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
21 it bootable. It provides multiboot ISO support, meaning you can specify
22 several Grml ISOs on the command line at once and select the Grml
23 flavour you would like to boot on the bootprompt then. Note that the
24 *first* ISO specified on the grml2usb command line will become the
25 default one (that's the one that will boot when just pressing enter on
26 the bootprompt or wait until the boot timeout matches).
29 By default a compatible master boot record (MBR) is installed on the device
30 (being for example /dev/sdX when executing 'grml2usb grml.iso /dev/sdX1') and
31 syslinux is being used as default bootloader. Avoid installation of the default
32 MBR using the '--skip-mbr' option or if you encounter any problems with the
33 default MBR consider using '--syslinux-mbr' instead.
39 ISO[s] should be the path to one or multiple grml-ISOs and/or the path to
40 the currently running live-system (being /lib/live/mount/medium).
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. To use flavour name as a argument for a
52 boot parameter use %flavour which will be expanded to the flavour name. To add
53 multiple bootoptions you can specify the option multiple time.
55 *\--bootloader-only*::
57 Do *not* copy files but instead just install a bootloader. Note that the boot
58 addons are copied to /boot/addons at this stage as well. If you want to skip
59 copying the boot addons consider using the --skip-addons option.
63 Copy files only but do *not* install a bootloader.
67 Avoid executing commands, instead show what would be executed.
68 Warning: please notice that the ISO has to be mounted anyway, otherwise
69 identifying the Grml flavour would not be possible.
73 Format specified partition with FAT16.
74 **Important:** this will destroy any existing data on the specified partition!
78 Force any (possible dangerous) actions requiring manual interaction (like --fat16).
82 Install grub bootloader instead of (default) syslinux.
86 Install grub into MBR (Master Boot Record) instead of PBR (Partition Boot
87 Record). Check out <<mbr-vs-pbr,the 'mbr-vs-pbr' section in the FAQ of this
88 document>> for further details.
92 Display usage information and exit.
94 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
97 Install specified initrd instead of the default. You might want to specify
98 option *--kernel* as well. (Be aware when using multiboot setup.)
99 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
100 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
102 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
105 Install specified kernel instead of the default. You might want to specify
106 option *--initrd* as well. (Be aware when using multiboot setup.)
107 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
108 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
112 Install master boot record (MBR) with integrated boot menu: interactively choose
113 the partition to boot from, with a timeout to load the default partition, or
114 boot from floppy. When NOT using the --mbr-menu option a MBR with LBA and large
115 disc support but without an integrated boot menu is installed (so it's not
116 visible at all but instead directly jumps to the bootloader - being grub or
117 syslinux). Note: This options is available only when using the default MBR and
118 won't have any effect if you're using the '--syslinux-mbr' option.
122 Do not output anything but just errors on console.
126 Do not install /boot/addons/ files (like dos, grub, memdisk,...).
128 *\--remove-bootoption=...*::
130 Remove specified bootoption (could be a regex) from existing boot options. Use
131 multiple entries for removing different bootoptions at once.
133 *\--skip-grub-config*::
135 Skip generation of grub configuration files. By default the configuration
136 files for syslinux *and* grub will be written so you've a working configuration
137 file no matter whether you're using grub or syslinux as bootloader.
141 Do not touch/install the master boot record (MBR).
143 *\--skip-syslinux-config*::
145 Skip generation of syslinux configuration files. By default the configuration
146 files for syslinux *and* grub will be written so you've a working configuration
147 file no matter whether you're using grub or syslinux as bootloader.
151 This option is deprecated and is being left only for backwards compatibility
152 reasons. Syslinux is the default bootloader of grml2usb and therefore the
153 '--syslinux' option doesn't have any effects. If you do not want to use syslinux
154 as bootloader consider using the '--grub' option.
158 Install syslinux' master boot record (MBR, which is booting from the partition
159 with the "active" flag set) instead of the default one. If you encounter any
160 problems with the default MBR you can try using the syslinux MBR instead. If
161 that works for you please <<author,let us know>> so we can adjust our default
164 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
167 Install specified squashfs file instead of the default.
168 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
169 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
171 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
174 Uninstall Grml ISO files.
175 [Notice: not implemented yet.]
176 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
180 Return version and exit.
190 Directory layout on usb device
191 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
195 | |-- allinone.img [grub - all in one image]
196 | |-- bsd4grml/ [MirBSD]
197 | |-- balder10.imz [FreeDOS]
198 | |-- memdisk [chainloading helper]
199 | |-- memtest [memtest86+]
202 | | |-- linux26 [Kernel]
203 | | |-- initrd.gz [initramfs]
205 | | |-- linux26 [Kernel]
206 | | |-- initrd.gz [initramfs]
208 | | |-- linux26 [...]
