Hello. I keep on noticing that feature of completely turning off x-server and working on console mode, but I just can't figure out how to do it with Mandrake 9.1. Ctrl+Alt+F# keys do nothing, and when I try using Ctrl+Alt+Backspace the server is restarted but I can't terminate it unless I reboot.

How do I do it?

Ctrl+Alt+F2 should work in mdk 9.1. After you hit the previous keys, login as root and then swich to runlevel 3 by typing: init 3

It should switch to console only and ask you to login again.

Maybe you've got a keyboard problem if the key combination above won't work.

If you go to your control center and in there, there is a section where you can configure X. It can be done there.

Also you canedit your /etc/innitab (I think that is the files name). In it there is a section about runlevel. I believe that in Mandrake it should be runlevel 3 to boot to a command line. When you are in the command line and want to start a GUI, you can type startx. If you want to change window managers make a file named .xinitrc in your home directory and make it look like this.

#!/bin/bash
exec <name of window manager>

I hope I gave you the right file name. I'm not in front of a Linux box right now.

Well, I don't want it to log into console by default, I just wish to be able to leave X server when you need console only mode (e.g. updating graphics card drivers).

Ctrl+Alt+F2 does nothing either by the way, and I don't recall modifying anything as far as the keyboard is concerned.

You may need to change it to log in as cli only if you are trying to update graphics drivers. That's the only thing I can think of to help since your Ctrl+Alt+F2-6 doesn't do anything on your system (that's really strange, by the way). The shortcuts should be Ctrl+Alt+F2-6 to bring you to a new login prompt and Ctrl+Alt+F7-12 to bring you back to the graphical environment.

Is there no way at all to configure the keyboard like that? I just hope it would be fine in the new version...

It should be configured like that by default... I have no clue, honestly, if you can configure those shortcuts in. What happens when you log out of your DE? Does it take you back to KDM? If so, there should be a way to get to a console from there.

I guess if all else failed, you could always reboot and start up in failsafe. That is a rather Windowsy way to go about it, but it would work.

It takes me back to KDM, but I've failed to find a way how to leave the X server completely after started.

ok, at KDM can you press Ctrl+Alt+F2 and change to a console login screen? If you can, do it, log in as root and issue this command: service dm stop

Then do what you have to do and issue: service dm start

Then logout, Ctrl+Alt+F7 to get back to your normal login screen.

I think you just open a console window and then as root do
init 3
This should force the system down to runlevel 3, i.e. no X. I'm never in runlevel 5 b/c I don't use dm, but I know I can kill X and get down to runlevel 1 in this way from inside X.

I've tried using Ctrl+Alt+F2 on the KDM screen, but again nothing happened.

Also I've tried reading the man page for the init command, but they say nothing about the difference between the numbers there.

Can anyone tell me what does it do? I know about 0, 1 and 6 I think, but what about the rest? And how can I determine my current init level?

you can determine the current runlevel with command
runlelvel
If you're using kdm you'll be in runlelvel 5. If you go to runlelvel 3, kdm will be killed.

You can think of different runlelvels as different amounts of services running. Usually, runlelvel 3 has text console with networking. So you have pretty much everything except for the graphical login manager. You can start X in runlelvel 3 (by startx). Runlelvel 5 is for graphical login (usually). In mandrake, level 4 is not used.

\you can determine what gets started at what runlelvel with K-muenu->config->boot and init -> SysV-init-editor

Hmm I don't want to change anything in the login sequence, I just wish be able to switch to console mode when needed, or is it impossibe?

you don't have to change anything in the boot sequence. When you issue
init 3
as root, this take your system to runlevel 3 which has no X running. If you want to get back, you do
init 5
This is not going to have any effect on your boot sequence. Similarly, for certain things you want to do
init 1
and once you're done with the maintenance stuff, you do
init 5
and you're back to your graphical login manager.

Oh, got it now. I guess that'll do the trick

Thanks a lot.