The "removing systemd" experiment
Round 2: Install the Magic Package and Then Remove systemd
To restore a working system right after installation, I'll introduce the no-systemd.deb
package (Listing 2). Now this looks a lot better! Only systemd and a few other packages are removed – not the entire desktop system – because an empty package (no-systemd
contains no files) is installed first, which fakes a systemd installation as the dependency for other packages (Listing 3).
Listing 2
Setting Up no-systemd
Listing 3
Building the no-systemd.deb Magic Package
libpam-systemd
is clearly a dependency for systemd; rfkill
has a hard-coded dependency on a package named systemd, which is probably a mistake and unnecessary. Rebuilding the package without this dependency should help.
After removing systemd and libpam-systemd followed by a reboot, I still can't get past the point where the graphical subsystem should start up, because the root filesystem stays mounted read-only; therefore, Xorg can't open its logfile at /var/log/Xorg.0.log
. Changing the root filesystem's mount mode to rw
instead of ro
in the bootloader's config is a quick workaround for now. A better fix would be to change the bootup procedure to remount/read-write at some point. Apparently, this is missing in my sysvinit.deb
package.
Now I have a working desktop – kind of. After using it awhile, you will realize that some things are dysfunctional, like configuring the network with the graphical NetworkManager GUI.
Round 3: Install SysVinit over systemd and Do a Lot of Post-Configuration
The reason the previous round failed to produce a fully working system is that some desktop components require the session management introduced by systemd-logind
, which is located inside the systemd package. After installing the SysVinit packages (which replace /sbin/init
by SysVinit's version plus the necessary basic startup scripts), I also need to install the systemd-shim package to start session management and other services automatically around systemd clients. Also, the policykit-1 package needs to be installed, and permissions for services like NetworkManager should be set to yes
instead of no
or auth_admin*
, if the session can't be detected properly, as shown in the excerpt in Listing 4 from /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.NetworkManager.policy
.
Listing 4
Setting Permissions
Also, newer versions of systemd require the cgroup mount point; otherwise, systemd-shim
won't be able to start systemd-logind
, so login sessions won't be reported to services that request information about the logged-in user. This would be a minimal subset of mounts that systemd-logind
expects. I put the following commands in my own startup scripts:
mkdir -p -m 0777 /cgroup/cpu mount -t cgroup cgroup -o cpu /cgroup/cpu mkdir -m 1777 /cgroup/cpu/user
It Works!
After round 3, the system looks very much like a Knoppix installation, in which the startup system is run through SysVinit, with other systemd components still present to make programs happy that are hard-coded with systemd dependencies (e.g., on systemd-logind
and the libsystemd0
library). Still, LXSession pops up a confusing hard-coded message (Figure 1) that is produced if systemd is not listening on D-Bus. The best way I found to circumvent this problem is to remove the erroneous error message from the lxsession source and recompile the package.
Also, the rfkill
tool has a confusing dependency on a package named (!) "systemd" instead of just the systemd provision in my no-systemd package. Downgrading rfkill
or recompiling without the hard-coded dependency fixes this issue.
« Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.