold off on that until I know for sure what it is you want to do.

 

[DaHitman]

All you have to do is change the default runlevel... from 5 (Start with X automatically) to 3 (Start without X)...

Here is how you do that:
1) **Follow the intructions given above to go to a differnent virtual console and login as root**

2) Edit the /etc/inittab file

3) change the line that looks like this:
id:5:initdefault:

to this

id:3:initdefault:

In otherwords... change the 5 to a 3...

The runlevels are all documented in that file...

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are:
# 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 1 - Single user mode
# 2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
# 3 - Full multiuser mode
# 4 - unused
# 5 - X11
# 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
#

 

[Shadow07]

Cool. Thanks.

I just wanted to let you know that when I selected REBOOT, the machine didn't reboot. I just went back to the login screen. From there, I did a reboot, and X didn't load.

But all of the information here is very valuable. Thanks again.