On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 14:55:58 -0400
Bob Bernstein <poo...@ruptured-duck.com> wrote:
> I encountered an error during the install of a deb which
> led me to the discovery that my current init system is
> still sysvinit.
>
> The error was:
>
> /sbin/init: invalid option -- '-'
> Usage: init {-e VAR[=VAL] | [-t SECONDS]
> {0|1|2|3|4|5|6|S|s|Q|q|A|a|B|b|C|c|U|u}}
>
> Thanks to the wiki:
>
> https://wiki.debian.org/Init
>
> I determined that in all likelihood I am still using
> sysvinit, which circumstance was responsible for that
> error.
>
> Problem: The wiki article suggests how to switch from
> systemd to sysvinit, but is not forthcoming as to the
> converse change, hence my Subject: line.
>
> How should I approach this change with an eye to maximum
> safety?
First, What Debian version are you using? Jessie, Stretch and Buster
default to systemd. Wheezy's default is sysvinit.
Second, check you're really using sysvinit. As root (or sudo) in a
terminal: cat /proc/1/comm If it returns "init", you using sysvinit. If
"systemd", you're systemd.
To change to systemd, as root: apt install systemd-sysv should take
care of it. Man systemd-sysv for more.
B
