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30 <p>Up2date: 20060813 - applies to version grml 0.8/grml-small 0.2</p>
32 <p><a name="toc"></a><strong>Index:</strong></p>
34 <p class="toc"><a href="#general">General:</a></p>
36 <li><a href="#whatis">What is grml?</a></li>
37 <li><a href="#get">Where do I get grml?</a></li>
38 <li><a href="#whatmeans">What does grml mean?</a></li>
39 <li><a href="#pronounce">How do you pronounce grml?</a></li>
40 <li><a href="#releasename">What about the release name?</a></li>
41 <li><a href="#requirements">Requirements for running grml</a></li>
42 <li><a href="#why">Why another Linux distribution?</a></li>
43 <li><a href="#license">What's the license of grml?</a></li>
44 <li><a href="#difference">What's the difference between grml and $OTHER-DISTRIBUTION? What are your main goals?</a></li>
45 <li><a href="#knoppix">What's the difference between grml and Knoppix?</a></li>
46 <li><a href="#accessibility">What does accessibility at grml mean?</a></li>
47 <li><a href="#emulation">Is it possible to run grml with $EMULATOR?</a></li>
48 <li><a href="#usbboot">How do I boot grml from a USB stick?</a></li>
49 <li><a href="#store">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></li>
52 <p class="toc"><a href="#grmlsmall">grml-small:</a></p>
54 <li><a href="#whatissmall">What is grml-small?</a></li>
55 <li><a href="#smallvsnormal">What is the difference between 'normal' grml and grml-small?</a></li>
56 <li><a href="#grmlvsdsl">What is the difference between grml-small and DSL?</a></li>
59 <p class="toc"><a href="#system">System</a>:</p>
61 <li><a href="#configure">Which tools exist to configure grml?</a></li>
62 <li><a href="#password">What are the passwords of users on grml?</a></li>
63 <li><a href="#version">How do I find out the version of grml</a></li>
64 <li><a href="#remove_cd">Is it possible to run LiveCD and eject CD-ROM?</a></li>
65 <li><a href="#language">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></li>
66 <li><a href="#kde_and_foo">KDE, Gnome, $FOO and $BAR</a></li>
67 <li><a href="#wms">Which window managers can I use?</a></li>
68 <li><a href="#usbmount">How do I mount a USB device / USB stick?</a></li>
69 <li><a href="#booting">Which ways exist to boot grml?</a></li>
70 <li><a href="#bugreport">Bugreport</a></li>
71 <li><a href="#hdinstall">Is it possible to install grml to harddisk?</a></li>
72 <li><a href="#grml2hdhang">grml2hd seems to hang?!</a></li>
73 <li><a href="#hardware">I have problems with my hardware!</a></li>
74 <li><a href="#boot">grml does not boot on my computer!</a></li>
77 <p class="toc"><a href="#kernel">Kernel</a>:</p>
79 <li><a href="#kernelconfig">Where can I find the configuration for the kernel used on grml?</a></li>
80 <li><a href="#kernelpatches">Are there any special components/patches in the kernel used on grml?</a></li>
81 <li><a href="#platform">For which platforms is the grml kernel optimized?</a></li>
84 <p class="toc"><a href="#software">Software:</a></p>
86 <li><a href="#sw_general">General</a></li>
87 <li><a href="#sw_version">What version of $PACKAGE is available?</a></li>
88 <li><a href="#init">Init-System</a></li>
89 <li><a href="#zsh">Why is zsh the default shell?</a></li>
90 <li><a href="#zsh_binsh">Wasn't zsh the /bin/sh interpreter?</a></li>
91 <li><a href="#bash">Is a bash available?</a></li>
92 <li><a href="#setuid">setuid/SUID</a></li>
93 <li><a href="#bitchx">bitchx</a></li>
94 <li><a href="#ispell">ispell</a></li>
95 <li><a href="#latex">LaTeX</a></li>
96 <li><a href="#slapd">slapd</a></li>
99 <p class="toc"><a href="#release">Release related issues</a>:</p>
101 <li><a href="#known_issues">Are there any known issues with this release?</a></li>
102 <li><a href="#proc_usb">Why isn't /proc/bus/usb mounted anymore?</a></li>
105 <p class="toc"><a href="#xserver">X-Server</a></p>
107 <li><a href="#xstart">How do I start the X server?</a></li>
108 <li><a href="#xproblem">X does not start on my box?!</a></li>
109 <li><a href="#xresolution">I don't like the resolution of X!</a></li>
112 <p class="toc"><a href="#framebuffer">Framebuffer</a></p>
114 <li><a href="#video">The boot option video does not work as expected anymore</a></li>
115 <li><a href="#fbprobs">I don't see anything when booting grml?!</a></li>
