[lubuntu-users] About booting Focal-Fossa to text mode

[Harry Putnam]

Harry Putnam <reader at newsguy.com> writes:

> Running updated forcal-fossa
>
> I want to boot to console/text mode and later call startx if I want X.
>
> Found the directions for doing that except its for 14.?? from the
> handbook and made the modifications suggested there, in
> /etc/default/grub.  Then ran `update-grub'
>

[...]

> When I rebooted, I do get to see the boot messages but the boot ends
> up at the greeter login screen in X so when I log in I'm in X when I
> should be in console(text) Mode.
>
> I want to end up in console mode with a text login and no X.
>
> What else do I need to do for that to happen?

In case anyone else has this problem. I've now found thru experimentation
how to do this in a clean way:

In the /etc/default/grub file

-------       -------       ---=---       -------       ------- 

[...]

Comment out the next two lines
  # GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash resume=UUID=58ccce28-21fa-465a-9ec9-9a38d74549e3"
  ## GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=

add `text' between quotes here:
  GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="text"

[...]

Some online sources say to uncomment the GRUB_TERMINAL line but I've
found that is not necessary so leave that commented.

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
# GRUB_TERMINAL=console

[...]

And of course run the all important `update-grub'

But the true all important thing to do is something unrelated to
/etc/default/grub

use systemctl to set up boot to multi-user mode which is another way
of saying `text mode'.

as root
  systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Which creates this symlink:
/etc/systemd/system/default.target → /lib/systemd/system/multi-user.target

In fact just the above command alone without editing grub will cause
bootup to revert to text mode right at point where login comes up.

However the boot messages etc will still be blanked out by the splash
screen

do the /etc/default/grub edits and 

  systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Will let you see boot messages and end up in a text terminal... 

when ready you can call `startx' to enter into graphica mode

-------       -------       ---=---       -------       ------- 

To revert to graphical boot up:

Remove edits from /etc/default/grub .. call update-grub

run:

systemctl set-default graphical.target
which creates symlink:
  systemctl set-default graphica.target -> /lib/systemd/system/graphical.target 

You should now be returned to graphical boot