Can anyone explain the use of init3

[chris]

Paul Howarth wrote:

> Ingemar Nilsson wrote:
>
>> "Chris Linton-Ford" <chris.lintonford at firebox.com> writes:
>>
>>> When I try to drop from runlevel 5 to 3 in FC5 by doing a 'sudo init 
>>> 3', the
>>> X server quits but the init process gets stuck after the following:
>>>
>>> INIT: Switching to runlevel: 3
>>> INIT: Sending all processes the TERM signal
>>> Starting readahead_early: Starting background readahead:    [ OK ]
>>>     
>>> [ OK ]
>>> Starting irqbalance:                            [ OK
>>> ]
>>>
>>> Is there any way to drop to runlevel 3 without rebooting?
>>
>>
>> After running init 3, try changing your virtual terminal, using 
>> CTRL-ALT-X,
>> where you substitute X with one of the F-keys in the F1-F6 range,
>> e.g. CTRL-ALT-F1.
>
>
> And try pressing return to get a login prompt too.
>
> Paul.
>
Ahh... (light pings above head). I had been trying this but got confused 
when the runlevel command returned
5 3
rather than just
3
I have now read the man page and apologise for wasting your time - 
thanks for your help guys.

Chris L-F