118 <p class="toc"><a href="#stuff">Unanswered stuff</a></p>
120 <li><a href="#questions">Further questions?</a></li>
121 <li><a href="#donate">You like grml? Make a donation to support our work!</a></li>
124 <h2><a name="general"></a><a href="#toc">General</a></h2>
126 <h3><a name="whatis"></a><a href="#toc">What is grml?</a></h3>
128 <p>grml is a bootable CD (Live-CD) once based on <a
129 href="http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/">Knoppix</a> and nowadays based on <a
130 href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>. grml includes a collection of
131 GNU/Linux software especially for users of texttools and system
132 administrators. grml provides automatic hardware detection. You can use grml
133 as a rescue system, for analyzing systems/networks, or as a working
134 environment. It is not necessary to install anything to a harddisk. Due to
135 on-the-fly decompression grml includes about 2.1 GB of software and
136 documentation on the CD.</p>
138 <h3><a name="get"></a><a href="#toc">Where do I get grml?</a></h3>
140 <p>You can download grml of course: take a look at <a
141 href="/download">grml.org/download/</a>. If you want
142 to get an original grml-CD including <a
143 href="/files/#covers">the grml-cover</a>, need a
144 special amount of CDs or want your own special grml-CD (including
145 your logo, your software and/or special settings) <a
146 href="/contact/">please don't hesitate to contact
147 us</a>! Take a look at <a
148 href="http://solutions.grml.org/">grml-solutions</a> for more
149 information regarding our offers.</p>
151 <h3><a name="whatmeans"></a><a href="#toc">What does grml mean?</a></h3>
153 <p>grml is short for 'grummel' and comes close to 'argl' or 'grrr' in English. People
154 use this when they want to express their dissatisfaction/discontentedness with software
155 (amongst other things):</p>
158 $ grep -ch grml .centericq/**/history | xargs echo | \
159 sed 's/[0-9]*/& + /g' | sed 's/+ $//g' | bc -l
162 <h3><a name="pronounce"></a><a href="#toc">How do you pronounce grml?</a></h3>
165 % flite -o play -t gremel</pre>
168 $ echo 'ghroummel' | festival \-\-tts
171 <h3><a name="releasename"></a><a href="#toc">What about the release name?</a></h3>
173 <p>Codename of grml 0.8 is Funkenzutzler. 'Funken' is the german word for
174 sparks. Zutzler is austrian jargon for 'some(one|body) who sucks'. The word
175 Funkenzutzler is an austrian word for an electrical engineering technician.
176 Oh, and yes: grml is sucking since 2004. But less than the rest. Mess with
177 the best - suck like the rest.</p>
179 <p>Codename of grml-small 0.2 is Corry. Corry is the nickname of <a
180 href="/team/">Michael Gebetsroither's</a> girlfriend.</p>
183 <p>Codename of grml-small 0.3 is Bugwards. Neither backwards, nor bugs. Just Bugwards.</p>
186 <h3><a name="requirements"></a><a href="#toc">Requirements for running grml</a></h3>
190 <li>Intel-compatible CPU (i586 or later, preferably Pentium class or higher)</li>
192 <li>at least 64MB of RAM (for stable use with ramdisks for unionfs and udev
193 and running X window system we recommend at least 128MB)</li>
195 <li>grml-small: at least 32MB RAM should be available</li>
197 <li>bootable CD-ROM drive (or <a
198 href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips">a boot floppy</a> and standard
199 CD-ROM [IDE/ATAPI or SCSI]) [or network - see <a
200 href="#terminalserver">grml-terminalserver</a>]</li>
204 <h3><a name="why"></a><a href="#toc">Why another Linux distribution?</a></h3>
206 <p>There already exist "<a
207 href="http://www.distrowatch.com/">some</a>" distributions. We decided
208 to base our work on the existing infrastructure of <a
209 href="http://debian.org/">Debian</a> and <a
210 href="http://www.knoppix.net/">Knoppix</a> because we don't want to reinvent
211 the wheel. Some admins already use their own rescue-CD and Knoppix works but
212 does not bring that many important tools for admins and users of texttools
213 out of the box, so we decided to share our work with others.</p>
215 <h3><a name="license"></a><a href="#toc">What's the license of grml?</a></h3>
217 <p>Anything written by the grml team is published under the GPL (<a
218 href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU General Public License</a>).
