How do I stop services from starting on boot on Ubuntu?

In the console, you could write:

sudo update-rc.d -f apache2 remove
sudo update-rc.d -f mysql remove
...

For additional information read Ubuntu Bootup How to.


Things have changed quite a bit in Ubuntu now. I think from version 11 onwards. MySQL is handled by Upstart while Apache still uses traditional SysV init scripts

For MySQL, you can use the new override feature in Upstart to modify the starting behaviour:

sudo echo "manual" >> /etc/init/mysql.override

For more info, see the section "Disabling a Job from Automatically Starting" in the Upstart Cookbook.

As Apache still uses the traditional SysV init scripts you can use

sudo update-rc.d -f apache2 remove

to remove the links from /etc/rcX.d or, alternatively use

sudo update-rc.d apache2 disable

which "disables" the script by changing it from a start script to a stop script. This is reversible by

sudo update-rc.d apache2 enable


Most of this information I got from here: https://askubuntu.com/a/40077/24678


This link is a bit out dated version wise, but does it match an option in your version?

Configure startup services

This requires administrative privileges (see Chapter 2, Administrative Tasks).

  1. Run Services Settings: SystemAdministrationServices.
  2. Enter your password.
  3. Select the services you want running, then click OK when done.

You can use Boot-Up Manager for start and stop boot-up scripts, without the necessity to handle thru complex links and permissions.

apt-get install bum

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