1 CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML V0.6
2 ==============================================================================
4 These options (can be combined) work from the isolinux bootprompt:
6 grml USe default settings (same as just pressing return)
7 memtest Run Memtest86+ instead of Linux
8 expert [options...] Interactive setup for experts
9 fb1280x1024 Use fixed framebuffer graphics and X resolution (1)
10 fb1024x768 Use fixed framebuffer graphics and X resolution (2)
11 fb800x600 Use fixed framebuffer graphics and X resolution (3)
12 nofb Disable framebuffer
13 floppy Boot from floppydisk
14 hd / hd1 / hd2 / hd3 Boot from (local) primary / secondary /... harddisk
15 failsafe Boot with (almost) no HW-detection
16 debug Get shells during process of booting for debugging
17 bootchart Create chart of booting sequence in /var/log/bootchart.tgz
18 forensic Do not touch any harddisks during hardware recognition
19 serial Activate ttyS0 and start mgetty
21 Important: if you notice any problems with one of the
22 following options please report it to the grml-team:
27 grml lang=at|de|cn|da|es|fr|it Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE) + keyboard
28 grml lang=nl|pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE) + keyboard
29 grml gmt Use GMT-based time
30 grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use this timezone for TZ
31 grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard (text-console/X)
32 grml setkeycodes Set some special function keys for MS/HP keyboards
34 Configuration settings:
35 -----------------------
36 grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Execute "grml.sh" and extract config.tbz from a partition:
37 /dev/fd0 for floppy disk
38 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
39 grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
40 grml partconf=/dev/hda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/hda2
41 to booting grml system
42 grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration archive
43 instead of the default one (config.tbz)
44 grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
45 use it in combination with myconfig or netconfig
46 grml home=/dev/hda2 mount specified partition as grml homedir
47 grml home=/dev/sda1/grml.img Mount loopback file as /home/grml
48 grml home=scan Automatic search for grml homedir (using file grml.img)
49 grml toram Copy CD to RAM and run from there
50 grml tohd=/dev/hda1 Copy CD to HD partition and run from there
51 grml fromhd Skip checking for grml on CD-ROM
52 grml fromhd=/dev/hda1 Boot from previously copied CD-Image
53 grml bootfrom=/dev/hda1 Access Image then boot from previously
55 grml bootfrom=/dev/hda1/GRML.iso Access image, boot from ISO-Image.
56 grml grml_dir=GRML Directory to search for on the CD.
57 grml grml_name=GRML SquashFS-File to search for on the CD.
58 grml hostname=... set hostname
59 grml debnet search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
60 copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
62 Debugging related settings:
63 ---------------------------
64 debug get shells during process of booting
65 grml nocolor disable colorized output while booting
66 grml log log error messages while booting and
67 grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
69 Service related settings:
70 -------------------------
71 grml nosyslog Do not start syslog-ng
72 grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
73 grml small do not start that many consoles
74 grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 set up basic traffic shaping
75 grml services={postfix,mysql,...} start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
76 grml welcome welcome message via soundoutput
77 grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt
78 grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD
79 grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified network
80 and interface, usage example:
81 distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
82 grml gcc=3.3 gpp=3.3 link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c++ to specified version
83 grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically.
84 Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng (wrapper around fluxbox)
86 Accessibility related settings:
87 -------------------------------
88 grml blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
89 grml swspeak Prepare system for use with software synthesizer through speakup
90 Run 'speechd-up' after booting up to activate sound output.
91 grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device
92 grml speakup_synth=... Use speakup kernel module with given hardware type
94 Hardware related settings:
95 --------------------------
96 grml scandelay[=seconds] delay accessing ISO-device (useful for usb/firewire)
97 grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
98 grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
99 grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
100 grml no{acpi,agp,apm,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
101 grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
102 grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
103 grml 915resolution=... start resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset
104 usage: $MODE,$XRESO,$YRESO
105 grml blacklist=modulename Completely disable loading of specified module via
106 blacklisting through /etc/modprobe.d/grml
107 grml nosound Mute sound devices
108 grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
109 grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
110 grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
111 grml nousb2 Disable initialization of USB 2.x controller(s)
112 grml nousb Disable initialization of USB in booting sequence
113 grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in booting sequence
114 grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
115 grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
116 grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
117 grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
118 grml dma Enable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
119 grml nodma Disable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
120 grml vga=normal [video=ofonly] No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
121 grml vga=ask [video=ofonly] Display menu for framebuffer mode
124 *) Try "grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98" if (you have a notebook and) your
125 PS/2 mouse doesn't work. (Possibly caused by a BIOS-flaw on your board,
126 BIOS updates can help.) Sometimes, switching to the text console with
127 Control-Alt-F1 and back to the X-screen with Control-Alt-F7 solves the
128 problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse
129 driver during that procedure.
131 *) Bootfrom needs access to a running grml-System with the same Kernel
132 as the Bootkernel, before it is able to mount the partition / ISO-Image.
133 This should allow a poor mans install from NTFS-Partitions and makes it
134 also possible to boot an ISO-Image directly. You can also use wildcards
135 in the ISO-Filename, but it must be unique. So: If you have just one
136 GRML.iso on /dev/hda1 you can access it as: bootfrom=/dev/hda1/G*.iso,
137 but if there are several, you need to make clear, which one you want.
138 (Feature added by Fabian Franz.)
140 If your GRML CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
141 errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
142 then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, or your CD-burner
143 created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media. This is
144 the most common error reported. Please boot with "grml testcd" to check
145 if the CD is OK, and/or even better, verify the MD5 checksums that are
146 present on the mirrors before writing the CD. In some cases, defective
147 IDE controllers cause this error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please
150 In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
151 the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
152 grml nodisc noagp noapm noapic acpi=off nodma nopcmcia
153 to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
155 Some boards apparently don't pass the proper memory size to the
156 linux-kernel. It may cause the message "Panic: cannot mount root file
157 system" and the system hangs. Use "grml mem=128M" to solve that
158 problem if your system has 128MByte memory for example (caution:
159 you MUST use a capital "M" here).
161 The "expert" mode provides a very simple interface to loading additional
162 Kernel modules from floppy disks (ext2 or vfat), plus interactive
163 configuration of mouse/keyboard/xserver. "expert" mode supports
164 the same boot options as "grml".
166 The "myconfig=/dev/partition" options allow you to reconfigure the
167 system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
168 "grml.sh" from the root directory on the given device (or floppy). The
169 shell script will also be executed at startup.
171 If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify
172 -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
173 -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
174 as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
175 directory GRML, containig the compressed filesystem file "GRML",
176 must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
178 Caution: X-Screensaver: Don't start xlock or any screensaver that
179 require a password. There are no default passwords on GRML,
180 i.e. all accounts are LOCKED unless you explicitly set a password.
181 See also README_Security.txt about this issue.
182 If you accidentially started a screensaver switch to one of the
183 textconsoles by Control-Alt-F1 and kill the screensaver (or just set a
184 password for the grml user). Take a look at the script grml-lock!