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28 <h1 align="center">FAQ for grml</h1>
30 <p><strong>Up2date:</strong> applies to Grml releases version 2012.05</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="#flavours">What are grml32 / grml64 and grml96?</a></li>
38 <li><a href="#grmlsmall">What is the difference between grml-full and grml-small?</a></li>
39 <li><a href="#get">Where do I get Grml?</a></li>
40 <li><a href="#whatmeans">What does Grml mean?</a></li>
41 <li><a href="#releasename">What about the release name?</a></li>
42 <li><a href="#requirements">Requirements for running Grml</a></li>
43 <li><a href="#bootoptions">Which bootoptions does Grml support?</a></li>
44 <li><a href="#known_issues">Are there any known issues with this release? How about reporting bugs?</a></li>
47 <p class="toc"><a href="#features">Features</a>:</p>
49 <li><a href="#usbboot">How do I boot Grml from a USB stick?</a></li>
50 <li><a href="#persistency">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></li>
51 <li><a href="#password">What are the passwords of users on Grml?</a></li>
52 <li><a href="#version">How do I find out the version of Grml</a></li>
53 <li><a href="#language">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></li>
54 <li><a href="#wms">Which window managers can I use?</a></li>
55 <li><a href="#lvm">Where are my LVM devices?</a></li>
56 <li><a href="#swraid">Where are my Software-RAID devices?</a></li>
57 <li><a href="#booting">Which ways exist to boot Grml?</a></li>
58 <li><a href="#timezone">How do I configure timezone on my Grml system?</a></li>
59 <li><a href="#hdinstall">Is it possible to install Grml to harddisk?</a></li>
62 <p class="toc"><a href="#software">Software:</a></p>
64 <li><a href="#sw_version">Which package(s) and which version is available?</a></li>
65 <li><a href="#zsh">Why is Zsh the default shell?</a></li>
69 <p class="toc"><a href="#stuff">Support / Unanswered stuff:</a></p>
71 <li><a href="#questions">Further questions?</a></li>
72 <li><a href="#support">Commercial Support</a></li>
75 <h2><a name="general"></a><a href="#toc">General</a></h2>
77 <h3><a name="whatis"></a><a href="#toc">What is Grml?</a></h3>
79 <p>Grml is a bootable live system (Live-CD) based
80 on <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>. It is not
81 necessary to install anything to a harddisk. Grml includes a
82 collection of GNU/Linux software especially for system
83 administrators. It specializes on administrative tasks like
84 installation, deployment and system rescue.</p>
86 <h3><a name="flavours"></a><a href="#toc">What are grml32 / grml64 and grml96?</a></h3>
89 <li>grml32-full: 32bit version (kernel and userspace), ~350MB</li>
90 <li>grml64-full: 64bit version (kernel and userspace), ~350MB</li>
91 <li>grml96-full: multi boot version (featuring the grml32-full and grml64-full ISOs combined on one ISO), ~700MB</li>
94 <p>Unless you've a good reason to really choose the 32bit flavour we
95 strongly encourage you to use either the grml64 or the grml96
98 <p>Please notice that this schema was introduced starting with the
99 downsized Grml release 2011.12. Until then grml96 didn't exist and
100 grml32 was known as just 'grml'.</p>
102 <h3><a name="grmlsmall"></a><a href="#toc">What is the difference between grml-full and grml-small?</a></h3>
104 <p>grml-small provides a reduced set of available software compared to
105 grml-full. It provides the same Linux kernel image as grml-full and is
106 fully binary compatible. Choose the grml-small flavour if size - for
107 whatever reason - really matters to you.</p>
109 <h3><a name="get"></a><a href="#toc">Where do I get Grml?</a></h3>
111 <p>Grml is open source, you can download it from the mirrors
112 listed at <a href="/download">grml.org/download/</a>.</p>
114 <h3><a name="whatmeans"></a><a href="#toc">What does Grml mean?</a></h3>
116 <p>Grml comes close to 'argl' or 'grrr' in English. People use
117 this when they want to express their dissatisfaction with
118 software (amongst other things).</p>
120 <h3><a name="releasename"></a><a href="#toc">What about the release name?</a></h3>
122 <p>Codename of Grml 2012.05 is "Ponyhof", AKA "Life Ain't No Pony Farm".</p>
124 <h3><a name="requirements"></a><a href="#toc">Requirements for running Grml</a></h3>
128 <li>Intel-compatible CPU (i586 or later, preferably Pentium class or higher)</li>
130 <li>>=256MB of RAM (>=512MB recommended)</p>
132 <li>either a bootable CD-/DVD-ROM drive,
133 a <a href="#usbboot">USB-boot capable system</a> or a
134 network card for booting via network/PXE (check
135 out <a href="#terminalserver">grml-terminalserver</a>)</li>
139 <h3><a name="accessibility"></a><a href="#toc">What does accessibility at Grml mean?</a></h3>
141 <p>The Grml kernel includes support for speakup. For software,
142 brltty and espeakup are included.</p>
144 <h3><a name="bootoptions"></a><a href="#toc">Which bootoptions does Grml support?</a></h3>
147 href="http://git.grml.org/?p=grml-live.git;a=blob_plain;f=templates/GRML/grml-cheatcodes.txt;hb=HEAD">grml-cheatcodes