220 | |-- grml.png [graphical bootsplash background image for grub2]
221 | |-- grub.cfg [configuration file for grub2]
222 | |-- menu.lst [configuration file for grub1]
223 | |-- splash.xpm.gz [splash screen for grub1]
225 |-- grml.png [graphical bootsplash background image for syslinux]
226 |-- syslinux.cfg [main configuration file for syslinux]
227 `-- [....] [several further config files for syslinux]
230 |-- grml2usb.txt [not yet implemented]
231 |-- grml-cheatcodes.txt [list of bootoptions for Grml]
232 |-- grml-version.txt [file containing information about grml-version]
233 |-- LICENSE.txt [license information]
234 |-- md5sums [md5sums of original ISO]
235 |-- README.txt [informational text]
236 `-- web/ [browser related files]
247 | |-- filesystem.module [module specifying which squashfs should be used for grml]
248 | `-- grml.squashfs [squashfs file for grml]
250 | |-- filesystem.module [module specifying which squashfs should be used for grml-medium]
251 | `-- grml-medium.squashfs [squashfs file for grml-medium]
253 | |-- filesystem.module [module specifying which squashfs should be used for grml-medium]
254 | `-- grml-small.squashfs [squashfs file for grml-small]
261 % git clone git://git.grml.org/grml2usb.git
264 Developers Debugging Hints
265 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
267 To play with grml2usb you can avoid using a real device via a loopback file
270 # dd if=/dev/zero of=~/loopback bs=1M count=100 # adjust size to your needs
271 # losetup /dev/loop1 ~/loopback
273 Then create according partitions either running for example:
275 # echo -en "n\np\n1\n\n\nt\n6\na\n1\n w\n" | fdisk /dev/loop1
279 # parted /dev/loop1 -s "mkpart primary fat16 0 -1s mkfs 1 fat16"
281 Finally create a filesystem and execute grml2usb as needed:
283 # mkfs.vfat /dev/loop1
284 # grml2usb --bootloader-only /grml/isos/grml-small_2013.01.iso /dev/loop1
286 [[performance-tracing]]
290 # blktrace -d /dev/sdX -o - | blkparse -i -
291 # grml2usb grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
294 Troubleshooting and Pitfalls when booting
295 -----------------------------------------
297 Here is a list of common error messages from BIOS/bootloader when trying to boot
300 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
301 TODO: better list type for the error message / reason part?
302 See http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/userguide.html
303 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
306 *Error message*:: ran out of input data. System halted
308 *Reason*:: Everything OK, except for the filesystem used on your usb device. So
309 instead of fat16 you are using for example fat32. Fix: use the appropriate
310 filesystem (fat16 for usb pens usually). The Bootsplash might be displayed, the
311 kernel loads but you very soon get the error message.
313 *Error message*:: Invalid operating system
315 *Reason*:: the partition layout is not ok. Very probably there's no primary
316 partition (/dev/sdX{1..4}) or none has the flag 'bootable' set.
318 *Error message*:: Boot error.
320 *Reason*:: Some BIOSses offer different modes for USB booting. The proper mode
321 to boot a USB stick is USB-HDD. If that doesn’t work or is not supported by your
322 system, you need to format your USB-Stick as USB-ZIP. To do this, syslinux
323 contains an utility called mkdiskimage, which you can use to re-format your USB
324 stick in USB-ZIP format running 'mkdiskimage -4 /dev/sdX 1 64 32'. Please be
325 aware that this procedure will erase all data on your stick. After executing
326 mkdiskimage just continue installing as usual (grml2usb ... /dev/sdX4). Note
327 that this is not going to work for any device larger than 8 GB, since
328 mkdiskimage only supports 1024c 256h 63s. For a more detailed explanation, refer
329 to /usr/share/doc/syslinux-common/usbkey.txt.
331 *Error message*:: No operating system found.
333 *Reason*:: you forgot to set the boot-flag on the partition. Or there really isn't
334 any operating system at all. :)
336 *Error message*:: kernel-panic: unable to mount root-fs...
338 *Reason*:: Kernel boots but fails to find the root filesystem. The root=
339 argument in your kernel commandline is pointing to the wrong device. Adjust
340 root=..., consider using root=UUID=....
342 *Error message*:: Could not find kernel image: ...
344 *Reason*:: either a broken isolinux/syslinux version or a broken BIOS. Check out
345 whether the vendor provides a BIOS update or if using bootloader grub instead of
346 isolinux/syslinux fixes the problem.
