grml2hd
Index:
Preface
grml2hd is the installer for installing the running grml system to a harddisk.
Important! The Grml team does not take responsibility for loss of any data!
grml2hd supports filesystems ext2/ext3/ext4, JFS, XFS and reiserfs. You should have a partition with at least 2.7 GB free space to use Grml. You can choose the one you would like to use when running grml2hd. You are prompted for the root-password, the username and some more easy-to-answer-questions and that's it! Take a look at the screenshots to get an idea. Depending of your hardware you can get a working linux box within 5 to 30 minutes.
Notice: If you are using Grml in a productive environment and/or use a grml2hd installation we strongly recommend to subscribe to the grml user mailinglist! Notice that Grml is based on Debian unstable, so you really should be familiar with Debian unstable if you plan to use grml as a harddisk system.
Make sure you are using the latest version of grml2hd. Just run 'apt-get update ; apt-get install grml2hd' if you have network access.
Please make sure that your grml-ISO is ok. Otherwise installation will not be possible and might hang at a specific point. Verify the ISO via booting with 'grml testcd'. Check your CD low-level running
# readcd -c2scan dev=/dev/cdrom
If you are running a grml2hd installation we strongly recommend to subscribe to the grml-user mailinglist!
For more information take a look at the grml2hd manpage.
Screenshots of installation
An image gallery providing screenshots for all the steps of grml2hd is available online. Just take the tour!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do I use the automatic installation?
You can install grml without any manual interaction. Either configure /etc/grml2hd/config and run 'GRML2HD_NONINTERACTIVE=1 grml2hd' afterwards or take a look at the boot parameter 'grml2hd' (take a look at the bootsplash F9). If you want to install it via network take a look at the grml2hd configuration dialog within grml-terminalserver.
How about installing software and updates?
If you install grml to harddisk you have a Debian unstable with some special packages. You can install any software you like from the pools which are defined in /etc/apt/sources.list and of course you can keep your system up to date via running 'apt-get update; apt-get upgrade'. So if you are missing some software just install it as you are used from your 'normal' Debian system. Of course you also get all updates of grml-packages (unless you remove the grml.org-line in your sources.list). If you encounter any problems when running 'apt-get update' just compare /etc/apt/sources.list with /etc/apt/sources.list.grml. /etc/apt/sources.list.grml is a repository list provided by package grml-etc which provides current package lists. If you want to use the grml-list just symlink it: 'ln -sf /etc/apt/sources.list.grml /etc/apt/sources.list'.
What about binary compatibility between grml and Debian?
As grml is based on Debian you have full binary compatibility between grml and Debian (sid/unstable).
Known Issues
I can't boot my grml system because Lilo says LI L99 99 99...
You probably did not install lilo to master boot record (MBR) boot chose 'install lilo into partition' in the grml2hd dialog. So now you don't have a bootmanager in your MBR. Solution: Install lilo to MBR. Example:
sudo mount -o rw,dev,suid /mnt/hda1 # mount harddisk sudo chroot /mnt/hda1 # chroot into the grml-system vim -X /etc/lilo.conf # adjust the line containing the bootoption to 'boot=/dev/hda' lilo # now run lilo again, leave chroot environment (exit) and reboot your system afterwards
I installed grml on a XFS filesystem and grml does not boot anymore
XFS and lilo don't work together when lilo is installed in the boot sector of the harddisk because the XFS superblock goes where lilo would be installed. You have to install lilo in the master boot record of your harddisk to solve this problem.
If you read this after installing grml to your harddisk you should use the grml live-cd and fix /etc/lilo.conf manually and rerun lilo (see above).