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29 <h1 align="center">FAQ for grml</h1>
31 <p><strong>Up2date:</strong> applies to Grml version 2013.09</p>
33 <p><a name="toc"></a><strong>Index:</strong></p>
35 <p class="toc"><a href="#general">General:</a></p>
37 <li><a href="#whatis">What is Grml?</a></li>
38 <li><a href="#flavours">What are grml32 / grml64 and grml96?</a></li>
39 <li><a href="#grmlsmall">What is the difference between grml-full and grml-small?</a></li>
40 <li><a href="#get">Where do I get Grml?</a></li>
41 <li><a href="#whatmeans">What does Grml mean?</a></li>
42 <li><a href="#releasename">What about the release name?</a></li>
43 <li><a href="#requirements">Requirements for running Grml</a></li>
44 <li><a href="#bootoptions">Which bootoptions does Grml support?</a></li>
45 <li><a href="#known_issues">Are there any known issues with this release? How about reporting bugs?</a></li>
48 <p class="toc"><a href="#features">Features</a>:</p>
50 <li><a href="#usbboot">How do I boot Grml from a USB stick?</a></li>
51 <li><a href="#persistency">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></li>
52 <li><a href="#password">What are the passwords of users on Grml?</a></li>
53 <li><a href="#version">How do I find out the version of Grml</a></li>
54 <li><a href="#language">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></li>
55 <li><a href="#wms">Which window managers can I use?</a></li>
56 <li><a href="#lvm">Where are my LVM devices?</a></li>
57 <li><a href="#swraid">Where are my Software-RAID devices?</a></li>
58 <li><a href="#booting">Which ways exist to boot Grml?</a></li>
59 <li><a href="#timezone">How do I configure timezone on my Grml system?</a></li>
60 <li><a href="#hdinstall">Is it possible to install Grml to harddisk?</a></li>
63 <p class="toc"><a href="#software">Software:</a></p>
65 <li><a href="#sw_version">Which package(s) and which version is available?</a></li>
66 <li><a href="#zsh">Why is Zsh the default shell?</a></li>
70 <p class="toc"><a href="#stuff">Support / Unanswered stuff:</a></p>
72 <li><a href="#questions">Further questions?</a></li>
73 <li><a href="#support">Commercial Support</a></li>
76 <h2><a name="general"></a><a href="#toc">General</a></h2>
78 <h3><a name="whatis"></a><a href="#toc">What is Grml?</a></h3>
80 <p>Grml is a bootable live system (Live-CD) based
81 on <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a>. It is not
82 necessary to install anything to a harddisk. Grml includes a
83 collection of GNU/Linux software especially for system
84 administrators. It specializes on administrative tasks like
85 installation, deployment and system rescue.</p>
87 <h3><a name="flavours"></a><a href="#toc">What are grml32 / grml64 and grml96?</a></h3>
90 <li>grml32-full: 32bit version (kernel and userspace), ~350MB</li>
91 <li>grml64-full: 64bit version (kernel and userspace), ~350MB</li>
92 <li>grml96-full: multi boot version (featuring the grml32-full and grml64-full ISOs combined on one ISO), ~700MB</li>
95 <p>Unless you've a good reason to really choose the 32bit flavour we
96 strongly encourage you to use either the grml64 or the grml96
99 <p>Please notice that this schema was introduced starting with the
100 downsized Grml release 2011.12. Until then grml96 didn't exist and
101 grml32 was known as just 'grml'.</p>
103 <h3><a name="grmlsmall"></a><a href="#toc">What is the difference between grml-full and grml-small?</a></h3>
105 <p>grml-small provides a reduced set of available software compared to
106 grml-full. It provides the same Linux kernel image as grml-full and is
107 fully binary compatible. Choose the grml-small flavour if size - for
108 whatever reason - really matters to you.</p>
110 <h3><a name="get"></a><a href="#toc">Where do I get Grml?</a></h3>
112 <p>Grml is open source, you can download it from the mirrors
113 listed at <a href="/download">grml.org/download/</a>.</p>
115 <h3><a name="whatmeans"></a><a href="#toc">What does Grml mean?</a></h3>
117 <p>Grml comes close to 'argl' or 'grrr' in English. People use
118 this when they want to express their dissatisfaction with
119 software (amongst other things).</p>
121 <h3><a name="releasename"></a><a href="#toc">What about the release name?</a></h3>
123 <p>Codename of Grml 2013.09 is "Hefeknuddler", well we <a href="/img/stdout_beer.jpg">like beer</a>.</p>
125 <h3><a name="requirements"></a><a href="#toc">Requirements for running Grml</a></h3>
129 <li>Intel-compatible CPU (i586 or later, preferably Pentium class or higher)</li>
131 <li>>=256MB of RAM (>=512MB recommended)</p>
133 <li>either a bootable CD-/DVD-ROM drive,
134 a <a href="#usbboot">USB-boot capable system</a> or a
135 network card for booting via network/PXE (check
136 out <a href="#terminalserver">grml-terminalserver</a>)</li>
140 <h3><a name="accessibility"></a><a href="#toc">What does accessibility at Grml mean?</a></h3>
142 <p>The Grml kernel includes support for speakup. For software,
143 brltty and espeakup are included.</p>
145 <h3><a name="bootoptions"></a><a href="#toc">Which bootoptions does Grml support?</a></h3>
148 href="http://git.grml.org/?p=grml-live.git;a=blob_plain;f=templates/GRML/grml-cheatcodes.txt;hb=HEAD">grml-cheatcodes