349 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
350 --------------------------------
353 Where can I get grml2usb?
354 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
356 grml2usb is available as Debian package via link:http://deb.grml.org/[the
357 grml-testing Debian repository].
359 If you do not want to (or can't) use the grml2usb Debian package you can either
360 use the grml2usb git tree running:
362 git clone git://git.grml.org/grml2usb.git
367 or download the provided
368 link:http://grml.org/grml2usb/grml2usb.tgz[http://grml.org/grml2usb/grml2usb.tgz]
369 (link:http://grml.org/grml2usb/grml2usb.tgz.md5.asc[gpg signed md5 hash]).
370 Download and extract the tarball and execute the provided script 'install.sh'.
373 It is *NOT* enough to have just the grml2usb script itself without the according
374 files provided either via the Debian package, the git tree or the file
378 Why can't I just dd the ISO to a USB device?
379 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
381 Well, you can. :) Starting with Grml 2009.10 the ISOs are dd-able straight out-of-the-box.
384 Note that ANY existing data on your USB device will be destroyed when
385 using the dd approach.
387 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
388 Grab a recent Grml ISO and use
389 link:http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/isolinux#HYBRID_CD-ROM.2FHARD_DISK_MODE[isohybrid
390 from the syslinux project]:
392 % isohybrid grml_2009.10.iso
393 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
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_2013.01.iso of=/dev/sdX
401 where /dev/sdX is your USB device. Of course this doesn't provide such a
402 flexible system like with grml2usb (no multi-ISO setup, no additional default
403 bootoptions,...) but it's a nice way to get a working USB boot setup if you
404 don't have grml2usb available.
407 What's the difference between grml2usb and just using dd?
408 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
410 grml2usb does not remove any data from your USB device and does not alter the
411 partition table at all. grml2usb provides multi-ISO support, support for adding
412 default bootoptions and selecting the bootloader (syslinux vs. grub) without
413 having to manually touch the ISO at all.
419 grml2iso is a script which uses grml2usb to generate a multiboot ISO out of
420 several grml ISOs. See 'man grml2iso' for further details.
423 Why is there a menu.lst and a grub.cfg inside /boot/grub/?
424 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
426 grml2usb supports grub version 1 (grub1) as well as grub version 2 (grub2).
427 Whereas grub1 uses menu.lst the new version grub2 needs grub.cfg.
428 Providing both files allows grml2usb to install grub on the target device
429 no matter which grub version is available on the host where grml2usb is
433 grub-install fails with 'The file ../boot/grub/stage1 not read correctly"?!
434 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
436 Check whether the partition has the right partition type. For example do NOT use
437 FAT16 (partition type 6) when using a ext3 filesystem on the partition but
438 instead use the correct partition type ('83' - Linux) then.
440 [[grub-install-xfs_freeze]]
441 grub-install complains about /sbin/grub-install and/or xfs_freeze?!
442 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
444 The following message:
446 You shouldn't call /sbin/grub-install. Please call /usr/sbin/grub-install instead!
447 xfs_freeze: specified file ["/tmp/tmpqaBK6z/boot/grub"] is not on an XFS filesystem
449 This is "normal". grub-install sends those messages to stderr. To avoid hiding any
450 possible real error messages grml2usb doesn't ignore those messages.
453 grub-install complains about /boot/grub/device.map?!
454 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
456 The following message:
458 grub-probe: error: Cannot open `/boot/grub/device.map'
460 This is "normal" (at least with grub1). This isn't a problem, because the
461 device.map file will be generated on the target device anyway.
464 grub-install complains about a unary operator?!
465 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
467 The following message:
469 '/usr/sbin/grub-install: line 374: [: =: unary operator expected'
471 This is "normal". Just ignore it. (It usually doesn't appear
472 on the second invocation on the same device.)
474 [[unknown-filesystem]]
475 grub-install fails with grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem?!
476 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
478 The following message:
480 grub-probe: error: unknown filesystem
481 Auto-detection of a filesystem module failed.
482 Please specify the module with the option `--modules' explicitly.
484 usually means that the device partition table says something else than the
485 filesystem on the device. For example using FAT16 as filesystem type and
486 using FAT32 as filesystem on the partition will not work. Either set filesystem
487 type to FAT32 or format the partition using FAT16. It is essential that
488 device partition table and filesystem use the same filesystem type.
491 grub-setup fails after Attempting to install GRUB to a partition instead of the MBR?!
492 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
494 The following message:
496 grub-setup: warn: Attempting to install GRUB to a partition instead of the MBR. This is a BAD idea.
497 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.
