Permanently getting rid of exim!

I understand your frustration about those unnecessary packages. If you want to remove Exim you must remove the base package. Not the ones that is installed because of dependencies. To found out which Exim package is the main one open Aptitude, search for Exim4, and look which one of the installed Exim4 packages doesn't have a 'A' after the 'i'. But then you later install some application that is set to depend on Exim you will get Exim back again. In that case let Exim be installed but remove or rename (I have forget what to do because I use the much better file-rc boot mechanism and don't care how you do it.:-)) it's link in /etc/rc2.d to avoid Exim from start then you boot up. I understand and agree that it's nicer and feels better to have a clean system but...

I don't know if this will solve all of your problems, but if you can't uninstall exim you can prevent it from loading at boot by renaming /etc/rc2.d/S20exim4 to /etc/rc2.d/K80exim4. The official instructions are:

To disable a service in this runlevel, rename its script in this directory so that the new name begins with a 'K' and a two-digit number, where the number is the difference between the two-digit number following the 'S' in its current name, and 100. To re-enable the service, rename the script back to its original name beginning with 'S'.

--oldfolio

Exim just fills the Debian requirement for a Mail Transport Agent (MTA). Exim is the default, but you can install any other MTA (e.g. Postfix or Sendmail; try nullmailer or masqmail for minimalist MTAs) and then remove exim.

To stop Exim from complaining about its lack of configuration, why not (re)configure it?

Running the command "dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config" will allow you to reconfigure exim. Selecting the option for "local delivery only; not on a network" is a safe way to both configure it but to not allow it to really do anything.

I've used most of the methods suggested overtime. Rather infuriating because I have basic hardware and it is just one of a number of useless processes that seem to run.

I think most of my problems stem from installing gnome andas I am now looking at lighter guis, I should be able to permanently remove it real soon now {:-).

To see which package depends on Exim, and makes Exim4 be reinstalled all the time, take a look at Exim4 with Aptitude. In Aptitude you can see a long list of all packages that depends on Exim4, which packages propose Exim4, and which packages recommends Exim4, and if you have the 'install recommended packages' dependency handling function turned on even installs Exim4.

I recommend disabling the service and leaving exim in place:

update-rc.d -f exim remove