149 file</a> (also available via <a href="http://grml.org/cheatcodes/">grml.org/cheatcodes/</a>). Of
151 href="http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt">kernel-parameters.txt</a>
152 of the Linux kernel applies to Grml as well.</p>
154 <a name="release"></a> <!-- old anchor -->
155 <a name="bugreport"></a> <!-- old anchor -->
156 <h3><a name="known_issues"></a><a href="#toc">Are there any known issues? How about reporting bugs?</a></h3>
158 <p>Please visit the <a href="/bugs/">bug webpage</a>.</p>
160 <h2><a name="features"></a><a href="#toc">Features</a></h2>
162 <!-- TODO: needs to be improved! -->
163 <h3><a name="usbboot"></a><a href="#toc">How do I boot Grml from a USB stick?</a></h3>
166 out <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb#grml2usb">grml2usb</a>
168 <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">usb webpage in the
171 <h3><a name="store"></a><a name="persistency"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to store my settings?</a></h3>
174 a <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency">persistency
177 <h3><a name="password"></a><a href="#toc">What are the passwords of users on Grml?</a></h3>
179 <p>There are no default passwords - all accounts are locked by
180 default for security reasons. Even local logins are not
181 possible (unless you set a password or create new user
182 accounts as root). You can create valid passwords using "sudo
183 passwd [username]" from the shell individually. To set a password
184 for the Grml user and enable SSH login you can use the 'ssh'
185 boot option, like 'ssh=yourpassword'.</p>
187 <h3><a name="version"></a><a href="#toc">How do I find out the version of Grml</a></h3>
189 <p>Run 'grml-version' or use the following command:</p>
192 $ cat /etc/grml_version</pre>
194 <h3><a name="language"></a><a href="#toc">How do I change the language/keyboard settings?</a></h3>
196 <p>By default Grml uses english settings. But it is possible to
197 change the settings via using either the bootparam(s) lang,
198 keyboard and xkeyboard or via executing grml-lang when Grml is
199 already running. Usage examples:</p>
202 grml lang=de # enter this at the bootprompt and you will get
203 # german keyboard layout and german $LANG, $LC_ALL,
205 grml keyboard=de xkeyboard=de lang=at # enter this at the bootprompt
206 # and you will get german keyboard and austrian
208 % grml-lang de # enter this in the shell to switch keyboard layout
209 # and $LANG settings in a running Grml system
212 <p>Note: run grml-setlang to get a dialog based frontend for
213 /etc/default/locale. Run grml-setkeyboard to get a dialog
214 based frontend for /etc/sysconfig/keyboard.</p>
217 <h3><a name="wms"></a><a href="#toc">Which window managers can I use?</a></h3>
219 <p>Starting with the 2011.12 release Grml provides <a
220 href="http://www.fluxbox.org/">Fluxbox</a> as window manager.</p>
222 <h3><a name="lvm"></a><a href="#toc">Where are my LVM devices?</a></h3>
224 <p>LVM (Logival Volumes) is <strong>not</strong> started by default to
225 avoid any possible damage to your data. To get access to present LVM
226 devices just execute:</p>
229 # /etc/init.d/lvm2 start
232 <p>If you want to enable LVM by default just boot using the 'lvm'
233 bootoption which automatically enables LVM.</p>
235 <h3><a name="swraid"></a><a href="#toc">Where are my Software-RAID devices?</a></h3>
237 <p>Software-RAID (usually known as the mdadm stuff) is
238 <strong>not</strong> started by default to avoid any possible damage to
239 your data. To get access to present SW-RAID devices just execute:</p>
242 # /etc/init.d/mdadm-raid start
245 <p>If you want to enable SW-RAID by default just boot using
246 the 'swraid' bootoption which enables automatic assembling of
247 software raid arrays.</p>
249 <a name="terminalserver"></a>
250 <h3><a name="booting"></a><a href="#toc">Which ways exist to boot Grml?</a></h3>
252 <!-- TODO: needs rework -->
254 <p>Of course running from CD/DVD is a common way to boot
255 Grml. But Grml provides many more ways to boot:</p>
257 <p>It is possible to boot Grml via USB (e.g. USB stick or
258 harddisk), firewire, or running from a Compact Flash disk. It
259 works out of the box; you don't need to modify anything. Check
260 out <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=usb">the usb
261 webpage in the grml-wiki</a> for more details.</p>
263 <p>Your computer can not boot from CD-ROM but provides a
264 floppy disk? Take a look
265 at <a href="http://btmgr.sourceforge.net/">btmgr</a>, <a href="http://ubcd4win.com/faq.htm#floppy">ubcd4win</a>
266 or <a href="http://linux.simple.be/tools/sbm">sbm</a>. They
267 provide support for booting from CD-ROM via a special floppy
270 <p>grml-terminalserver makes it possible to boot your system
272 using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preboot_Execution_Environment">PXE</a>
273 (Preboot Execution Environment). If your network card does not
274 provide support for booting via PXE you can still boot it
275 either using the provided grub image by grml-terminalserver
276 (for example via floppy drive) or
277 using <a href="http://etherboot.org/wiki/index.php">gPXE</a>.
