Directly boot to Terminal bypassing X

Question

I am running Ubuntu 11.04

I am seeking a help regarding the following issues:

1. How to turn off the X server when I have already logged into Ubuntu
   (I know about startx to start the X server but don't know how to shut it down).

2. When I start my machine, Ubuntu directly boots automatically X. What I need to do if I want to boot to plane terminal instead of X?
   (after that I can use startx to start the X if I feel so).

Answer 1

It has already beed answered in several old questions, but cannot find them just now, so I sum up the various situations here.

1. To stop an X server started by startx, simply terminate the session.

2. To stop an X server started by the Login Manager (GDM), run

   sudo service gdm stop
   

   then move to a tty, for example pressing Ctrl-Alt-F1, then login here in text mode.

3. To avoid at all the starting of the Login Manager (and X), modify

   /etc/default/grub
   

   changing the line

   GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
   

   to become

   GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash text"
   

   then update the grub configuration file with

   sudo update-grub
   

   so that the next time you go directly to text mode, and you need startx to initiate a X session, or alternatively sudo service gdm start.