grml is a bootable CD (Live-CD) based on Knoppix and Debian. grml includes a collection of + GNU/Linux software especially for users of texttools and system + administrators. grml provides automatic hardware detection. You can use grml + as a rescue system, for analyzing systems/networks or as a working + environment. It is not necessary to install anything to a harddisk. Due to + on-the-fly decompression grml includes about 2.1 GiB of software and + documentation on the CD.

+ +

Where do I get grml?

+ +

You can download grml of course: take a look at grml.org/download/. If you want + to get an original grml-CD including the grml-cover, need a + special amount of CDs or want your own special grml-CD (including + your logo, your software and/or special settings) please don't hesitate to contact + us! Take a look at grml-solutions for more + information regarding our offers.

+ +

What does grml mean?

+ +

grml is short for 'grummel' and comes close to 'argl' or 'grrr' in english. People + use this when they want to express their dissatisfaction/discontentedness with software + (amongst other things):

+ +

+$ grep -ch grml .centericq/**/history | xargs echo | \
+  sed 's/[0-9]*/& + /g' | sed 's/+ $//g' | bc -l
+3746

+ +

How to pronounce grml?

+ +

+$ echo 'ghroummel' | festival --tts
+$ flite -o play -t gremel

+ +

What about the release name?

+ +

Codename of grml 0.5 is Tokolytika. + This is the german word for tocolytics.

+ +

Codename of grml-small 0.1 is Zugschlus. Zugschlus is the nickname of Marc Haber + who brought the initial idea for grml-small.

+ +

Requirements for running grml

+ +

Intel-compatible CPU (i586 or later, preferably Pentium class or higher)
at least 56MB of RAM (for stable use with ramdisks for unionfs and udev and running X window system + we recommend at least 128MB)
grml-small: at least 32MB RAM should be available
bootable CD-ROM drive (or a boot floppy and standard CD-ROM [IDE/ATAPI + or SCSI]) [or network - see grml-terminalserver]

+ +

Why another Linux distribution?

+ +

There already exist "some" distributions. We decided + to base our work on the existing infrastructure of Debian and Knoppix because we don't want to reinvent + the wheel. Some admins already use their own rescue-CD and Knoppix works but + does not bring that many important tools for admins out of the box so we + decided to share our work with others.

+ +

What's the license of grml?

+ +

Anything written by the grml team is published under the GPL (GNU General Public License). + You don't have to pay anything for running grml. Donations and feedback are welcome of + course. If you want to get a special grml version or need support take a + lookt at the grml-solutions.

+ +

What's the difference between grml and + $OTHER-DISTRIBUTION? What are your main goals?

+ +

The main goal of grml is to be a distribution well suited for users of + texttools and sysadmins. grml includes many important texttools (of course + awk, sed, grep,... but also zsh, mutt[ng], slrn, vim and many other stuff we + like) and useful programs for admin's daily work too. grml uses the existing + infrastructure of Debian and Knoppix and merges useful things + also from other distributions/live-cds.

+ +

What's the difference between grml and Knoppix?

+ +

grml comes with a vastly different set of software. Missing KDE + and OpenOffice provides the opportunity of shipping more than 800 + packages which Knoppix does not provide on it's CD version. grml + boots a 2.6.x kernel but no X for faster startup. Knoppix is based + on Debian/testing-experimental (using apt-pinning), but grml is + basically based on plain Debian/unstable providing more current + versions of software and less painfull upgrades. grml was once + based on Knoppix but has nowadays (except of a similar initial + ramdisk) nothing in common with Knoppix anymore:

+ +

+# locate knoppix
+# find / -iname \*knoppix\*
+#

+ +

We consider Knoppix as a brand name for live-cds nowadays and + provide most of Knoppix features as well. grml uses (mostly) the + same cheatcodes for booting as Knoppix and provides even some extra + ones. So if you are used to the basic Knoppix features you might + find them on the grml-system as well. Ripping out the Knoppix + stuff provides the possibility to create a grml system out of a + Debian system and vice versa. Running 'apt-get install grml' on a + Debian box will be officially supported in an upcoming version of + grml.