219 You don't have to pay anything for running grml. <a
220 href="/donations/">Donations</a> and <a href="/contact/">feedback</a> are
221 welcome of course. If you want a special LiveCD or need support, take a
222 look at <a href="http://solutions.grml.org/">grml-solutions</a>.</p>
224 <h3><a name="difference"></a><a href="#toc">What's the difference between grml and
225 $OTHER-DISTRIBUTION? What are your main goals?</a></h3>
227 <p>The main goal of grml is to be a distribution well suited for
228 users of texttools and sysadmins. grml includes many important
229 texttools (of course awk, sed, grep, ... but also zsh, mutt[ng],
230 slrn, vim and many others) and useful programs for admin's
231 daily work. grml uses the existing infrastructure of <a
232 href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>. grml was once based on <a
233 href="http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/">Knoppix</a> (see '<a
234 href="#knoppix">What's the difference between grml and
235 Knoppix?</a>' for more details). We are also merging
236 useful things from other distributions/live-cds to provide a
237 perfect environment.</p>
239 <h3><a name="knoppix"></a><a href="#toc">What's the difference between grml and Knoppix?</a></h3>
241 <p>grml comes with a vastly different set of software. Missing KDE
242 and OpenOffice provides the opportunity of shipping more than 800
243 packages which Knoppix does not provide on its CD version. grml
244 boots a 2.6.x kernel but no X for faster startup. Knoppix is based
245 on Debian/testing-experimental (using apt-pinning), but grml is
246 basically based on plain Debian/unstable providing more current
247 versions of software and less painfull upgrades. grml was once
248 based on Knoppix but nowadays (except for a similar initial
249 ramdisk) has nothing in common with Knoppix:</p>
253 # find / -iname \*knoppix\*
256 <p>We consider Knoppix as a brand name for live-cds nowadays and
257 provide most of Knoppix' features as well. grml uses (mostly) the
258 same cheatcodes for booting as Knoppix and even provides some extra
259 ones. So if you are used to the basic Knoppix features you might
260 find them on the grml-system as well. Ripping out the Knoppix
261 stuff makes it possible to create a grml system out of a
262 Debian system and vice versa. Running 'apt-get install grml' on a
263 Debian box will be officially supported in an upcoming version of
266 <h3><a name="accessibility"></a><a href="#toc">What does accessibility at grml mean?</a></h3>
268 <p>The grml kernel includes <a href="/kernel/#speakup">support for
269 speakup</a> and provides software like brltty (using bootoption 'grml blind
270 brltty=type,port,tbl'), emacspeak and flite.</p>
272 <h3><a name="emulation"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to run grml with $EMULATOR?</a></h3>
274 <p><a href="http://www.vmware.com/">VMWare</a> should work without any
275 problems. It's also possible to run grml with <a
276 href="http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/">QEMU</a>, an emulator for various
277 CPUs which works on Linux, Windows, FreeBSD and Mac OS X. Running grml with
278 QEMU has been tested successfully on Windows and Linux. Take a look at <a
279 href="/qemu/">the QEMU-grml-webpage</a>.</p>
281 <h3><a name="usbboot"></a><a href="#toc">How do I boot grml from a USB stick?</a></h3>
283 <p>Take a look at the script <a
284 href="/scripts/grml2usb">grml2usb</a>. For more
285 details, take a look at the <a
286 href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">usb-webpage in the
289 <h3><a name="store"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></h3>
291 <p>Yes. grml provides a powerful config framework. See <a
292 href="/config/">grml.org/config/</a>, <a
293 href="file:///usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html">/usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html</a>
294 and 'man save-config restore-config mkpersistenthome' for more
297 <h2><a name="grmlsmall"></a><a href="#toc">grml-small?</a></h2>
299 <h3><a name="whatissmall"></a><a href="#toc">What is grml-small?</a></h3>
301 <p>Whereas grml provides about 2.1 GB of software on a 700 MB ISO, grml-small
