Debian Admin has a some information regarding run levels (switching between single-user, console, and graphic modes). These are the basic run levels:
- 0 System Halt
- 1 Single user
- 2 Full multi-user mode (Default)
- 3-5 Same as 2
- 6 System Reboot
The file /etc/inittab has a line in it:
id:2:initdefault:
Supposedly, if you change the 2 to a 3, on boot the system will come up with a console
instead of the graphical interface (assuming the graphical interface has been installed).
The command runlevel will return two values, a run level change since powering up, and
the current run level.
To change run levels, the command 'telinit x' will change to run level 'x'.
An Introduction
to Run-Levels contains further detailed information.