6 grml2usb - install grml ISO(s) on usb device for booting
10 grml2usb [ options ] <ISO[s]> <device>
12 *******************************************************************************
13 Important! The grml team does not take responsibility for loss of any data!
14 *******************************************************************************
20 grml2usb installs grml on a given partition of your usb device and makes it
21 bootable. It provides multi-iso support, meaning you can specify several grml
22 ISOs on the command line at once and select the grml flavour you would like to
23 boot on the bootprompt then. Note that the *first* ISO specified on the grml2usb
24 command line will become the default one (that's the one that will boot when
25 just pressing enter on the bootprompt or wait until the boot timeout matches).
28 By default a compatible master boot record (MBR) is installed on the device
29 (being for example /dev/sdx when executing 'grml2usb grml.iso /dev/sdx1')
30 and grub is being used as default bootloader. Avoid installation of the
31 default MBR using the --skip-mbr option or if you encounter any problems
32 with the default MBR consider using --syslinux-mbr instead. If bootloader
33 grub doesn't work for you check out the --syslinux option.
39 The ISO[s] should be the path to one or multiple grml-ISOs and/or the path to
40 the currently running live-system (being /live/image).
42 The device either might be a device name like /dev/sdx1 or a directory. When
43 specifying a device name the device is mounted automatically. When specifying a
44 directory grml2usb is assuming that you did set up a bootloader on your own (or
45 don't need one) and a bootloader won't be installed automatically.
47 The following options are supported:
49 *\--bootoptions=...*::
51 Use specified bootoptions as default.
53 *\--bootloader-only*::
55 Do *not* copy files but instead just install a bootloader. Note that the boot
56 addons are copied to /boot/addons at this stage as well. If you want to skip
57 copying the boot addons consider using the --skip-addons option.
61 Copy files only but do *not* install a bootloader.
65 Avoid executing commands, instead show what would be executed.
66 Warning: please notice that the ISO has to be mounted anyway, otherwise
67 identifying the grml flavour would not be possible.
71 Format specified partition with FAT16.
72 **Important:** this will destroy any existing data on the specified partition!
76 Force any (possible dangerous) actions requiring manual interaction (like --fat16).
80 Display usage information and exit.
82 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
85 Install specified initrd instead of the default. You might want to specify
86 option *--kernel* as well. (Be aware when using multiboot setup.)
87 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
88 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
90 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
93 Install specified kernel instead of the default. You might want to specify
94 option *--initrd* as well. (Be aware when using multiboot setup.)
95 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
96 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
98 *\--lilo-binary=...*::
100 Use specified lilo executable for installing master boot record (MBR) when using
101 the --syslinux-mbr option. By default any system wide (from $PATH) lilo
102 executable is taken. If there can not be find any lilo executable the
103 statically compiled version of the grml2usb Debian package (see
104 /usr/share/grml2usb/lilo/lilo.static.[amd64|i386]) is taken.
108 Install master boot record (MBR) with integrated boot menu: interactively choose
109 the partition to boot from, with a timeout to load the default partition, or
110 boot from floppy. When NOT using the --mbr-menu option a MBR with LBA and large
111 disc support but without an integrated boot menu is installed (so it's not
112 visible at all but instead directly jumps to the bootloader - being grub or
113 syslinux). Note: This options is available only when using the default MBR and
114 won't have any effect if you're using the --syslinux-mbr option.
118 Do not output anything but just errors on console.
122 Do not install /boot/addons/ files (like dos, grub, memdisk,...).
124 *\--skip-grub-config*::
126 Skip generation of grub configuration files. By default the configuration
127 files for syslinux *and* grub will be written so you've a working configuration
128 file no matter whether you're using grub or syslinux as bootloader.
132 Do not touch/install the master boot record (MBR).
134 *\--skip-syslinux-config*::
136 Skip generation of syslinux configuration files. By default the configuration
137 files for syslinux *and* grub will be written so you've a working configuration
138 file no matter whether you're using grub or syslinux as bootloader.
142 Install syslinux bootloader instead of the default (being grub).
146 Install syslinux' master boot record (MBR, which is booting from the partition
147 with the "active" flag set) instead of the default one. If you encounter any
148 problems with the default MBR you can try using the syslinux MBR instead. If
149 that works for you please <<author,let us know>> so we can adjust our default
150 MBR accordingly. Note: When using the --syslinux-mbr option lilo is executed
151 before the MBR is installed so the according partitions are set active.