302 is a flavor with online ~55 MB ISO-size (~200 MB uncompressed). It does not
303 provide a lot of software but the essential stuff for being a rescue system
304 on a business card CD-ROM or a small USB device. You can use the Debian
305 package management system to install software on the fly (assuming you have
306 network access to a Debian mirror). Take a look at the <a
307 href="/files/">'Debian-Information'-section</a> if you are
308 searching for the package list.</p>
310 <h3><a name="smallvsnormal"></a><a href="#toc">What is the
311 difference between 'normal' grml and grml-small?</a></h3>
313 <p>The 700 MB-grml brings more than 2370 packages of software and a <a
314 href="/kernel/">full-featured kernel</a>. grml-small includes
315 about 215 software packages, lacks documentation and manpages on the ISO and
316 has a stripped-down <a href="/kernel/">kernel</a> (but still
317 provides hardware detection of course). <a
318 href="#terminalserver">grml-terminalserver</a> is <strong>not</strong>
319 available/supported on grml-small.</p>
321 <h3><a name="grmlvsdsl"></a><a href="#toc">What is the
322 difference between grml-small and DSL?</a></h3>
324 <p>DSL and grml-small have different target audiences. <a
325 href="http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/">Damn Small Linux</a> (DSL) uses kernel
326 version 2.4 whereas grml-small provides a recent version of kernel version
327 2.6. DSL provides the X window system which grml-small does not. grml-small
328 provides the most important packages for sysadmins and ships the original
329 Debian package management which allows you to install packages of the Debian
330 pool with no modifications.</p>
332 <h2><a name="system"></a><a href="#toc">System</a></h2>
334 <h3><a name="configure"></a><a href="#toc">Which tools exist to configure grml?</a></h3>
336 <p>grml provides several scripts and tools which should make life
337 easier. See 'dpkg -L grml-scripts' to get an overview of some main
338 scripts. Run 'grml-config' to get a dialog interface for the most
339 important scripts and tasks.</p>
341 <h3><a name="password"></a><a href="#toc">What are the passwords of users on grml?</a></h3>
343 <p>There are no default passwords. All accounts are locked by
344 default. Even local logins are not possible (unless you set a
345 password or create new user accounts as root). You can create
346 valid passwords using "sudo passwd [username]" from the shell
349 <h3><a name="version"></a><a href="#toc">How do I find out the version of grml</a></h3>
351 <p>Run 'grml-version' or use the following command:</p>
354 $ cat /etc/grml_version</pre>
356 <h3><a name="remove_cd"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to run LiveCD and eject CD-ROM?</a></h3>
359 $ sudo umount -l /cdrom
360 $ sudo eject /dev/cdrom # now don't run any new programs ;)
361 $ mount /dev/cdrom # mount it again if needed ;)
364 <h3><a name="language"></a><a href="#toc">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></h3>
366 <p>By default grml uses English settings. But it is possible to
367 change the settings via using either the bootparam(s) lang,
368 keyboard and xkeyboard or via running grml-lang when grml is
369 already running. Usage examples:</p>
372 grml lang=de # enter this at the bootprompt and you will get
373 # German keyboard layout and German $LANG, $LC_ALL,
375 grml keyboard=de xkeyboard=de lang=at # enter this at the bootprompt
376 # and you will get German keyboard and Austrian
378 $ grml-lang de # enter this in the shell to switch keyboard layout
379 # and $LANG settings in a running grml-system
382 <p>If you are running grml from harddisk (using <a
383 href="#hdinstall">grml2hd</a>) you have several options how to set
384 language options:</p>
388 <li>adjust /etc/environment to configure global language
391 <li>set $LC_ALL, $LANG, $LANGUAGE in your ~/.xinitrc (before the
392 'exec $WINDOWMANAGER line' of course) to configure the
393 language behaviour of programs</li>
395 <li>adjust /etc/sysconfig/keyboard to configure keyboard layout
396 on console, or run 'loadkeys $KEYTABLE' manually</li>
398 <li>add 'setxkbmap $LANGUAGE' to the keybindings section in
