Basic Tasks:Switch Runlevel

From openSUSE

The cleanest method to switch runlevel is to use a text terminal (tty). If you are in a graphical mode (like KDE or GNOME) press Ctrl-Alt-F2 (all at the same time) to switch to virtual terminal 2. You should see the computer awaiting your login:

login:

Type root and press Enter. It will then prompt you for root's password:

Password:

Type the password for root and press Enter. Now you are the most powerful user on your computer.

Typing init 3, for instance, will change the runlevel to 3, which is text mode with networking.

Root can command the system to switch to different runlevels:

• 0 to halt computer (turn off)
• 1 for single user,
• 2 for text mode
• 3 for text mode with network
• 5 for graphic system
• 6 to reboot computer

For instance, to configure graphic cards, use text mode with network, aka runleve 3:

init 3

and press Enter. Now you can start yast or sax2 and configure your graphic card.

If you want to reboot, then type:

init 6

and the computer will reboot.

Of course, shutdown -r is a more polite way to reboot the computer, as it lets you give a message and a delay.