148 file</a> (also available via <a href="http://grml.org/cheatcodes/">grml.org/cheatcodes/</a>). Of
150 href="http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt">kernel-parameters.txt</a>
151 of the Linux kernel applies to Grml as well.</p>
153 <a name="release"></a> <!-- old anchor -->
154 <a name="bugreport"></a> <!-- old anchor -->
155 <h3><a name="known_issues"></a><a href="#toc">Are there any known issues? How about reporting bugs?</a></h3>
157 <p>Please visit the <a href="/bugs/">bug webpage</a>.</p>
159 <h2><a name="features"></a><a href="#toc">Features</a></h2>
161 <!-- TODO: needs to be improved! -->
162 <h3><a name="usbboot"></a><a href="#toc">How do I boot Grml from a USB stick?</a></h3>
165 out <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb#grml2usb">grml2usb</a>
167 <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">usb webpage in the
170 <h3><a name="store"></a><a name="persistency"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></h3>
173 a <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency">persistency
176 <h3><a name="password"></a><a href="#toc">What are the passwords of users on Grml?</a></h3>
178 <p>There are no default passwords - all accounts are locked by
179 default for security reasons. Even local logins are not
180 possible (unless you set a password or create new user
181 accounts as root). You can create valid passwords using "sudo
182 passwd [username]" from the shell individually. To set a password
183 for the Grml user and enable SSH login you can use the 'ssh'
184 boot option, like 'ssh=yourpassword'.</p>
186 <h3><a name="version"></a><a href="#toc">How do I find out the version of Grml</a></h3>
188 <p>Run 'grml-version' or use the following command:</p>
191 $ cat /etc/grml_version</pre>
193 <h3><a name="language"></a><a href="#toc">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></h3>
195 <p>By default Grml uses english settings. But it is possible to
196 change the settings via using either the bootparam(s) lang,
197 keyboard and xkeyboard or via executing grml-lang when Grml is
198 already running. Usage examples:</p>
201 grml lang=de # enter this at the bootprompt and you will get
202 # german keyboard layout and german $LANG, $LC_ALL,
204 grml keyboard=de xkeyboard=de lang=at # enter this at the bootprompt
205 # and you will get german keyboard and austrian
207 % grml-lang de # enter this in the shell to switch keyboard layout
208 # and $LANG settings in a running Grml system
211 <p>Note: run grml-setlang to get a dialog based frontend for
212 /etc/default/locale. Run grml-setkeyboard to get a dialog
213 based frontend for /etc/sysconfig/keyboard.</p>
216 <h3><a name="wms"></a><a href="#toc">Which window managers can I use?</a></h3>
218 <p>Starting with the 2011.12 release Grml provides <a
219 href="http://www.fluxbox.org/">Fluxbox</a> as window manager.</p>
221 <h3><a name="lvm"></a><a href="#toc">Where are my LVM devices?</a></h3>
223 <p>LVM (Logival Volumes) is <strong>not</strong> started by default to
224 avoid any possible damage to your data. To get access to present LVM
225 devices just execute:</p>
228 # /etc/init.d/lvm2 start
231 <p>If you want to enable LVM by default just boot using the 'lvm'
232 bootoption which automatically enables LVM.</p>
234 <h3><a name="swraid"></a><a href="#toc">Where are my Software-RAID devices?</a></h3>
236 <p>Software-RAID (usually known as the mdadm stuff) is
237 <strong>not</strong> started by default to avoid any possible damage to
238 your data. To get access to present SW-RAID devices just execute:</p>
241 # /etc/init.d/mdadm-raid start
244 <p>If you want to enable SW-RAID by default just boot using
245 the 'swraid' bootoption which enables automatic assembling of
246 software raid arrays.</p>
248 <a name="terminalserver"></a>
249 <h3><a name="booting"></a><a href="#toc">Which ways exist to boot Grml?</a></h3>
251 <!-- TODO: needs rework -->
253 <p>Of course running from CD/DVD is a common way to boot
254 Grml. But Grml provides many more ways to boot:</p>
256 <p>It is possible to boot Grml via USB (e.g. USB stick or
257 harddisk), firewire, or running from a Compact Flash disk. It
258 works out of the box; you don't need to modify anything. Check
259 out <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">the usb
260 webpage in the grml-wiki</a> for more details.</p>
262 <p>Your computer can not boot from CD-ROM but provides a
263 floppy disk? Take a look
264 at <a href="http://btmgr.sourceforge.net/">btmgr</a>, <a href="http://ubcd4win.com/faq.htm#floppy">ubcd4win</a>
265 or <a href="http://linux.simple.be/tools/sbm">sbm</a>. They
266 provide support for booting from CD-ROM via a special floppy
269 <p>grml-terminalserver makes it possible to boot your system
271 using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preboot_Execution_Environment">PXE</a>
272 (Preboot Execution Environment). If your network card does not
273 provide support for booting via PXE you can still boot it
274 either using the provided grub image by grml-terminalserver
275 (for example via floppy drive) or
276 using <a href="http://etherboot.org/wiki/index.php">gPXE</a>.
