1 CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML
2 ==============================================================================
4 These options work from the (isolinux/grub) bootprompt of grml based (live) systems.
6 The following kernel options are available (do NOT use them as 'grml $OPTION',
7 use them as '$OPTION'!):
9 grml Use default settings (same as just pressing return)
10 grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and
11 run from there (compare with 'grml toram')
12 memtest Run Memtest86+ instead of Linux
13 fb1280x1024 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (1)
14 fb1024x768 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (2) [notice: grml's default]
15 fb800x600 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (3)
16 nofb Disable framebuffer
17 floppy Boot from floppydisk
18 hd / hd1 / hd2 / hd3 Boot from (local) primary / secondary /... harddisk
19 failsafe Boot with (almost) no HW-detection
20 debug Get shells during process of booting for debugging
21 bootchart Create chart of booting sequence in /var/log/bootchart.tgz
22 forensic Do not touch any harddisks during hardware recognition
23 serial Activate ttyS0 and start mgetty
24 grub Boot Grub bootloader (special all-in-one-image)
27 hdt Boot Hardware Detection Tool (from syslinux project)
28 qemu Boot with special options for use in Qemu
29 vmware Boot with special options for use in VMware
31 The following boot options can be combined.
32 Notice: not all of the them are available on all the grml flavours.
33 For example the X window system is not part of grml-small.
37 grml lang=at|de|cn|da|es|fr|it Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
38 grml lang=nl|pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
39 grml lang=$LANG-iso Activate $LANG (use like in lines above) with iso-mode instead of utf8
40 grml gmt Use GMT-based time
41 grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use this timezone for TZ
42 grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)
43 grml setkeycodes Set some special function keys for MS/HP keyboards
45 Configuration settings:
46 -----------------------
47 grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Execute "grml.sh" and extract config.tbz from a partition:
48 /dev/fd0 for floppy disk
49 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
50 grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
51 grml partconf=/dev/hda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/hda2
52 to booting grml system
53 grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration archive
54 instead of the default one (config.tbz)
55 grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
56 use it in combination with myconfig or netconfig
57 grml persistent Enable persistency feature, more details available at
58 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency
59 grml home=/dev/hda2 Mount specified partition as grml homedir
60 grml home=/dev/sda1/grml.img Mount loopback file as /home/grml
61 grml home=scan Automatic search for grml homedir (using file grml.img)
62 grml hostname=... Set hostname
63 grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a jpg file named like the
64 given distri name can be found in directory desktop on the ISO
65 (/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as wallpaper for grml
66 grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
67 copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
68 grml mypath=... Add specified option into $PATH of Zsh
69 For example when using "grml mypath=/foobar" then /foobar
70 will be added to the end of $PATH inside Zsh
71 grml noautoconfig Disable searching for device labeled GRMLCFG
73 Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and /usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html
74 for more information regarding the configuration framework of grml.
76 Booting related options:
77 ------------------------
78 grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and run from there
79 grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
80 grml toram=filename.squashfs Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
81 Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
82 Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
83 corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default
85 grml tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
86 use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
87 grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1 Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device
88 Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
89 running 'rsync -a --progress /live/image/live /mnt/sda1/'
90 grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso Use specified ISO image for booting
91 Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
92 the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
93 "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso"
94 Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
95 to prevent any typing errors
96 grml findiso=/grml_2009.05.iso Look for the specified ISO file on all disks where it usually
97 looks for the .squashfs file (so you don't have to know the device name
98 as in isofrom=....). [Available since grml 2009.05]
99 grml live-media-path=live Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium
100 By default, it is set to /live
101 grml module=grml Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
102 be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
103 on "/live" directory of the live medium
104 Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
105 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
107 Debugging related settings:
108 ---------------------------
109 debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, most verbose
110 grml debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, verbose
111 grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
112 grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
113 grml log Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
115 grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
117 Service related settings:
118 -------------------------
119 grml ssh=password Set password for user grml and start ssh-server
120 grml startup=script Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
121 grml nosyslog Do not start syslog daemon
122 grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
123 grml noconsolefont Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
124 grml noblank Disable console blanking
125 grml tsplash Text based bootsplash
126 grml noquick Disable grml-quickconfig startup script
127 grml small Do not start that many consoles
128 grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 Set up basic traffic shaping
129 grml services={postfix,mysql,...} Start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
130 grml welcome Welcome message via soundoutput
131 grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
132 grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when halting/rebooting the system
133 grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE Activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified network
134 and interface, usage example:
135 distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
136 grml gcc=3.4 gpp=3.4 Link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c++ to specified version
137 grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically
138 Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng (wrapper around fluxbox)
140 Accessibility related settings:
141 -------------------------------
142 grml blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
143 grml hwspeak Probe all available speakup hardware modules
