Possible solution below (only this comment top posted).

On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 8:02 AM, Dazed_75 <lthielster@gmail.com> wrote:

> Perhaps I am way off base here but why are you expecting runlevel 3 to not
> run X?  Yes, that was the SysVinit definition, but has not been used in
> debian or ubuntu in a long time:
>
>   http://www.debianadmin.com/debian-and-ubuntu-linux-run-levels.html
>
> I think I read that Fedora, RedHat had started using upstart but I don't
> know whether they kept the runlevel definintions they used previously like
> in RH9:
>
>
> http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-9-Manual/ref-guide/s1-boot-init-shutdown-sysv.html
>
> The confusion in usage of runlevels by different systems is made much
> clearer in this wikiperia article:
>
>   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runlevel
>
> So again, I may be off base here, but it seems to me there is no way in
> ubuntu 9.04 to do what you want without editing some of the services out of
> some runlevel (2-5) before tryiing to enter it and expecting X not to run.
> IOW, runlevel 2-5 are all the same un debian/ubuntu UNLESS you change their
> definition first.
>
> Hmmm, I just realized that for their server edition, they probably have
> done so already.  I don't have ne installed to look at.
>
> --
> Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry
>

Take a look at the following but read down a ways to find the solution that
did work for someone:


http://stackoverflow.com/questions/78408/how-do-i-change-default-runlevel-in-ubuntu

-- 
Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry