In Debian, startup scripts are stored in /etc/init.d, and managing  
which start and stop at what points in which runlevels is  
accomplished by symlinks to those scripts within the /etc/rc*.d  
directories. While you could manage these by hand, Debian comes with  
a few great utilities to manage these services.

First off, check /etc/defaults for configuration files for the  
services you're interested in. Most will have a simple on/off switch  
that you can use to disable the service.

If that's not the case, you'll need to use update-rc.d . To remove a  
service, use the command: update-rc.d -f <script> remove
Replace <script> with the name of the startup script in /etc/init.d .  
If you need to add it back at a later time, you can do so with:  
update-rc.d <script> defaults . There is more granular control  
available, such as which runlevels to start and stop on, and where  
within these runlevels to do so, but for the vast majority of cases,  
you won't need to use these. If you need help with the syntax, just  
run the program without arguments, or check the manpage.

-David Bendit


On Jan 29, 2008, at 7:53 AM, Michael Havens wrote:

> how does one turn off unneeded stuff in debian? I found this list  
> which
> describes what the services do but it is for redhat and it seems  
> debian
> services aren't in /sbin/chkconfig. Google doesn't seem to help so  
> I must
> turn to you.
>
> here is that list found at
> http://www.michaelminn.com/linux/notebooks/toshiba-m35x.html :
>
> Below is a list of services that were turned on by default that I  
> have turned
> off.
>
>     * acpid: unnecessary power management
>     * apmd: unnecessary power management
>     * autofs: for automount - which I find annoying
>     * avahi-daemon: a network service I don't need since I'm not on  
> a network
>     * bluetooth: this machine isn't bluetooth enabled
>     * cpuspeed: unnecessary cpu throttling?
>     * cups: I don't regularly use a printer - leave this if you do
>     * cups-config-daemon: (ditto)
>     * gpm: some kind of clipboard handler
>     * haldaemon: some kind of unnecessary hardware monitor
>     * hidd: Bluetooth human interface daemon
>     * hplip: Unused Hewlett-Packard Linux Imaging and Printing service
>     * irqbalance: Multiprocessor interrupt balancing - unneeded  
> since this is
> a uniprocessor system
>     * isdn: ISDN service, which I don't have
>     * kudzu: Another annoying hardware monitor for non-power users
>     * mdmonitor: RAID support service
>     * messagebus: Some kind of application intercommunication service
>     * netfs: Network file system mounter - unneeded if you're not  
> on a LAN
>     * nfslock: File locking with network file systems
>     * portmap: Supports dangerous network RPC calls
>     * readahead_early: Program preloader. How do you know what  
> programs I'm
> gonna use!?
>     * rpcidmapd: More dangerous RPC call support
>     * rpcgssd: More dangerous RPC call support
>     * rpcsvcgssd: More dangerous RPC call support
>     * sendmail: System mail handler - all my mail is handled by an  
> outside
> server
>     * smartd: Unnecessary Disk status monitor
>     * sshd: Permits secure shell login - security risk
>
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