Linux Disable and Remove X Windows (X.org)

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If you have a Linux system that you want to use without a graphical user interface (GUI), you can disable and remove the X Windows system (X.org) to free up system resources and reduce potential security risks.

Here are the steps to disable and remove X Windows on a Linux system:

  1. Switch to the text console: Before you disable X Windows, you need to switch to a text console to avoid terminating your current X Windows session. You can switch to a text console by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1 on your keyboard. To switch back to the graphical interface, press Ctrl+Alt+F7.
  2. Disable the X Windows system: Once you are in the text console, you can disable the X Windows system by stopping the gdm or lightdm service, depending on the Linux distribution you are using. For example, on a Ubuntu/Debian system, you can use the following command to stop the gdm service:
    sudo service gdm stop

    On a Fedora/Red Hat/CentOS system, you can use the following command to stop the lightdm service:

    sudo systemctl stop lightdm
  3. Remove the X Windows packages: After disabling the X Windows system, you can remove the X Windows packages to free up disk space and reduce potential security risks. The X Windows packages are usually named xorg-x11-server-* or xserver-xorg-*, depending on the Linux distribution you are using. To remove the X Windows packages, use the appropriate package manager command for your distribution. For example:
    • On a Ubuntu/Debian system, use the following command:
      sudo apt-get remove xserver-xorg-core
    • On a Fedora/Red Hat/CentOS system, use the following command:
      sudo yum remove xorg-x11-server-Xorg

    Depending on your system, you may also need to remove other packages that depend on X Windows.

  4. Reboot the system: After removing the X Windows packages, it is recommended to reboot the system to ensure that all X Windows-related processes are stopped and any potential security risks are mitigated. You can reboot the system using the following command:
    sudo reboot

That’s it! With the above steps, you can disable and remove the X Windows system on your Linux system. (https://www.dermofficedallas.com/)

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