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I'm trying to install a driver for my graphics card in Ubuntu 16.04, and the instructions caution me that first I should set a runlevel that prevents X from starting. That's proving difficult.

The generic Linux instructions say that one sets the runlevel by editing /etc/inittab, but my Ubuntu system has no such file. I looked for Ubuntu instructions and learned that to display the runlevel I can enter runlevel, and to change it I can either enter sudo init or edit the line in /etc/init/rc-sysinit.conf that begins "env DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL..."

I entered runlevel and got '5', which made sense. I then entered sudo init 3. Ubuntu blanked the screen, displayed a couple of lines of text, and stopped. I hit reset and it came back in X, just as before.

I then opened the conf file to change "env DEFAULT_RUNLEVEL" from 5 to 3, and found that it is set to 2.

This is craziness. I'm wandering farther and farther from the straight path to my goal, and none of the promised helpers are waiting where I've been told to look for them. How do I get past this point?

Jonathan Sachs
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1 Answers1

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Ubuntu 16.04 uses systemd instead of the old init system. The command you're looking for is: 

sudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target

You can also change the default boot behavior with

sudo systemctl set default multi-user.target

To return to regular system state you'll need to isolate or set the graphical.target.

You can read more here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/systemd

RobertRSeattle
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