399 your ~/.xinitrc to configure keyboard setup in X window system
400 (deactivate the xmodmap lines if necessary)</li>
404 <h3><a name="kde_and_foo"></a><a href="#toc">KDE, Gnome, $FOO and $BAR</a></h3>
406 <p>Why isn't KDE, Gnome, $FOO or $BAR part of grml? grml is a distribution
407 for users of texttools and sysadmins. If you would like to run KDE with
408 Debian use e.g. <a href="http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/">Knoppix</a>, <a
409 href="http://kanotix.com/">Kanotix</a> or <a
410 href="http://www.kubuntu.org/">Kubuntu</a>. Gnome users might find <a
411 href="http://www.ubuntulinux.org/">Ubuntu</a> useful. If you would like to
412 see a specific (software) package added to grml please <a
413 href="/report/">report it to us</a>!</p>
415 <h3><a name="wms"></a><a href="#toc">Which window managers can I use?</a></h3>
417 <p>grml is shipped only with window managers which are lightweight and
418 fast - so well suited for a live-CD. At the moment, grml provides these window managers:
419 <a href="http://wmii.de/dwm/">dwm</a>,
420 <a href="http://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/">evilwm</a>,
421 <a href="http://www.fluxbox.org/">fluxbox</a>,
422 <a href="http://www.fvwm.org/">fvwm</a>,
423 <a href="http://fvwm-crystal.org/">fvwm-crystal</a>,
424 <a href="http://modeemi.cs.tut.fi/~tuomov/ion/">ion3</a>,
425 <a href="http://joewing.net/programs/jwm/index.shtml">jwm</a>,
426 <a href="http://pekwm.org/">pekwm</a>,
427 <a href="http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/">ratpoison</a>,
428 <a href="http://www.plig.org/xwinman/vtwm.html">twm</a>,
429 <a href="http://www.grassouille.org/code/w9wm/README">w9wm</a>,
430 <a href="http://www.nickgravgaard.com/windowlab/">windowlab</a>,
431 <a href="http://wmii.de/">wmi and wmii</a>.</p>
433 <p>If you are new to grml and/or prefer an easy-to-use-desktop run 'grml-x
434 wm-ng' for starting fluxbox with idesk and gkrellm.</p>
436 <h3><a name="usbmount"></a><a href="#toc">How do I mount a USB device / USB stick?</a></h3>
438 <p>Run 'mount /mnt/external1' for example if you want to mount
439 /dev/sda1. udev on grml does multiplexing for USB block devices,
440 /dev/external1 is a symlink to /dev/sda1.</p>
442 <a name="terminalserver"></a>
443 <h3><a name="booting"></a><a href="#toc">Which ways exist to boot grml?</a></h3>
445 <p>The most common way to boot grml is, of course, running from
446 CD-ROM, but grml provides many more ways to boot grml:</p>
448 <p>It is possible to boot grml via USB (e.g. USB stick or harddisk),
449 firewire, or running from a Compact Flash disk. It works out of the
450 box; you don't need to modify anything. If accessing the device
451 fails, use the 'scandelay' cheatcode on bootprompt. So, boot with
452 'grml scandelay'. If the timeout is still not long enough add the
453 time to wait in seconds as parameter: 'grml scandelay=15'. See <a
454 href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">usb-webpage in the
455 grml-wiki</a> for more details.</p>
457 <p>Your computer can not boot from CD-ROM but provides a floppy
458 disk? Take a look at <a
459 href="http://btmgr.webframe.org/">btmgr</a>, <a
460 href="http://ubcd4win.com/faq.htm#floppy">ubcd4win</a> or <a
461 href="http://linux.simple.be/tools/sbm">sbm</a>. They provide
462 support for booting from CD-ROM via a special floppy disk.</p>
464 <p>grml-terminalserver makes it possible to boot your system
465 via network. If you have a floppy drive, you can even boot your
466 system over network when your network card does not provide
467 PXE-support! For more information, refer to the <a
468 href="/terminalserver/">grml-terminalserver-webpage</a>.</p>
470 <h3><a name="bugreport"></a><a href="#toc">Bugreport</a></h3>
472 <p>Take a look at the <a href="/bugs/">bugs-webpage</a>.</p>
474 <h3><a name="hdinstall"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to install grml to harddisk?</a></h3>
476 <p>Yes. grml provides a tool called grml2hd (see '<a
477 href="/grml2hd/grml2hd.html">man grml2hd</a>'). grml is developed on a box
478 running the grml-system itself, and we - the grml-developers - especially like
479 grml2hd because it gives us a working Linux box within 10 to 30 minutes!
