# Check debian version
lsb_release -a
# Update the system
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
See the list of all the currently installed and deinstalled
dpkg --get-selections
See how many packages are in the ‘deinstalled’ state with this command:
dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall | wc -l
To purge all of these packages at once:
dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall | sed 's/deinstall/\lpurge/' | dpkg --set-selections; dpkg -Pa
To disable the login manager from automatically running at boot up, run the following command as root
update-rc.d -f gdm remove
To start X manually, you would then have to login at the command prompt and enter the command
startx
To reset your login manager so that it runs at boot up, do
update-rc.d -f gdm defaults