+ +

What does accessibility at grml mean?

+ +

The grml kernel includes support for + speakup and provides software like brltty (using bootoption 'grml blind + brltty=type,port,tbl'), emacspeak and flite. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions, + suggestions or feedback regarding accessibility!

+ +

Is it possible to run grml with $EMULATOR?

+ +

VMWare should work without any + problems. It's also possible to run grml with QEMU, an emulator for various + CPUs which works on Linux, Windows, FreeBSD and Mac OS X. Running grml with + QEMU has been tested successful on Windows and Linux, take a look at the QEMU-grml-webpage.

+ +

grml-small?

+ +

What is grml-small?

+ +

Whereas grml provides about 2.1GiB of software on a 700MB-ISO, grml-small + is a flavor with online 50MB ISO-size (~150MB uncompressed). It does not + provide a lot of software but the essential stuff for being a rescue system + on a business card CD-ROM or a small usb device. Take a look at the 'Debian-Information'-section if you are searching for the + package list.

+ +

What is the difference between 'normal' grml and grml-small?

+ +

The 700MB-grml brings more than 2350 packages of software and a full-featured kernel. grml-small includes about 200 + software-packages, lacks documentation and manpages on the ISO and has a + stripped-down kernel (but still provides hardware recognition of course). + grml-terminalserver is not + available/supported on grml-small.

+ +

System

+ +

What are the passwords of users on grml?

+ +

There are no default passwords. All accounts are locked by default. Even local + logins are not possible (unless you set a password or create new user accounts as + root). You can create valid passwords using "sudo passwd [username]" from the shell, + individually.

+ +

How to find out the version of grml

+ +

Run 'grml-version' or use the following command:

+ +

+$ cat /etc/grml_version

+ +

Is it possible to run LiveCD and eject CD-ROM?

+ +

+$ sudo umount -l /cdrom
+$ sudo eject /dev/cdrom # now don't run any new programs ;)
+$ mount /dev/cdrom      # mount it again if needed ;)
+

+ +

How do I change the language/keyboard settings?

+ +

By default grml uses english settings. But it is possible to change the + settings via using either the lang-bootparam or via running grml-lang when + grml is running already. Usage examples:

+ +

+grml lang=de      # enter this at the bootprompt and you will get
+                  # german keyboard layout and german $LANG, $LC_ALL,...
+$ grml-lang de    # enter this in the shell to switch keyboard layout
+                  # and $LANG settings in a running grml-system
+

+ +

KDE, Gnome, $FOO and $BAR

+ +

Why isn't KDE, Gnome, $FOO or $BAR part of grml? grml is a distribution + for users of texttools and sysadmins. If you would like to run KDE with + Debian use e.g. Knoppix, Munjoy-Linux, Kanotix, Kalyxo or Kubuntu. Gnome users might find Gnoppix useful. If you would like to see + a special (software) package inside grml please report it to us!

+ +

Which window managers can I use?

+ +

grml is shipped only with window managers which are lightweight and + fast - so well suited for a live-cd. At the moment grml provides the window managers: + fluxbox, + ion2 and ion3, + jwm, + pekwm, + ratpoison, + twm, + w9wm, + windowlab, + wmi and wmii.

+ +

Can I boot grml without + CD-ROM? What's the grml-terminalserver?

+ +

grml-terminalserver let you boot from network. For more information refer + to the grml-terminalserver-webpage.

+ +

Bugreport

+ +

Report bugs via the tool reportbug which is part of the package + grml-reportbug and provided with the grml system. If you don't know + how to handle reportbug either take a look at the bugs-webpage in + the grml-wiki or you can send us your bug report via the bugs-webpage.

+ +

Is it possible to install grml to harddisk?

