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

Question

I have lots of servers installed (Apache, MySQL, etc.), but I don't want them all to start at boot time (they drain power, and I'm on batteries most of the time). How do I configure this?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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: System → Administration → Services.
2. Enter your password.
3. Select the services you want running, then click OK when done.

Answer 3

Another way to accomplish this is to 'disable' the sym link - not delete it.

sudo update-rc.d mysql disable 2

This will rename the sym link to start with 'K' and the service won't start-up on boot. You can then re-enable it at any time if you do decide you want it to start-up on boot.