498 grub-setup: error: Cannot read `/grub/core.img' correctly
500 appears when using grub2 versions older than 1.98 as those version introduced a
501 regression which avoids that grub is being installed into a partition (PBR,
502 Partition Boot Record) instead of MBR (Master Boot Record).
504 To work around this issue you can either 1) upgrade to grub versions >=1.98, 2)
505 install grub into the MBR (Master Boot Record) using the '--grub-mbr' option of
506 grml2usb or 3) switch to syslinux as bootmanager (just drop the '--grub'
510 I'm getting something like "Error: /usr/share/grml2usb/grub/splash.xpm.gz can not be read"!?
511 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
513 Looks like you've only the grml2usb script itself available. Please make sure
514 you've the grml2usb Debian package installed. The most resent stable version is
515 available via link:http://deb.grml.org/[the grml-testing Debian repository]. If
516 you do not have a Debian system please see section <<download,Where can I get
517 grml2usb?>> in this FAQ.
520 Why do I have to use a FAT16/FAT32 filesystem?
521 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
523 Syslinux (currently) does not support any other filesystems besides FAT16/FAT32
524 (though that's a sane default if you want to share your files with other
525 (operating) systems). If you want to use a different filesystem (like ext2/3)
526 use the bootloader grub instead using grml2usb's '--grub' option.
529 FAT32 is supported since syslinux version 3.0.
532 Addons -> Hardware Detection Tool freezes
533 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
535 This usually means that the machine you ran grml2usb on had syslinux 3.x
536 installed. The version of hdt (Hardware detection tool) shipping with Grml
537 2010.12 and newer requires syslinux 4.x.
540 I think I've got a really cool idea!
541 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
543 Great! Please check out
544 link:http://git.grml.org/?p=grml2usb.git;a=blob;f=TODO;hb=HEAD[the TODO file].
545 Feel free to <<author,report your wishes to the author>>. Patches highly
549 I've problems with booting from USB.
550 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
552 Check out <<troubleshooting,Troubleshooting and Pitfalls when booting>>.
558 Please <<author,report it to the author>>. Please provide usage examples and output
559 of your grml2usb commandline (consider using the "\--verbose" option).
565 # grml2usb /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
567 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1.
569 # grml2usb /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /home/grml/grml_small_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
571 Install specified ISOs on device /dev/sdX1 for multibooting ISOs.
573 # grml2usb /lib/live/mount/medium /dev/sdX1
575 Install currently running Grml live system on device /dev/sdX1.
577 # grml2usb /lib/live/mount/medium /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
579 Install currently running Grml live system and the specified
580 ISO on device /dev/sdX1 for multibooting.
582 # grml2usb --fat16 /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
584 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1 and format partition /dev/sdX1 with
587 # grml2usb --grub --grub-mbr /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
589 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1 and use grub as bootloader (instead of
590 syslinux being the default) and install a master boot record (MBR) to the MBR of
593 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
594 # grml2usb --kernel=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.28-grml --initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.28-grml \
595 /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
597 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1 but use given kernel and initrd
598 instead of the ones provided by the ISO.
600 # grml2usb --squashfs=/grml/grml-live/grml_cd/live/grml.squashfs \
601 /home/grml/grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
603 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1 but use given squashfs
604 file instead of the one provided by the ISO.
605 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
607 # grml2usb --bootoptions="lang=de ssh=mysecret" grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
608 # grml2usb --bootoptions="lang=de" --bootoptions="ssh=mysecret" grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
610 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1 and use "lang=de ssh=mysecret" as
614 # grml2usb --remove-bootoption="vga=791" --remove-bootoption="nomce" grml_2013.01.iso /dev/sdX1
616 Install specified ISO on device /dev/sdX1 remove vga=791 and nomce from existing bootoptions.
618 # grml2usb --bootoptions="persistent-path=%flavour_name" grml64_2010.04.iso grml_2010.04.iso /dev/sdX1
620 Install specified ISOs on device /dev/sdx and add parameter persistent-path
621 to every menu entry. %flavour_name will be expanded to the flavour of the specific
622 iso, e.g. grml64 and grml.
628 Check out the link:http://grml.org/grml2usb/[grml2usb webpage] and the
629 link:http://git.grml.org/?p=grml2usb.git[grml2usb git repository].
634 Please report feedback, bugreports and wishes <<author,to the author>>.
639 Michael Prokop <mika@grml.org>
641 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
642 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
643 http://www.startx.ro/sugar/isotostick.sh
644 https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick
645 http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
646 http://www.tux.org/pub/people/kent-robotti/looplinux/rip/mkusb.sh
647 https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/
648 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////