+ +

Yes. grml provides a tool called grml2hd (see 'man grml2hd'). + + + + If you want to get a working Linux to your workstation consider + using grml2hd. grml is developed on a box running the grml-system + itself and we - the grml-developers - especially like grml2hd + because it gives us a working Linux box within 10 to 30 minutes! + You can use grml2hd even in a full automatic mode without any + further interaction. More information is available on grml.org/grml2hd/.

+ +

I have problems with my hardware!

+ +

Take a look at the script grml-hwinfo. This scripts generates a + file namend info.tar.bz2 which contains important information of + your hardware. If you think we might help you please run + grml-hwinfo and send us the file with additional, relevant + information regarding your problem.

+ +

grml does not boot on my computer!

+ +

Please take a look at the available bootparamters + and cheatcodes. Especially booting with 'acpi=off noapm noapic' + might help. Bootparameter 'failsafe' provides a minimal hardware recognition. + You still have problems? Please contact us!

+ +

Kernel

+ +

Where can I find the configuration for the kernel used on + grml?

+ +

See /boot/config-`uname -r` and on the kernel-webpage.

+ +

Are there any special components/patches in the kernel + used on grml?

+ +

grml uses the currentmost stable vanilla Linux kernel from www.kernel.org with some + additional patches. More information and an all-in-one patch is + available on the kernel-page.

+ +

Which platforms is the grml kernel optimized + for?

+ +

Plain i586 compatibility-mode with SMP deactivated to avoid + problems with specific systems and drivers.

+ +

Software

+ +

General

+ +

Want to run a program as root? Just use 'sudo $PROGRAM'. To get a + root-shell run 'sudo su'.

+ +

Problems with a specific package? Please try 'dpkg-reconfigure $package'. + Still encountering difficulties? Please send us a bugreport!

+ +

What version of $PACKAGE is + available?

+ +

Take a look at the dpkg_...-files in the Debian-Information section on + grml.org/files/.

+ +

Init-System

+ +

Why is grml using runlevel 2 as default? Because runlevel 2 is 'the + textonly one' and it's debian's default.

+ +

Where are all the /etc/rc#.d-directories? grml doesn't use + sysv-rc but file-rc. This means you can configure the init system + in one single file namend /etc/runlevel.conf with your favourite + editor. No symlink-hell anymore.

+ +

Why is zsh the default shell (/bin/sh)?

+ +

Short answer: because zsh rocks.

+ +

Longer answer taken from ZSH + FAQ: 1.2: What is it?:

+ + Zsh is a UNIX command interpreter (shell) which of the standard shells most + resembles the Korn shell (ksh); its compatibility with the 1988 Korn shell has been + gradually increasing. It includes enhancements of many types, notably in the + command-line editor, options for customising its behaviour, filename globbing, features + to make C-shell (csh) users feel more at home and extra features drawn from tcsh + (another `custom' shell). + +

If you don't know zsh take a look at ZSH FAQ: How does zsh + differ from...?, 'man zsh | less -p COMPATIBILITY' and 'man zsh-lovers'.

+ +

If you are a bash-user and don't know the zsh yet don't be afraid. bash is largely a + subset of zsh and you don't have to throw away your knowledge about shell-stuff.

+ +

Is a bash available?

+ +

grml uses the zsh as the default shell but of + course a current version of the bash (as many other shells as well) + is provided by grml anyway.

+ +

setuid/SUID

+ +

If you set a programm SUID (setuid/mode 4755) unprivileged users on your system will + be able to run it. This could be a potentially security hole so by default the + packages are configured not to install binaries with setuid. If you want to use the + binaries with setuid please run 'dpkg-reconfigure $packagename' or 'chmod 4755 + =programm'. The following packages are well known to have a programm with not-set + setuid:

+ +

hddtemp
pconsole
pdsh
prospect
rssh
scponly
sing

+ +

aide

+ +

Before AIDE can be used, you will have to initialize a database. In order to do + this, simply run the following command:

+ +

+/usr/sbin/aideinit

+ +

bitchx

+ +

Why isn't bitchx part of grml? bitchx + sucks. Please use a better alternative like irssi or weechat + which are part of grml.

