If like me, you use GRUB, the multiboot boot loader installed with your Linux Red Hat 9 and you would like to boot into Linux in TEXT mode, here's what I recently found out...

When GRUB loads up and offers it's usual menu of Operating Systems to boot into, select the one for Linux Red Hat 9; e.g.
Red Hat Linux(2.4.nn-n)

Once highlighted, hit e on your keyboard to 'edit' this option.

You will see 3 lines (well, on my own setup at least):
root (hd1,5)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.nn-n ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scsi
initrd /initrd-2.4.nn-n.img

Select the 2nd line in the example above, i.e. the one with the kernel /vmlinuz... and hit the e key once again (to edit)...

Now you should be able to edit this line and this is exactly what you want to do; add the word single to the end of this line e.g.
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.nn-n ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scsi single
and hit Enter.

Finally hit the b key on your keyboard to boot into Linux...

Just as soon as the boot process completes, the cursor stops at a prompt that looks like this on my machine:
sh-2.05b#

That's IT, you're now in text mode... or single mode!

Once you're done with what you've planned to do, just type exit to resume the boot into Linux in Graphical / Multi User mode.

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My problem is that I've installed all the graphical interfaces but it boots (grub) to text mode. How do you get to GUI from text on a new installation? Background; in the previous installation I had selected to boot in text mode; reformatting left / intact, and it looks like it kept the text mode boot setting even though I specified otherwise (GUI - gnome) in the new install. Old version of red hat linux (7.2)

Is there a way to edit the kernel string on boot to do the multi user boot?

What good timing! I am just struggling with my Linux server, compiling my first kernel from source and messing about with the grub loader.

Paste what you have inside /boot/grub/grub.conf?

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#boot= /dev/hda
default=0
timeout=10
splashimage=(Hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.7-10 ro root=dev/hdb3 hdd=ide-scsi
initid /initid-2.4.7 -10.img

I'm probably wrong in this, since I haven't had to mess with GRUB for several years. But to normally start a GUI, for example KDE, you would type in startkde on the command line. Would you be able to add this to the GRUB info, maybe on a separate line or on the "vmlinuz" line?

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This isn't really anything to do with grub.

This is a boot level setting. In my install (slackware) there is a file called /etc/inittab that has a default runlevel setting.

3 is multiuser (text mode)
4 is to boot into graphical mode.

I always use 3 until I am sure that I have my system running properly and the type in startx to start my X-Windows.

If you are in 4 (gui) and need to get to a text window, it is generally left under term 6 (ctrl-alt-F6).

If you tell us what flavor you are running I may be able to help more specifically.

Good luck!

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It's possible to add an entry for this all on its own in /boot/grub/menu.lst right?

@blank
Yes, one can add an entry into menu.lst so the 'single' is always available.
Problem there is that init 1(single) is root only access and last time I checked, GRUB does not care if the user has proper authorization to access init 1 = there is no login = you are automatically in as system's god. ::Not a good thing if there is any chance at all that someone else can access your system. (little hands can make BIG mistakes...)

@crystalattice
Your correct that it is a boot parameter but it is not done in grub or lilo. One could also use startxfce, startgnome, starticewm, etc... rather than startkde. If interested look at xinitrc and follow it around the system ... like dubugging code. (usually found @ /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc )

@General
I'm not sure what the goal is but for System V there are 7 runlevels. Runlevel 0 and 6 are used for halt and reboot, respectively. Runlevel(RL) 3 is text mode and RL 5 is graphical mode. Nobody uses the 2 & 4 except as bridges, AFAIK.
The "single" is RL 1 also known as init 1. Generally, it is worthless unless there are big problems because virtually nothing is loaded. The "text mode" is runlevel 3, i.e., init 3, and that is what you genrally need to run in text mode because other than X and related X-only programs, everything gets loaded; e.g., networking and even GPM for mouse support...
If you boot to single, at the prompt type (using ' init 3 ' might work on your system too...).
Trust me - runlevel 3( init 3 ) is much better than init 1 for normal usage; not only that but many programs require Runlevel 3 in order to function properly. E.g., one cannot run the nVidia installer from either RL 1 or RL 5.

What gets loaded into what runlevel is determined by how the services are config'd but runlevel services are pretty standardized across distros. Servers typically run in text mode(init 3) because X is a known security risk due to the number of different ways someone can access it. All GUI programs("clients") need runlevel 5 with some kind of graphical server(XFree/Xorg, etc...).

IIRC, appending " 3 " to the kernel image line will stop at RL 3.
E.g., ...

Tip:
If you are already in X, use the CTRL-ALT-F1 key combo to get to a console, login and type su, enter root password, then telinit 3 (as shown above).
So long X, hello text: Voila!
(be sure to logout as root so nasty little mistakes won't kill the system)

c-ya

PS: JdS, Shame, shame, shame on you for running as root.

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BTW, telinit 5 will take you back to RL 5(login) if you switched to do something in RL 3. Don't forget to go back and logout on the console(you are still logged-in even after login to KDE/Gnome/XFCE/whatever...)...

And, the " 3" at the end of the kernel line still works to boot to text mode. Just checked ...