1 CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML
2 ==============================================================================
4 These options work from the (isolinux/grub) bootprompt of grml based (live) systems.
6 The following kernel options are available (do NOT use them as 'grml $OPTION',
7 use them as '$OPTION'!):
9 grml Use default settings (same as just pressing return)
10 grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and
11 run from there (compare with 'grml toram')
12 memtest Run Memtest86+ instead of Linux
13 fb1280x1024 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (1)
14 fb1024x768 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (2) [notice: grml's default]
15 fb800x600 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (3)
16 nofb Disable framebuffer
17 floppy Boot from floppydisk
18 hd / hd1 / hd2 / hd3 Boot from (local) primary / secondary /... harddisk
19 failsafe Boot with (almost) no HW-detection
20 debug Get shells during process of booting for debugging
21 bootchart Create chart of booting sequence in /var/log/bootchart.tgz
22 forensic Do not touch any harddisks during hardware recognition
23 serial Activate ttyS0 and start mgetty
25 grub Boot into the Grub bootloader
26 qemu Boot with special options for use in Qemu
27 vmware Boot with special options for use in VMware
29 The following boot options can be combined.
30 Notice: not all of the them are available on all the grml flavours.
31 For example the X window system is not part of grml-small.
35 grml lang=at|de|cn|da|es|fr|it Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
36 grml lang=nl|pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
37 grml lang=$LANG-iso Activate $LANG (use like in lines above) with iso-mode instead of utf8
38 grml gmt Use GMT-based time
39 grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use this timezone for TZ
40 grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)
41 grml setkeycodes Set some special function keys for MS/HP keyboards
43 Configuration settings:
44 -----------------------
45 grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Execute "grml.sh" and extract config.tbz from a partition:
46 /dev/fd0 for floppy disk
47 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
48 grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
49 grml partconf=/dev/hda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/hda2
50 to booting grml system
51 grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration archive
52 instead of the default one (config.tbz)
53 grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
54 use it in combination with myconfig or netconfig
55 grml home=/dev/hda2 Mount specified partition as grml homedir
56 grml home=/dev/sda1/grml.img Mount loopback file as /home/grml
57 grml home=scan Automatic search for grml homedir (using file grml.img)
58 grml hostname=... Set hostname
59 grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a jpg file named like the
60 given distri name can be found in directory desktop on the ISO
61 (/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as wallpaper for grml
62 grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
63 copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
65 Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and /usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html
66 for more information regarding the configuration framework of grml.
68 Booting related options:
69 ------------------------
70 grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and run from there
71 grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
72 grml toram=filename.squashfs Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
73 Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
74 Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
75 corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default.
77 grml tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
78 use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
79 grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1 Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device.
80 Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
81 running 'rsync -a --progress /live/image/live /mnt/sda1/'.
82 grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso Use specified ISO image for booting.
83 Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
84 the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
85 "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso".
86 Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
87 to prevent any typing errors.
89 grml live-media-path=live Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium.
90 By default, it is set to /live.
91 grml module=grml Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
92 be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
93 on "/live" directory of the live medium.
94 Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
95 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
97 Debugging related settings:
98 ---------------------------
99 debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, most verbose
100 grml debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, verbose
101 grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
102 grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
103 grml log Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
105 grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
107 Service related settings:
108 -------------------------
109 grml ssh=password Set password for user grml and start ssh-server
110 grml startup=script Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
111 grml nosyslog Do not start syslog daemon
112 grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
113 grml noconsolefont Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
114 grml noblank Disable console blanking
115 grml tsplash Text based bootsplash
116 grml noquick Disable grml-quickconfig startup script
117 grml small Do not start that many consoles
118 grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 Set up basic traffic shaping
119 grml services={postfix,mysql,...} Start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
120 grml welcome Welcome message via soundoutput
121 grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
122 grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when halting/rebooting the system
123 grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE Activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified network
124 and interface, usage example:
125 distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
126 grml gcc=3.4 gpp=3.4 Link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c++ to specified version
127 grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically
128 Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng (wrapper around fluxbox)
130 Accessibility related settings:
131 -------------------------------
132 grml blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
133 grml swspeak Prepare system for use with software synthesizer through speakup
134 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
135 grml swspeak=espeak Use espeakup (if available) as connector to speakup.
136 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
137 grml swspeak=speechd Use speech-dispatcher / speechd-up (if available) as connector to speakup.