278 For more information, refer to
279 the <a href="/terminalserver/">grml-terminalserver
282 <h3><a name="timezone"></a><a href="#toc">How do I configure
283 timezone on my Grml system?</a></h3>
285 <p>Available bootoptions relevant in live-cd mode:</p>
288 <li>utc: set UTC, if your system clock is set to UTC (GMT)
289 <li>gmt: set UTC, if your system clock is set to UTC (GMT) [like bootoption utc]
290 <li>tz=$option: set timezone to corresponding $option, usage example:
294 <p>Further information: manpages hwclock(8), tzselect(1) and tzconfig(8); <a
295 href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/system-administrator/ch-sysadmin-time.html">Debian
296 GNU/Linux System Administrator's Manual Chapter 16 - Time</a> and <a
297 href="http://wiki.debian.org/TimeZoneChanges">TimeZoneChanges in the
300 <h3><a name="hdinstall"></a><a href="#toc">Is it possible to install Grml to harddisk?</a></h3>
302 <p>Short anwer: No.</p>
304 <p>If you want to get a plain Debian system take a look at <a
305 href="/grml-debootstrap/">grml-debootstrap</a>.</p>
307 <p>Long(er) answer: yes it's possible to install Grml. But it's not
308 supported and you'll be on your own. That's why we decided to make it
309 not-so-obvious. If you really know what you're doing you'll find out on
310 your own. Reminder: use <a
311 href="/grml-debootstrap/">grml-debootstrap</a> or <a
312 href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian Installer</a> instead.</p>
314 <h2><a name="software"></a><a href="#toc">Software</a></h2>
316 <h3><a name="sw_version"></a><a href="#toc">Which package(s) and which
317 version is available?</a></h3>
319 <p>If you want to get details about the provided packages and the
320 package versions without booting the Grml ISO check out the dpkg_...
321 files in the <a href="/files/#debian">Debian-Information section on
322 grml.org/files/</a>.</p>
324 <h3><a name="zsh"></a><a href="#toc">Why is Zsh the default shell?</a></h3>
326 <p>Short answer: because <a href="/zsh/">Zsh rocks</a>, really!</p>
328 <p>Long(er) answer: If you don't know Zsh take a look the <a
329 href="/zsh/">Grml Zsh reference card</a>.</p>
331 <p>If you are a Bash user and don't know Zsh yet, don't be
332 afraid. Bash is largely a subset of Zsh and you don't have to
333 throw away your knowledge about shell stuff.</p>
335 <h2><a name="stuff"></a><a href="#toc">Support / Unanswered stuff</a></h2>
337 <h3><a name="questions"></a><a href="#toc">Further questions</a></h3>
339 <p>Do you have a question which is not answered in the FAQ or
340 in the provided <a href="/docs/">documentation</a> (execute
341 "grml-info" on your Grml system for offline
342 documentation)? Also check out 'grml-tips $KEYWORD' on your
343 Grml system. Take a look at
344 <a href="/">the Grml website</a> and <a href="http://wiki.grml.org/">the
345 grml-wiki</a>. A good place to become part of the community is the <a
346 href="/mailinglist/">Grml mailinglist</a>.</p>
348 <h3><a name="support"></a><a href="#toc">Commercial Support</a></h3>
350 <p>You want to deploy Grml in your data center, use it as part of your
351 business or have an emergency case? You're happy with Grml but would
352 like to get your very own live cd (providing your favourite software
353 selection, special configuration, setup and your bootsplash)?
354 Please get in <a href="/contact/">touch with us</a>.</p>
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