144 grml swspeak Prepare system for use with software synthesizer through speakup
145 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
146 grml swspeak=espeak Use espeakup (if available) as connector to speakup
147 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
148 grml swspeak=speechd Use speech-dispatcher / speechd-up (if available) as connector to speakup
149 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
150 grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
151 grml speakup.synth=... Use speakup kernel module with given hardware type
152 Usage example: speakup.synth=apollo
154 Hardware related settings:
155 --------------------------
156 grml swap Activate present/detected swap partitions
157 grml noswraid Disable scanning for software raid arrays (creates /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf)
158 grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid arrays
159 grml nolvm Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
160 grml lvm Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
161 grml readonly Make sure all harddisk devices (/dev/hd* /dev/sd*) are forced to read-only mode
162 grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
163 grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
164 grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
165 grml no{acpi,agp,apm,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
166 grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
167 grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
168 grml 915resolution=... Start resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset
169 usage: $MODE,$XRESO,$YRESO
170 grml blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
171 blacklisting through udev's /etc/modprobe.d/grml
172 grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via /sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
173 grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
174 grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
175 grml micvol=number Set mixer volume of microphone to level $number (default: 0)
176 grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
177 grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
178 grml nousb2 Disable initialization of USB 2.x controller(s)
179 grml nousb Disable initialization of USB in booting sequence
180 grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in booting sequence
181 grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
182 grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
183 grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
184 grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
185 grml dma Enable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
186 grml nodma ide=nodma Disable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
187 grml vga=normal [video=ofonly] No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
188 grml vga=ask [video=ofonly] Display menu for framebuffer mode
190 Installation related settings:
191 ------------------------------
193 Caution: do *not* use the grml2hd and/or debian2hd bootoption if you do not know what you are doing!
195 Install plain Debian via debian2hd bootoption (which runs grml-debootstrap in non-interactive mode):
197 debian2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for debian2hd are:
199 target= target partition/directory of the new Debian system, e.g.: target=/dev/hda1
200 grub= where to install grub to? Use grub syntax for specifying, e.g.: grub=hd0
201 groot= specify root device for usage in grub (use grub syntax), e.g.: groot=hd0,0
202 release= specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.: release=sid
203 mirror= specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.: mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
204 password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn
206 Usage example for automatic installation:
208 debian2hd target=/dev/hda1 grub=hd0 groot=hd0,0 mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar
210 See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.
212 Install grml via grml2hd bootoption (which runs grml2hd in non-interactive mode):
214 grml2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for grml2hd are:
216 user= user name for user which should be used at hd-install
217 filesystem={ext2|ext3|reiserfs|reiser4|jfs|xfs} filesystem to be used
218 mbr=/dev/... partition where MBR should be installed (default:=partition)
219 partition=/dev/... partition where grml should be installed
221 Usage example for booting:
222 grml2hd partition=/dev/hda4 mbr=/dev/hda filesystem=ext3 user=mika
224 Passwords of user root and user are "grml" - please adjust after hd-install!
226 See http://grml.org/grml2hd/ for more information.
231 *) Try "grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98" if (you have a notebook and) your
232 PS/2 mouse doesn't work. (Possibly caused by a BIOS-flaw on your board,
233 BIOS updates can help.) Sometimes, switching to the text console with
234 Control-Alt-F1 and back to the X-screen with Control-Alt-F7 solves the
235 problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse
236 driver during that procedure.
238 *) If your grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
239 errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
240 then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, your CD-burner
241 created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media or your
242 CD-ROM drive is broken. This is the most common error reported. Please
243 boot with "grml testcd" to check if the CD is OK, and/or even better,
244 verify the MD5 checksums that are present on the mirrors before writing
245 the CD. Check your CD low-level via running 'readcd -c2scan
246 dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective IDE controllers cause this
247 error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please read the grml-FAQ.
249 *) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
250 the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
251 grml noagp noapm noapic acpi=off nodma
252 to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
254 *) Some boards (especially those with E-ISA slots) apparently don't pass
255 the proper memory size to the linux-kernel. It may cause the message
256 "Panic: cannot mount root file system" and the system hangs. Use "grml
257 mem=128M" to solve that problem if your system has 128MByte memory for
258 example (caution: you MUST use a capital "M" here).
260 *) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the
261 system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
262 "grml.sh" and/or extracting configuration files from a file named
263 config.tbz from the root directory on the given device (or floppy).
264 Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ for more information regarding
265 the configuration framework of grml.
267 *) If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify
269 -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
270 -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
272 as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
273 directory live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
274 must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
276 *) Caution: screensavers: Don't start xlock/vlock or any other screensaver
277 that requires a password. There are no default passwords on grml,
278 i.e. all accounts are LOCKED unless you explicitly set a password.
279 See also README.txt about this issue.
280 Hint: If you accidentially started a screensaver switch to one of the
281 textconsoles by Control-Alt-F1 and kill the screensaver (or just set a
282 password for the grml user). Take a look at the script grml-lock.
projects / grml-live.git / blob