480 grml2hd is perfect for prototyping: test hardware support of Linux, test a
481 specific setup, ... You can even use grml2hd in a fully automatic mode without
482 any further interaction. More information is available on <a
483 href="/grml2hd/">grml.org/grml2hd/</a> and <a
484 href="/grml2hd/grml2hd.html">man grml2hd</a>. Notice: If you are using grml
485 in a production environment and/or use a grml2hd installation, we strongly
486 recommend you subscribe to <a href="/mailinglist/">the grml user
487 mailinglist</a>! Note that grml is based on Debian unstable, so you should
488 be familiar with Debian unstable if you plan to use grml as a harddisk
491 <h3><a name="grml2hdhang"></a><a href="#toc">grml2hd seems to hang?!</a></h3>
493 <p>grml2hd seems to hang? Switch to tty12 and take a look at the syslog output.
494 If you see something like:</p>
497 SQUASHFS error: zlib_fs returned unexpected result 0x........
498 SQUASHFS error: Unable to read cache block [.....]
499 SQUASHFS error: Unable to read inode [.....]</pre>
501 <p>your ISO/CD-ROM very probably is not ok. Verify it via booting with
502 grml testcd. Check your CD low-level via running:</p>
505 # readcd -c2scan dev=/dev/cdrom</pre>
507 <p>If the medium really is ok and it still fails try to boot with
508 DMA deactivated via 'grml nodma ide=nodma' at the bootprompt.</p>
510 <h3><a name="hardware"></a><a href="#toc">I have problems with my hardware!</a></h3>
512 <p>Take a look at the script grml-hwinfo. This script generates a
513 file named info.tar.bz2 which contains important information about
514 your hardware. If you think we might help, please run
515 grml-hwinfo and send us the file with additional, relevant
516 information regarding your problem.</p>
518 <h3><a name="boot"></a><a href="#toc">grml does not boot on my computer!</a></h3>
520 <p>Please take a look at <a
521 href="/files/grml-cheatcodes.txt">the available
522 bootparamters and cheatcodes</a> and '<a href="#booting">Which ways
523 exist to boot grml?</a>'. Especially booting with 'acpi=off noapm
524 noapic' might help. Bootparameter 'failsafe' provides minimal
525 hardware detection. You still have problems? Please <a
526 href="/contact/">contact us</a>!</p>
528 <h2><a name="kernel"></a><a href="#toc">Kernel</a></h2>
530 <h3><a name="kernelconfig"></a><a href="#toc">Where can I find the configuration for the kernel used on
533 <p>See /boot/config-`uname -r` and on <a href="/kernel/">the kernel-webpage</a>.</p>
535 <h3><a name="kernelpatches"></a><a href="#toc">Are there any special components/patches in the kernel
536 used on grml?</a></h3>
538 <p>grml uses the most current stable vanilla Linux kernel from <a
539 href="http://www.kernel.org/">www.kernel.org</a> with some
540 additional patches. More information and an all-in-one patch is
542 href="/kernel/">kernel-page</a>.</p>
544 <h3><a name="platform"></a><a href="#toc">For which platforms is the grml kernel optimized?</a></h3>
546 <p>Plain i586 compatibility-mode with SMP deactivated (to avoid problems with
547 specific systems and drivers). [Note: grml-small provides a kernel with SMP
550 <h2><a name="software"></a><a href="#toc">Software</a></h2>
552 <h3><a name="sw_general"></a><a href="#toc">General</a></h3>
554 <p>Want to run a program as root? Just use 'sudo $PROGRAM'. To get a
555 root-shell run 'sudo su'.</p>
557 <p>Problems with a specific package? Please try 'dpkg-reconfigure $foo'.