138 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
139 grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
140 grml speakup_synth=... Use speakup kernel module with given hardware type
142 Hardware related settings:
143 --------------------------
144 grml swap Activate present/detected swap partitions
145 grml noswraid Disable scanning for software raid arrays (creates /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf)
146 grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid arrays
147 grml nolvm Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
148 grml lvm Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
149 grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
150 grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
151 grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
152 grml no{acpi,agp,apm,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
153 grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
154 grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
155 grml 915resolution=... Start resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset
156 usage: $MODE,$XRESO,$YRESO
157 grml blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
158 blacklisting through udev's /etc/modprobe.d/grml
159 grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via /sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
160 grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
161 grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
162 grml micvol=number Set mixer volume of microphone to level $number (default: 0)
163 grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
164 grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
165 grml nousb2 Disable initialization of USB 2.x controller(s)
166 grml nousb Disable initialization of USB in booting sequence
167 grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in booting sequence
168 grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
169 grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
170 grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
171 grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
172 grml dma Enable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
173 grml nodma ide=nodma Disable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
174 grml vga=normal [video=ofonly] No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
175 grml vga=ask [video=ofonly] Display menu for framebuffer mode
177 Installation related settings:
178 ------------------------------
180 Caution: do *not* use the grml2hd and/or debian2hd bootoption if you do not know what you are doing!
182 Install plain Debian via debian2hd bootoption (which runs grml-debootstrap in non-interactive mode):
184 debian2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for debian2hd are:
186 target= target partition/directory of the new Debian system, e.g.: target=/dev/hda1
187 grub= where to install grub to? Use grub syntax for specifying, e.g.: grub=hd0
188 groot= specify root device for usage in grub (use grub syntax), e.g.: groot=hd0,0
189 release= specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.: release=sid
190 mirror= specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.: mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
191 password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn
193 Usage example for automatic installation:
195 debian2hd target=/dev/hda1 grub=hd0 groot=hd0,0 mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar
197 See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.
199 Install grml via grml2hd bootoption (which runs grml2hd in non-interactive mode):
201 grml2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for grml2hd are:
203 user= user name for user which should be used at hd-install
204 filesystem={ext2|ext3|reiserfs|reiser4|jfs|xfs} filesystem to be used
205 mbr=/dev/... partition where MBR should be installed (default:=partition)
206 partition=/dev/... partition where grml should be installed
208 Usage example for booting:
209 grml2hd partition=/dev/hda4 mbr=/dev/hda filesystem=ext3 user=mika
211 Passwords of user root and user are "grml" - please adjust after hd-install!
213 See http://grml.org/grml2hd/ for more information.
218 *) Try "grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98" if (you have a notebook and) your
219 PS/2 mouse doesn't work. (Possibly caused by a BIOS-flaw on your board,
220 BIOS updates can help.) Sometimes, switching to the text console with
221 Control-Alt-F1 and back to the X-screen with Control-Alt-F7 solves the
222 problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse
223 driver during that procedure.
225 *) If your grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
226 errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
227 then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, or your CD-burner
228 created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media. This is
229 the most common error reported. Please boot with "grml testcd" to check
230 if the CD is OK, and/or even better, verify the MD5 checksums that are
231 present on the mirrors before writing the CD. Check your CD low-level
232 via running 'readcd -c2scan dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective
233 IDE controllers cause this error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please
236 *) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
237 the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
238 grml noagp noapm noapic acpi=off nodma
239 to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
241 *) Some boards apparently don't pass the proper memory size to the
242 linux-kernel. It may cause the message "Panic: cannot mount root file
243 system" and the system hangs. Use "grml mem=128M" to solve that
244 problem if your system has 128MByte memory for example (caution:
245 you MUST use a capital "M" here).
247 *) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the
248 system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
249 "grml.sh" and/or extracting configuration files from a file named
250 config.tbz from the root directory on the given device (or floppy).
251 Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ for more information regarding
252 the configuration framework of grml.
254 *) If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify
256 -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
257 -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
259 as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
260 directory live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
261 must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
263 *) Caution: screensavers: Don't start xlock/vlock or any other screensaver
264 that requires a password. There are no default passwords on grml,
265 i.e. all accounts are LOCKED unless you explicitly set a password.
266 See also README.txt about this issue.
267 Hint: If you accidentially started a screensaver switch to one of the
268 textconsoles by Control-Alt-F1 and kill the screensaver (or just set a
269 password for the grml user). Take a look at the script grml-lock.