153 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
156 Install specified squashfs file instead of the default.
157 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
158 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
160 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
163 Uninstall grml ISO files.
164 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
165 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
169 Return version and exit.
179 Directory layout on usb device
180 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
184 | |-- allinone.img [grub - all in one image]
185 | |-- bsd4grml/ [MirBSD]
186 | |-- balder10.imz [FreeDOS]
187 | |-- memdisk [chainloading helper]
188 | |-- memtest [memtest86+]
191 | | |-- linux26 [Kernel]
192 | | |-- initrd.gz [initramfs]
194 | | |-- linux26 [Kernel]
195 | | |-- initrd.gz [initramfs]
197 | | |-- linux26 [...]
209 | |-- grml.png [splash screen for grub2]
210 | |-- grub.cfg [configuration file for grub2]
211 | |-- menu.lst [configuration file for grub1]
212 | |-- splash.xpm.gz [splash screen for grub1]
214 |-- boot.msg [boot splash for syslinux]
215 |-- f1 [screen when pressing f1]
216 |-- f2 [screen when pressing f2]
225 |-- logo.16 [graphical part of boot splash]
226 `-- syslinux.cfg [configuration file for syslinux]
229 |-- grml2usb.txt [not yet implemented]
230 |-- grml-cheatcodes.txt [list of bootoptions for grml]
231 |-- grml-version.txt [file containing information about grml-version]
232 |-- LICENSE.txt [license information]
233 |-- md5sums [md5sums of original ISO]
234 |-- README.txt [informational text]
235 `-- web/ [browser related files]
246 | |-- filesystem.module [module specifying which squashfs should be used for grml]
247 | `-- grml.squashfs [squashfs file for grml]
249 | |-- filesystem.module [module specifying which squashfs should be used for grml-medium]
250 | `-- grml-medium.squashfs [squashfs file for grml-medium]
252 | |-- filesystem.module [module specifying which squashfs should be used for grml-medium]
253 | `-- grml-small.squashfs [squashfs file for grml-small]
260 % git clone git://git.grml.org/grml2usb.git
263 Developers Debugging Hints
264 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
266 To play with grml2usb you can avoid using a real device via a loopback file
269 # dd if=/dev/zero of=~/loopback bs=1M count=100 # adjust size to your needs
270 # losetup /dev/loop1 ~/loopback
272 Then create according partitions either running for example:
274 # echo -en "n\np\n1\n\n\nt\n6\na\n1\n w\n" | fdisk /dev/loop1
278 # parted /dev/loop1 -s "mkpart primary fat16 0 -1s mkfs 1 fat16"
280 Finally create a filesystem and execute grml2usb as needed:
282 # mkfs.vfat /dev/loop1
283 # grml2usb --bootloader-only /grml/isos/grml-small_2009.05.iso /dev/loop1
285 [[performance-tracing]]
289 # blktrace -d /dev/sdx -o - | blkparse -i -
290 # grml2usb grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
293 Troubleshooting and Pitfalls when booting
294 -----------------------------------------
296 Here is a list of common error messages from BIOS/bootloader when trying to boot
299 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
300 TODO: better list type for the error message / reason part?
301 See http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/userguide.html
302 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
305 *Error message*:: ran out of input data. System halted
307 *Reason*:: Everything OK, except for the filesystem used on your usb device. So
308 instead of fat16 you are using for example fat32. Fix: use the appropriate
309 filesystem (fat16 for usb pens usually). The Bootsplash might be displayed, the
310 kernel loads but you very soon get the error message.
312 *Error message*:: Invalid operating system
314 *Reason*:: the partition layout is not ok. Very probably there's no primary
315 partition (/dev/sdX{1..4}) or none has the flag 'bootable' set.
317 *Error message*:: No operating system found.
319 *Reason*:: you forgot to set the boot-flag on the partition. Or there really isn't
320 any operating system at all. :)
322 *Error message*:: kernel-panic: unable to mount root-fs...
324 *Reason*:: Kernel boots but fails to find the root filesystem. The root=
325 argument in your kernel commandline is pointing to the wrong device. Adjust
326 root=..., consider using root=UUID=....
328 *Error message*:: Could not find kernel image: ...
330 *Reason*:: either a broken isolinux/syslinux version or a broken BIOS. Check out
331 whether the vendor provides a BIOS update or if using bootloader grub instead of
332 isolinux/syslinux fixes the problem.
335 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
336 --------------------------------
339 Where can I get grml2usb?
340 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
342 grml2usb is available as Debian package via link:http://deb.grml.org/[the
343 grml-testing Debian repository].
