How to stop KDE from starting at boot time?

[lothario]

With the HD install done, I don't want KDE (or any other window manager) to start at boot time.
I just want the console. Or rather the virtual terminals at boot time.

I want to start KDE only when I need it.

How can this be done?

[user unknown]

Welcome!
That's right!
That's linux!

And here's the howto:
edit /etc/inittab
change

id:5:initdefault:

to

id:3:initdefault:

(close to the top).

The inittab controls the very first processes, run by the system.
By convention, runlevel 3 is for multiuser + networking, and runlevel 5 for X11.

[lothario]

Besides KDE, will this stop anything else from running?

[user unknown]

No.
Look at my post close to this http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12672 (how to make sshd start on boot).

If you look at the differences between rc3.d and rc5.d, you will know exactly what will not start in runlevel 3.
A correctly done installation will only start (additional to rc3.d) X11-related stuff in rc5.d.

[j.drake]

I think you can type "knoppix 2" (without quotes) at the boot prompt to get run level 2, which, as I understand it, will keep you in the console.

jd

[user unknown]

That's right - it will put you to runlevel 2, which is probably not intended, since it lacks networking.
For networking, you use 3.

[lothario]

With the hard disk installation, I do not see the boot: prompt anymore.
At the beginning, all I see is the Debian logo with 3 options:
Linux
Linux(2.4)-1
Linux(2.6-2


And the "Linux" option is the default.
How do I get to the boot: prompt?

[j.drake]

My apologies. I compeletly missed that this was the Hdd install forum.

[user unknown]

I use a text-menu, where I see

linux-2.6.7
linux-2.4

When I move the curser, the corresponding entry is shown below the menu too.
After choosing the 2.6.7 (which is default although) I simply hit the '3' key, which makes the below-the-menu-entry

linux-2.6.7 3

I don't use a graphic boot-screen, but would expect the same functionality in a similar way there.

If you don't have them, you may switch to a textmenu-lilo, or make two alternative boot-options with lilo.

linux-2.6.7-X11
linux-2.6.7-console
linux-2.4

and use append="3" for console, append="5" for the -X11 - entry.

[lothario]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

append="3" for console
append="5" for the -X11

Did the job.