CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML
==============================================================================
-*IMPORTANT NOTICE*: Some bootoptions may not work as expected (and documented) yet
- because grml is based on a new framework named grml-live now - see
- http://grml.org/grml-live/ for details. Please report all bootoptions
- that do not work as expected. Thank you! http://grml.org/bugs/
+These options work from the (isolinux/grub) bootprompt of grml based (live) systems.
-These options (can be combined) work from the (isolinux/grub) bootprompt:
+The following kernel options are available (do NOT use them as 'grml $OPTION',
+use them as '$OPTION'!):
grml Use default settings (same as just pressing return)
grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and
qemu Boot with special options for use in Qemu
vmware Boot with special options for use in VMware
-Important: if you notice any problems with one of the
-following options please report it to the grml-team:
-http://grml.org/bugs/
-
-Notice: not all of the following cheatcodes are available on all the grml flavours.
+The following boot options can be combined.
+Notice: not all of the them are available on all the grml flavours.
For example the X window system is not part of grml-small.
Regional settings:
grml home=/dev/sda1/grml.img Mount loopback file as /home/grml
grml home=scan Automatic search for grml homedir (using file grml.img)
grml hostname=... Set hostname
-grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
- copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a jpg file named like the
given distri name can be found in directory desktop on the ISO
(/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as wallpaper for grml
-grml unionfs Use unionfs instead of aufs as overlay filesystem
+grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
+ copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
+grml mypath=... Add specified option into $PATH of Zsh.
+ For example when using "grml mypath=/foobar" then /foobar
+ will be added to the end of $PATH inside Zsh.
-Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and
-/usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html
-for more information regarding the configuration
-framework of grml.
+Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and /usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html
+for more information regarding the configuration framework of grml.
Booting related options:
------------------------
-grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run
- from there (compare with 'grml2ram')
-grml tohd=/dev/hda1 Copy CD to HD partition and run from there
-grml fromhd Skip checking for grml on CD-ROM
-grml fromhd=/dev/hda1 Boot from previously copied CD-Image
-grml bootfrom=/dev/hda1 Access Image then boot from previously
- copied CD-Image
-grml bootfrom=/dev/hda1/GRML.iso Access image, boot from ISO-Image
-grml grml_dir=GRML Directory to search for on the CD
-grml grml_name=GRML SquashFS-File to search for on the CD
+grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and run from there
+grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
+grml toram=filename.squashfs Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
+ Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
+ Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
+ corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default.
+
+grml tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
+ use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
+grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1 Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device.
+ Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
+ running 'rsync -a --progress /live/image/live /mnt/sda1/'.
+grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso Use specified ISO image for booting.
+ Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
+ the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
+ "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso".
+ Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
+ to prevent any typing errors.
+
+grml live-media-path=live Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium.
+ By default, it is set to /live.
+grml module=grml Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
+ be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
+ on "/live" directory of the live medium.
+ Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
+ http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
Debugging related settings:
---------------------------
-debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen
-grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, but without using GNU screen
+debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, most verbose
+grml debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, verbose
+grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
-grml log Log error messages while booting and
+grml log Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
+ and /var/log/boot.
grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
Service related settings:
-------------------------
grml ssh=password Set password for user grml and start ssh-server
grml startup=script Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
-grml nosyslog Do not start syslog-ng
+grml nosyslog Do not start syslog daemon
grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
grml noconsolefont Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
grml noblank Disable console blanking
grml blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
grml swspeak Prepare system for use with software synthesizer through speakup
Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
+grml swspeak=espeak Use espeakup (if available) as connector to speakup.
+ Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
+grml swspeak=speechd Use speech-dispatcher / speechd-up (if available) as connector to speakup.
+ Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
grml speakup_synth=... Use speakup kernel module with given hardware type
grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid arrays
grml nolvm Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
grml lvm Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
-grml cdrom=/dev/... Use specifed device as CD-ROM device (used for mounting the grml-ISO)
grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
grml 915resolution=... Start resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset
usage: $MODE,$XRESO,$YRESO
-grml blacklist=modulename Completely disable loading of specified module via
- blacklisting through /etc/modprobe.d/grml
+grml blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
+ blacklisting through udev's /etc/modprobe.d/grml
grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via /sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn
Usage example for automatic installation:
+
debian2hd target=/dev/hda1 grub=hd0 groot=hd0,0 mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar
See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.
problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse
driver during that procedure.
-*) Bootfrom needs access to a running grml-System with the same Kernel
-as the Bootkernel, before it is able to mount the partition / ISO-Image.
-This should allow a poor mans install from NTFS-Partitions and makes it
-also possible to boot an ISO-Image directly. You can also use wildcards
-in the ISO-Filename, but it must be unique. So: If you have just one
-grml.iso on /dev/hda1 you can access it as: bootfrom=/dev/hda1/G*.iso,
-but if there are several, you need to make clear, which one you want.
-(Feature added by Fabian Franz.)
-
*) If your grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
-then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, or your CD-burner
-created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media. This is
-the most common error reported. Please boot with "grml testcd" to check
-if the CD is OK, and/or even better, verify the MD5 checksums that are
-present on the mirrors before writing the CD. Check your CD low-level
-via running 'readcd -c2scan dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective
-IDE controllers cause this error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please
-read the grml-FAQ.
+then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, your CD-burner
+created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media or your
+CD-ROM drive is broken. This is the most common error reported. Please
+boot with "grml testcd" to check if the CD is OK, and/or even better,
+verify the MD5 checksums that are present on the mirrors before writing
+the CD. Check your CD low-level via running 'readcd -c2scan
+dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective IDE controllers cause this
+error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please read the grml-FAQ.
*) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
grml noagp noapm noapic acpi=off nodma
to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
-*) Some boards apparently don't pass the proper memory size to the
-linux-kernel. It may cause the message "Panic: cannot mount root file
-system" and the system hangs. Use "grml mem=128M" to solve that
-problem if your system has 128MByte memory for example (caution:
-you MUST use a capital "M" here).
+*) Some boards (especially those with E-ISA slots) apparently don't pass
+the proper memory size to the linux-kernel. It may cause the message
+"Panic: cannot mount root file system" and the system hangs. Use "grml
+mem=128M" to solve that problem if your system has 128MByte memory for
+example (caution: you MUST use a capital "M" here).
*) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the
system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
-b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
-directory GRML, containig the compressed filesystem file "GRML",
+directory live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
*) Caution: screensavers: Don't start xlock/vlock or any other screensaver
that requires a password. There are no default passwords on grml,
i.e. all accounts are LOCKED unless you explicitly set a password.
-See also README_Security.txt about this issue.
+See also README.txt about this issue.
Hint: If you accidentially started a screensaver switch to one of the
textconsoles by Control-Alt-F1 and kill the screensaver (or just set a
password for the grml user). Take a look at the script grml-lock.