+ +

ispell

+ +

You don't want to use the preselected default for ispell? Run + 'select-default-ispell' for changing it.

+ +

LaTeX

+ +

auctex and preview-latex are loaded by default in emacs. If you want to load + auctex based on your personal settings put the string "(require 'tex-site)" in your + ~/.emacs, for preview-latex use the string '(load "preview-latex")'.
+ To change this run 'dpkg-reconfigure auctex' and/or 'dpkg-reconfigure + preview-latex'.

+ +

slapd

The password for the admin entry in the LDAP directory is 'grml'.

+ +

tripwire

+ +

The site-key pass-phrase and the local key pass-phrase for tripwire are 'grml'.

+ +

Release related issues

+ +

Using IPW driver with DHCP

+ +

The ipw-drivers in grml already contain special fixes for fixing + problems with ipw and kernel 2.6.13. But you might have to run + 'iwlist $DEVICE scanning' (adjust $DEVICE with the corresponding + network device) anyway to get an associated connection to the access + point.

+ +

Using WPA with 2.6.13-grml

+ +

Kernel 2.6.13 includes wireless extensions version 18 (12.3.05). + The ipw2200 module uses the wireless extensions instead of custom ioctl()s + now. As a result you have to use '-Dwext' for wpa_supplicant to use + the wireless extensions when wpa_supplicant is running. Adjust + $OPTIONS in /etc/default/wpasupplicant, for example using:

+ +

+OPTIONS="-Dwext -i eth1 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf"

+ +

X-Server

+ +

How do I start the X server?

+ +

Please use 'grml-x' as user grml for starting X. It generates + the config file /etc/X11/xorg.conf and lets you start commands on + startup (see ~/.xinitrc). Use it for example via switching to TTY4 + (press Alt+F4) and run the following command to start window + manager fluxbox:

+ +

+grml-x fluxbox

+ +

X does not start on my box?!

+ +

grml-x supports several options. If you want to set some special options + please take a look at the grml-x manpage (man grml-x)! Some usage examples:

+ +

+grml-x -display 8 fluxbox          # start fluxbox on display 8
+grml-x -force -nostart             # force creation of xconfig file and don't start X server
+grml-x -hsync 60 fluxbox           # set horizontal frequency and start fluxbox
+grml-x -hsync 60 -vsync 40 fluxbox # set horizontal and vertical sync frequencies and start fluxbox
+grml-x -mode '800x600' fluxbox     # set resolution to 800x600 and start ion3
+grml-x -module vesa fluxbox        # start fluxbox and use vesa module
+

+ +

I don't like the resolution of X!

+ +

Just run xrandr to switch the resolution. For example: 'xrandr -s + 1024x768'.

+ +

Framebuffer

+ +

The boot option vga does not work as + expected?

+ +

grml (starting with version 0.4) uses vesafb-tng instead of vesafb. This + means you have to set the bootopion via video= instead of vga=. + See bootsplash F6 for + more details.

+ +

I don't see anything when booting grml?!

+ +

Probably this is a problem with vesafb-tng. Try to boot via + bootoption 'nofb' or 'grml video=ofonly'. Some laptops need a + special keysequence to switch between monitor and beamer settings + (e.g. Samsung X20: press Fn+F4) when booting. Often it's possible + to switch resolution also after booting grml:

+ +

+modprobe -l | grep fb.ko # try to find out which module fits for your system
+modprobe atyfb           # load the appropriate module
+fbset 1024x768-60        # now try to switch the resolution on current console
+

+ +

Further questions

+ +

Do you have a question which is not answered in the FAQ or in + the provided documentation + (also run 'grml-info' on your grml-system)? Take a look at the grml-website and the grml-wiki. Please don't + hesitate to contact us, a + good place to start is the grml mailinglist.

+ +