345 If you do not want to (or can't) use the grml2usb Debian package you can either
346 use the grml2usb git tree running:
348 git clone git://git.grml.org/grml2usb.git
353 or download the provided
354 link:http://grml.org/grml2usb/grml2usb.tgz[http://grml.org/grml2usb/grml2usb.tgz]
355 (link:http://grml.org/grml2usb/grml2usb.tgz.md5.asc[gpg signed md5 hash]).
356 Download and extract the tarball and execute the provided script 'install.sh'.
359 It is *NOT* enough to have just the grml2usb script itself without the according
360 files provided either via the Debian package, the git tree or the file
363 [[grml2hd-vs-grml2usb]]
364 What's the difference between grml2hd and grml2usb?
365 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
367 grml2hd installs a running grml system to a harddisk. When rebooting the
368 harddisk installation can be modified and changes will find their way to the
369 harddisk immediately. grml2usb copies just the compressed chroot filesystem
370 (being the squashfs file), some further informational files and a bootloader to
371 your device. This way you don't need as much space as with a harddisk
372 installation (just a USB device with >=ISO size) and when rebooting the system
373 your changes will be lost (unless you are using the persistency feature, see
374 link:http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency[http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency]).
375 Think of using a better CD version: booting is (usually) faster, you don't need
376 to burn a new CD when a new ISO version arrives (just install the new ISO using
377 grml2usb) and you can carry additional files on a writable medium with yourself.
380 Why can't I just dd the ISO to a USB device?
381 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
386 Note that ANY existing data on your USB device will be destroyed when
387 using the dd approach.
389 Grab a recent grml ISO and use
390 link:http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/isolinux#HYBRID_CD-ROM.2FHARD_DISK_MODE[isohybrid
391 from the syslinux project]:
393 % isohybrid grml_2009.05.iso
395 This allows you to dd the grml ISO to your USB device (use for example
396 link:http://www.chrysocome.net/rawwrite[rawwrite] if you've just a Windows
397 system available) running:
399 % dd if=grml_2009.05.iso of=/dev/sdX
401 where /dev/sdX is your USB device.
404 Upcoming stable versions of grml will provide dd-able ISOs straight
405 out-of-the-box (and current link:http://daily.grml.org/[daily snapshots] already
406 do) using a so called manifold boot method.
409 What's the difference between grml2usb and just using dd?
410 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
412 grml2usb does not remove any data from your USB device and does not alter the
413 partition table at all. grml2usb provides multi-ISO support, support for adding
414 default bootoptions and selecting the bootloader (grub vs. syslinux) without
415 having to manually touch the ISO at all.
421 grml2iso is a script which uses grml2usb to generate a multiboot ISO out of
422 several grml ISOs. See 'man grml2iso' for further details.
425 Why is there a menu.lst and a grub.cfg inside /boot/grub/?
426 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
428 grml2usb supports grub version 1 (grub1) as well as grub version 2 (grub2).
429 Whereas grub1 uses menu.lst the new version grub2 needs grub.cfg.
430 Providing both files allows grml2usb to install grub on the target device
431 no matter which grub version is available on the host where grml2usb is
435 grub-install fails with 'The file ../boot/grub/stage1 not read correctly"?!
436 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
438 Check whether the partition has the right partition type. For example do NOT use
439 FAT16 (partition type 6) when using a ext3 filesystem on the partition but
440 instead use the correct partition type ('83' - Linux) then.
442 [[grub-install-xfs_freeze]]
443 grub-install complains about /sbin/grub-install and/or xfs_freeze?!
444 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
446 The following message:
448 You shouldn't call /sbin/grub-install. Please call /usr/sbin/grub-install instead!
449 xfs_freeze: specified file ["/tmp/tmpqaBK6z/boot/grub"] is not on an XFS filesystem
451 This is "normal". grub-install sends those messages to stderr. To avoid hiding any
452 possible real error messages grml2usb doesn't ignore those messages.
455 grub-install complains about /boot/grub/device.map?!
456 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
458 The following message:
460 grub-probe: error: Cannot open `/boot/grub/device.map'
462 This is "normal" (at least with grub1). This isn't a problem, because the
463 device.map file will be generated on the target device anyway.
466 grub-install complains about a unary operator?!
467 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
469 The following message:
471 '/usr/sbin/grub-install: line 374: [: =: unary operator expected'
473 This is "normal". Just ignore it. (It usually doesn't appear
474 on the second invocation on the same device.)
476 [[unknown-filesystem]]
477 grub-install fails with grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem?!
