by Paul,
I am not that familiar with Linux-FT, but this might help. When you
boot, there are a series of config files that Linux uses to set up the
system and run certain programs and set the run mode. You are
currently in run mode (I believe) 6, using xdm in a multi user mode.
Edit your rc.d file in /etc/rc (follow instructions from your docs on
how to do this) and change from xdm to a shell (such as bash). Then
you will have the choice of running x from the command line or staying
in bash at the command line. If you want to run X, you might have to
edit your xinitrc file not to call xdm.
Robert Escue