558 Still encountering difficulties? Please send us a <a
559 href="/bugs/">bugreport</a>!</p>
561 <h3><a name="sw_version"></a><a href="#toc">What version of $PACKAGE is
563 <p>Take a look at the dpkg_... files in the <a
564 href="/files/#debian">Debian-Information section on
565 grml.org/files/</a>. </p>
567 <h3><a name="init"></a><a href="#toc">Init-System</a></h3>
569 <p>Why is grml using runlevel 2 as default? Because runlevel 2 is 'the
570 textonly one' and it's debian's default.</p>
572 <p>Where are all the /etc/rc#.d-directories? grml doesn't use
573 sysv-rc but file-rc. This means you can configure the init system
574 in one single file named /etc/runlevel.conf with your favourite
575 editor. No symlink-hell anymore.</p>
577 <h3><a name="zsh"></a><a href="#toc">Why is zsh the default shell (/bin/sh)?</a></h3>
579 <p>Short answer: because zsh rocks.</p>
581 <p>Longer answer taken from <a href="http://zsh.sunsite.dk/FAQ/zshfaq01.html#l3">ZSH
582 FAQ: 1.2: What is it?</a>:</p>
584 <cite> Zsh is a UNIX command interpreter (shell) which of the standard shells most
585 resembles the Korn shell (ksh); its compatibility with the 1988 Korn shell has been
586 gradually increasing. It includes enhancements of many types, notably in the
587 command-line editor, options for customising its behaviour, filename globbing, features
588 to make C-shell (csh) users feel more at home and extra features drawn from tcsh
589 (another `custom' shell).</cite>
591 <p>If you don't know zsh take a look at <a
592 href="http://zsh.sunsite.dk/FAQ/zshfaq02.html#l9">ZSH FAQ: How does zsh
593 differ from ...?</a>, 'man zsh | less -p COMPATIBILITY' and '<a
594 href="/zsh/">man zsh-lovers</a>'.</p>
596 <p>If you are a bash user and don't know zsh yet, don't be afraid. bash is largely a
597 subset of zsh and you don't have to throw away your knowledge about shell stuff.</p>
599 <h3><a name="zsh_binsh"></a><a href="#toc">Wasn't zsh the /bin/sh interpreter?</a></h3>
601 <p>Yes, until grml 0.6 zsh was the intepreter for /bin/sh. Starting
602 with release 0.7 grml uses /bin/bash as /bin/sh. The reason?
603 Debian does not support zsh as /bin/sh. Take a look at <a
604 href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=329288">#329288</a>
606 href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=340058">#340058</a>
609 <h3><a name="bash"></a><a href="#toc">Is a bash available?</a></h3>
611 <p>grml uses <a href="#zsh">zsh</a> as the default shell but, of
612 course, a current version of bash (and many other shells as well)
613 is provided by grml.</p>
615 <h3><a name="setuid"></a><a href="#toc">setuid/SUID</a></h3>
617 <p>If you set a programm SUID (setuid/mode 4755), unprivileged users on your system will
618 be able to run it. This <em>could</em> be a potentially security hole, so by default the
619 packages are configured not to install binaries with setuid. If you want to use the
620 binaries with setuid please run 'dpkg-reconfigure $packagename' or 'chmod 4755
621 =programm'. The following packages are well known to have a programm with not set
634 <h3><a name="bitchx"></a><a href="#toc">bitchx</a></h3>
636 <p>Why isn't bitchx part of grml? <a
637 href="http://www.google.com/search?q=bitchx+sucks">bitchx
638 sucks</a>. Please use a better alternative like <a
639 href="http://irssi.org/">irssi</a> or <a
640 href="http://weechat.flashtux.org/index.php?lang=en">weechat</a>
641 which are part of grml.</p>
643 <h3><a name="ispell"></a><a href="#toc">ispell</a></h3>
645 <p>You don't want to use the preselected default for ispell? Run
646 'select-default-ispell' for changing it.</p>
648 <h3><a name="latex"></a><a href="#toc">LaTeX</a></h3>
650 <p>auctex and preview-latex are loaded by default in emacs. If you want to load
651 auctex based on your personal settings put the string "(require 'tex-site)" in your
652 ~/.emacs, for preview-latex use the string '(load "preview-latex")'.<br />
653 To change this run 'dpkg-reconfigure auctex' and/or 'dpkg-reconfigure
656 <h3><a name="slapd"></a><a href="#toc">slapd</a></h3>
658 <p>The password for the admin entry in the LDAP directory is 'grml'.</p>
660 <h2><a name="release"></a><a href="#toc">Release related issues</a></h2>
662 <h3><a name="known_issues"></a><a href="#toc">Are there any known issues with this release?</a></h3>
664 <p>We won't hide anything. Therefore, we do provide all known
665 issues/bugs publicly available:</p>
669 <li><a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml_0.8">issues regarding
670 grml 0.8</a> and</li>
672 <li><a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=grml-small_0.3">issues
673 regarding grml-small 0.3</a> in <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/">the
678 <p>If you find another bug, or consider something a problem not yet
679 mentioned <a href="#bugreport">please report it to us</a>!</p>
681 <h3><a name="proc_usb"></a><a href="#toc">Why isn't /proc/bus/usb mounted anymore?</a></h3>
683 <p>Starting with kernel 2.6.14, /dev/bus/usb replaces usbfs.