478 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
480 The following message:
482 grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem
483 Auto-detection of a filesystem module failed.
484 Please specify the module with the option `--modules' explicitly.
486 usually means that the device partition table says something else than the
487 filesystem on the device. For example using FAT16 as filesystem type and
488 using FAT32 as filesystem on the partition will not work. Either set filesystem
489 type to FAT32 or format the partition using FAT16. It is essential that
490 device partition table and filesystem use the same filesystem type.
493 grub-setup fails after Attempting to install GRUB to a partition instead of the MBR?!
494 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
496 The following message:
498 grub-setup: warn: Attempting to install GRUB to a partition instead of the MBR. This is a BAD idea.
499 grub-setup: warn: Embedding is not possible. GRUB can only be installed in this setup by using blocklists. However, blocklists are UNRELIABLE and its use is discouraged.
500 grub-setup: error: Cannot read `/grub/core.img' correctly
502 appears because recent grub2 versions introduced a regression which avoids that
503 grub is being installed into a partition (instead of MBR). We (the grml2usb
504 developers) are evaluating the current situation (thinking about installing grub
505 into the MBR). To fix this issue in the meanwhile either manually execute
506 (adjust '/dev/sdx' to your device of course):
508 mount /dev/sdx1 /mnt/test
509 grub-install --force --recheck --no-floppy --root-directory=/mnt/test /dev/sdx
511 after execution of grml2usb failed (this will will install grub into the MBR of
512 the specified device) or consider using the '--syslinux' option until this issue
513 is resolved. Sorry about that.
516 I'm getting something like "Error: /usr/share/grml2usb/grub/splash.xpm.gz can not be read"!?
517 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
519 Looks like you've only the grml2usb script itself available. Please make sure
520 you've the grml2usb Debian package installed. The most resent stable version is
521 available via link:http://deb.grml.org/[the grml-testing Debian repository]. If
522 you do not have a Debian system please see section <<download,Where can I get
523 grml2usb?>> in this FAQ.
526 Why do I have to use a FAT16 filesystem?
527 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
529 You have to use a FAT16 filesystem only if you consider using syslinux. Syslinux
530 (currently) does not support any other filesystems. If you want to use another
531 filesystem (like ext2/3) just don't use syslinux (drop the \--syslinux option)
532 but use the default bootloader (grub) instead.
535 I think I've got a really cool idea!
536 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
538 Great! Please check out
539 link:http://git.grml.org/?p=grml2usb.git;a=blob;f=TODO;hb=HEAD[the TODO file].
540 Feel free to <<author,report your wishes to the author>>. Patches highly
544 I've problems with booting from USB.
545 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
547 Check out <<troubleshooting,Troubleshooting and Pitfalls when booting>>.
553 Please <<author,report it to the author>>. Please provide usage examples and output
554 of your grml2usb commandline (consider using the "\--verbose" option).
560 # grml2usb /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
562 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdx1.
564 # grml2usb /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /home/grml/grml_small_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
566 Install specified ISOs on device /dev/sdx1 for multibooting ISOs.
567 Note: boot "grml" as usual, for booting grml-small use "grml-small on the
568 bootprompt, for grml64 use "grml64" and so on... The *first* specified ISO is
569 the one being the default (when just pressing enter or waiting until the timeout
572 # grml2usb /live/image /dev/sdx1
574 Install currently running grml live system on device /dev/sdx1.
576 # grml2usb /live/image /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
578 Install currently running grml live system and the specified
579 ISO on device /dev/sdx1 for multibooting.
581 # grml2usb --fat16 /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
583 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdx1 and format partition /dev/sdx1 with
586 # grml2usb --syslinux /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
588 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdx1 and use syslinux as bootloader
589 (instead of grub being the default).
591 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
592 # grml2usb --kernel=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-grml --initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-grml \
593 /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
595 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdx1 but use given kernel and initrd
596 instead of the ones provided by the ISO.
598 # grml2usb --squashfs=/grml/grml-live/grml_cd/live/grml.squashfs \
599 /home/grml/grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
601 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdx1 but use given squashfs
602 file instead of the one provided by the ISO.
603 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
605 # grml2usb --bootoptions="lang=de ssh=mysecret" grml_2009.05.iso /dev/sdx1
607 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdx1 and use "lang=de ssh=mysecret" as
614 Check out the link:http://grml.org/grml2usb/[grml2usb webpage] and the
615 link:http://git.grml.org/?p=grml2usb.git[grml2usb git repository].
620 Please report feedback, bugreports and wishes <<author,to the author>>.
625 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>
627 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
628 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
629 http://www.startx.ro/sugar/isotostick.sh
630 https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick
631 http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
632 http://www.tux.org/pub/people/kent-robotti/looplinux/rip/mkusb.sh
633 https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/
634 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////