277 For more information, refer to
278 the <a href="/terminalserver/">grml-terminalserver
281 <h3><a name="timezone"></a><a href="#toc">How do I configure
282 timezone on my Grml system?</a></h3>
284 <p>Available bootoptions relevant in live-cd mode:</p>
287 <li>utc: set UTC, if your system clock is set to UTC (GMT)
288 <li>gmt: set UTC, if your system clock is set to UTC (GMT) [like bootoption utc]
289 <li>tz=$option: set timezone to corresponding $option, usage example:
293 <p>Further information: manpages hwclock(8), tzselect(1) and tzconfig(8); <a
294 href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/system-administrator/ch-sysadmin-time.html">Debian
295 GNU/Linux System Administrator's Manual Chapter 16 - Time</a> and <a
296 href="http://wiki.debian.org/TimeZoneChanges">TimeZoneChanges in the
299 <h3><a name="hdinstall"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to install Grml to harddisk?</a></h3>
301 <p>Short anwer: No.</p>
303 <p>If you want to get a plain Debian system take a look at <a
304 href="/grml-debootstrap/">grml-debootstrap</a>.</p>
306 <p>Long(er) answer: yes it's possible to install Grml. But it's not
307 supported and you'll be on your own. That's why we decided to make it
308 not-so-obvious. If you really know what you're doing you'll find out on
309 your own. Reminder: use <a
310 href="/grml-debootstrap/">grml-debootstrap</a> or <a
311 href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian Installer</a> instead.</p>
313 <h2><a name="software"></a><a href="#toc">Software</a></h2>
315 <h3><a name="sw_version"></a><a href="#toc">Which package(s) and which
316 version is available?</a></h3>
318 <p>If you want to get details about the provided packages and the
319 package versions without booting the Grml ISO check out the dpkg_...
320 files in the <a href="/files/#debian">Debian-Information section on
321 grml.org/files/</a>.</p>
323 <h3><a name="zsh"></a><a href="#toc">Why is Zsh the default shell?</a></h3>
325 <p>Short answer: because <a href="/zsh/">Zsh rocks</a>, really!</p>
327 <p>Long(er) answer: If you don't know Zsh take a look the <a
328 href="/zsh/">Grml Zsh reference card</a>.</p>
330 <p>If you are a Bash user and don't know Zsh yet, don't be
331 afraid. Bash is largely a subset of Zsh and you don't have to
332 throw away your knowledge about shell stuff.</p>
334 <h2><a name="stuff"></a><a href="#toc">Support / Unanswered stuff</a></h2>
336 <h3><a name="questions"></a><a href="#toc">Further questions</a></h3>
338 <p>Do you have a question which is not answered in the FAQ or
339 in the provided <a href="/docs/">documentation</a> (execute
340 "grml-info" on your Grml system for offline
341 documentation)? Also check out 'grml-tips $KEYWORD' on your
342 Grml system. Take a look at
343 <a href="/">the Grml website</a> and <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/">the
344 grml-wiki</a>. A good place to become part of the community is the <a
345 href="/mailinglist/">Grml mailinglist</a>.</p>
347 <h3><a name="support"></a><a href="#toc">Commercial Support</a></h3>
349 <p>You want to deploy Grml in your data center, use it as part of your
350 business or have an emergency case? You're happy with Grml but would
351 like to get your very own live cd (providing your favourite software
352 selection, special configuration, setup and your bootsplash)?
353 Please get in <a href="/contact/">touch with us</a>.</p>
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