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I'm currently setting up a home server using a very, very old PC. It has Ubuntu 11.10 installed on it, but it can't actually handle the GUI. I want to install the server edition of Ubuntu, which is command line only, but have no idea how to do so. What can I do?

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2 Answers

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Actually, if you just have problem with running the GUI there's no need to install another distribution, simply modify the startup sequence to prevent the graphical interface from coming up and work from the command line as you desire.

I don't have access to a system right now, but I believe the script you'll need will be found in the /etc/init.d or /boot/grub directory. Perhaps someone here can give you the name of the script before I get home to check.

I just found this: Starting Ubuntu without the GUI

I see three ways to do it:

  1. Changing the default runlevel

    You can set it at the beginnign of /etc/init/rc-sysinit.conf replace 2 by 3 and reboot. You can enable the graphical interface with telinit 2.(More about runlevels)

  2. Do not launch the graphical interface service on boot

    update-rc.d -f xdm remove

    Quick and easy. You can re-enable the graphical interface with service xdm start or revert your changes with update-rc.d -f xdm defaults

  3. Remove packages

    apt-get remove --purge x11-common && apt-get autoremove

    I think it suits best for a computer considered as a server. You can re-enable the graphical interface by reinstalling the packages

There's also this: Possible to install ubuntu-desktop and then boot to no GUI

The point being, you can prevent the GUI from coming up if that's your main issue.

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I tried the second method, to no effect. After trying the third method, I get nothing. No root prompt, no command line, not even a blinking cursor. Luckily, there's no actual data on this computer (yet), besides the OS. What can I do next? – Jules Mazur Jun 2 '12 at 19:18
@Verandaguy Oh, sorry to hear this. It's hard to say w/o detailed knowledge of your system what to do next. Changing the startup/boot sequence is not for the faint of heart, but I am relieved to hear that the system only contains the OS. so the worst case is somewhat limited (still a hassle I realize). I still think you should be able to recover from this with the help of the live CD which should let you boot into the system. From there you could undo the changes you made (or assuming you made copies of the files before you modified them, copy them back). – Levon Jun 2 '12 at 22:13
Alright, I have no idea what I did, but I rebooted, and it naturally booted into server 12.04. Strangely enough, I didn't see any install/try screens (the server CD is in the drive, but not installed), and since it's 12.04, it has to be server, rather than a GUI-less desktop edition. Thanks anyway, it seems my computer boots into server through restarts, and without the CD. I'm not complaining. – Jules Mazur Jun 3 '12 at 1:46
@Verandaguy happy to have, what appears, a happy ending. Sorry for the scare (I'm sure - I'd have been worried too) – Levon Jun 3 '12 at 1:47
Not much of a scare, to be honest. Like I mentioned, it's basically an empty computer, apart from Ubuntu itself. – Jules Mazur Jun 3 '12 at 2:18
up vote 0 down vote

There's no difference between a server and desktop distribution , just involving different packages.

The two things you should do was:

  1. Replace default generic kernel with server kernel , by: apt-get install -y linux-image-server

  2. Disable or remove all graphical software , xorg-server.

    To disable them , disable lightdm for auto start , edit /etc/init/lightdm.conf , comment all these lines (place a '#' in front of each line)

start on ((filesystem
           and runlevel [!06]
           and started dbus
           and (drm-device-added card0 PRIMARY_DEVICE_FOR_DISPLAY=1
                or stopped udev-fallback-graphics))
          or runlevel PREVLEVEL=S)
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