684 Current versions of libusb check for /dev/bus/usb's existence and
685 /proc/bus/usb is not necessary anymore (see <a
686 href="http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=336596">#336596</a>).
687 Of course 'mount /proc/bus/usb' still works; it is just not mounted
688 by default anymore. If you see any problems please <a
689 href="#bugreport">report them</a>.</p>
691 <h2><a name="xserver"></a><a href="#toc">X-Server</a></h2>
693 <h3><a name="xstart"></a><a href="#toc">How do I start the X server?</a></h3>
695 <p>Please use 'grml-x' as user grml for starting X on the live-cd. It
696 generates the config file /etc/X11/xorg.conf and lets you start commands on
697 startup (see ~/.xinitrc). Use it, for example, via switching to TTY4 (press
698 Alt+F4) and run the following command to start wm-ng (window manager fluxbox
699 with idesk and gkrellm):</p>
704 <p>If you have /etc/X11/xorg.conf already you can use 'startx' instead of
705 grml-x. Adjust ~/.xinitrc to your needs.</p>
707 <h3><a name="xproblem"></a><a href="#toc">X does not start on my box?!</a></h3>
709 <p>grml-x supports several options. If you want to set some special options
710 please take a look at the grml-x manpage (man grml-x)! Some usage examples:</p>
713 grml-x -display 8 fluxbox # start fluxbox on display 8
714 grml-x -force -nostart fluxbox # force creation of xconfig file and don't start X server
715 grml-x -hsync 60 fluxbox # set horizontal frequency and start fluxbox
716 grml-x -hsync 60 -vsync 40 fluxbox # set horizontal and vertical sync frequencies and start fluxbox
717 grml-x -mode '800x600' fluxbox # set resolution to 800x600 and start fluxbox
718 grml-x -module vesa fluxbox # start fluxbox and use vesa module
721 <h3><a name="xresolution"></a><a href="#toc">I don't like the resolution of X!</a></h3>
723 <p>Just run xrandr to switch the resolution. For example: 'xrandr -s
726 <h2><a name="framebuffer"></a><a href="#toc">Framebuffer</a></h2>
728 <h3><a name="video"></a><a href="#toc">The boot option video does not work as
729 expected anymore</a></h3>
731 <p>grml versions 0.4 and 0.5 provided <a
732 href="/kernel/#vesafbtng">vesafb-tng</a> instead of
733 normal vesafb. Starting with grml 0.6 and grml-small 0.2 vesafb-tng
734 is not part of the grml-kernel anymore because it caused too many
735 problems. Therefore, you can use the 'normal' vga=... option
738 <h3><a name="fbprobs"></a><a href="#toc">I don't see anything when booting grml?!</a></h3>
740 <p>Likely, this is a problem with vesafb framebuffer. Try to boot
741 with bootoption 'nofb' or 'grml vga=normal'.</p>
743 <h2><a name="question"></a><a href="#toc">Further questions</a></h2>
745 <p>Do you have a question which is not answered in the FAQ or in
746 the provided <a href="/docs/">documentation</a>
747 (also run 'grml-info' on your grml-system)? Run 'grml-tips
748 $KEYWORD' on your grml-system. Take a look at <a
749 href="/">the grml-website</a> and <a
750 href="http://wiki.grml.org/">the grml-wiki</a>. Please don't
751 hesitate to <a href="/contact/">contact us</a>, a
752 good place to start is the <a
753 href="/mailinglist/">grml mailinglist</a>.</p>
755 <h3><a name="donate"></a><a href="#toc">You like grml? Make a donation
756 to support our work!</a></h3>
758 <p>grml is, as every other Open-Source project, driven by the many
759 contributions made by many developers. The grml-team spends a great
760 deal of their time and money toward this project.</p>
762 <p>If you have been using grml you will come to remember how much money you
763 or your company saves by using it and how you have been supported via
764 the project mailing list, personal mail or irc.</p>
766 <p>Now you can contribute by donating to grml. Your donation could either
767 be money or hardware that one of the developers or the project as a whole
768 needs. A donation would enable us to either support a specific
769 hardware/software either at all or simply better.</p>
771 <p>See <a href="http://grml.org/donations/">grml.org/donations/</a> for
772 details. Thank you for helping us to work on grml!</p>
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