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 debug Get shells during process of booting for debugging
20 bootchart Create chart of booting sequence in /var/log/bootchart.tgz
21 forensic Do not touch any harddisks during hardware recognition
22 serial Activate ttyS0 and start a getty
23 grub Boot Grub bootloader (special all-in-one-image)
25 hdt Boot Hardware Detection Tool (from syslinux project)
27 Further documentation regarding the boot process can be found at:
28 * http://git.grml.org/?p=live-initramfs-grml.git;a=blob_plain;f=manpages/live-initramfs.en.7.txt;hb=HEAD
29 * http://git.grml.org/?p=live-boot-grml.git;a=blob;f=manpages/en/live-boot.7;hb=HEAD
30 * http://git.debian.org/?p=kernel/initramfs-tools.git;a=blob_plain;f=initramfs-tools.8;hb=HEAD
31 * http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
33 The following boot options can be combined.
34 Notice: not all of them are available on all the Grml flavours.
35 For example the X window system is not part of grml-small.
39 grml lang=at|de|cn|da|es|fr|it Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
40 grml lang=nl|pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
41 grml lang=$LANG-iso Activate $LANG (use like in lines above) with iso-mode instead of utf8
42 grml gmt Use GMT-based time (UTC=yes)
43 grml utc Use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC=yes)
44 grml localtime Use local time (UTC=no)
45 grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use specified timezone for TZ
46 grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)
48 Configuration settings:
49 -----------------------
50 grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Set the DCS dir (debs, config, scripts) to the root of this device
51 DCS dir defaults to the live image or a device labeled GRMLCFG
52 If a file /config.tbz exists, it is extracted from there.
53 /dev/fd0 for floppy disk
54 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
55 grml autoconfig=SOMELABEL Set the DCS dir to the root of the device labeled with SOMELABEL.
56 If undefined search for a device labeled with GRMLCFG.
57 grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
58 grml netscript=server/file Download and execute file
59 grml partconf=/dev/sda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/sda2
60 to booting grml system
61 grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration archive
62 instead of the default one (config.tbz)
63 grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
64 use it in combination with myconfig or netconfig
65 grml persistence Enable persistency feature, more details available at
66 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency
67 grml hostname=... Set hostname to given argument
68 grml hostname Set a random hostname
69 [Note: only available with releases newer than 2010.04]
70 grml nonetworking Do not create/overwrite /etc/network/interface during startup
71 grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a jpg file named like the
72 given distri name can be found in directory desktop on the ISO
73 (/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as wallpaper for grml
74 grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
75 copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
76 grml dns=8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4 Set DNS resolvers during boot and for live system.
77 grml ip=... Standard Linux kernel ip= boot option. Arguments:
78 clientip:nfsserverip:gwip:netmask:hostname:device:autoconf
79 Valid values for autoconf: off, on, dhcp, bootp, rarp, both.
80 Almost everything is optional. Most common form: ip=dhcp
81 grml mypath=... Add specified option into $PATH of Zsh
82 For example when using "grml mypath=/foobar" then /foobar
83 will be added to the end of $PATH inside Zsh
84 grml debs Install all Debian packages from the "debs" directory of your DCS
85 directory (see myconfig=, typically the root of your ISO image).
86 grml debs=path-name-wildcard Install Debian packages from DCS directory (see myconfig=,
87 typically the root of your ISO image). If path does not contain a
88 "/" the package(s) will be installed from directory "debs" of the
89 DCS directory instead. The "path-name-wildcard" can contain
90 wildcards (e.g. debs=rat* will install a packages starting with "rat"
91 from directory debs/).
92 grml scripts=path-name Execute script (defaulting to grml.sh) inside DCS dir. Path names
93 allowed. If path-name points to a directory, all scripts found in
94 the directory are executed.
95 grml config=path-name Unpack archive that path-name points to
96 grml noautoconfig Disable searching for device labeled GRMLCFG
97 grml nobeep Disable welcome chime, sounded before grml-quickconfig starts.
99 Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and 'man 1 grml-autoconfig'
100 for more information regarding the configuration framework of Grml.
102 Booting related options:
103 ------------------------
104 grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
105 grml toram=filename.squashfs Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
106 Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
107 Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
108 corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default
109 grml tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy Grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
110 use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
111 grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1 Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device
112 Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
113 running 'rsync -a --progress /lib/live/mount/medium/live /media/sda1/'
114 grml bootfrom=removable Restrict search for the live media to removable type only.
115 grml bootfrom=removable-usb Restrict search for the live media to usb mass storage only.
116 grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso Use specified ISO image for booting
117 Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
118 the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
119 "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso"
120 Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
121 to prevent any typing errors
122 grml findiso=/grml_2010.12.iso Look for the specified ISO file on all disks where it usually
123 looks for the .squashfs file (so you don't have to know the device name
125 grml fetch=$IP/filename.squashfs Download a squashfs image from a given url, copying to ram and booting it.
126 [Note: releases before 2011.05 didn't support DNS but IP only.]
127 grml live-media-path=/live/grml... Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium
128 By default, it is set to /live/$GRML_FLAVOUR/ (where $GRML_FLAVOUR
129 is corresponding to grml64-full, grml32-full, grml64-small,...
130 [Note: this option is mandatory since release 2011.12]
131 grml nostats Don't send any information to the Grml project at startup.
132 Parameters sent are Grml version, if the cpu supports 64bit,
133 anonymized boot parameters and boot source (remote or local).
134 [Note: only available since release 2011.12]
135 grml module=grml Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
136 be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
137 on "/live" directory of the live medium
138 Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
139 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
140 grml bootid=mybootid Use specified argument as identifier for the ISO.
141 mybootid is specified in /conf/bootid.txt on the ISO.
142 [Note: only available since release 2010.04]
143 grml ignore_bootid Disable bootid verification.
144 [Note: only available since release 2010.04]
147 Debugging related settings:
148 ---------------------------
149 grml debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, be verbose
150 grml debug=1 Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, be verbose and
151 display shell code being executed in initramfs.
152 grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
153 grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
154 Also set SYSTEMD_COLORS=0 to disable colors in systemd output
155 grml log Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
157 grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
159 Security / login related settings:
160 ----------------------------------
162 grml ssh=password Set password for root & grml user and start ssh-server
163 grml passwd=... Set password for root & grml user
164 grml encpasswd=.... Set specified hash as password for root & grml user, use e.g.
165 'mkpasswd -H md5' to generate such a hash (available in Grml >=2013.09)
167 Service related settings:
168 -------------------------
169 grml startup=script Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
170 grml nosyslog Do not start syslog daemon
171 grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
172 grml noconsolefont Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
173 grml noblank Disable console blanking
174 grml noquick Disable grml-quickconfig startup script
175 grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 Set up basic traffic shaping
176 grml services={postfix,mysql,...} Start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
177 grml welcome Welcome message via soundoutput
178 grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
179 grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when halting/rebooting the system
180 grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE Activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified network
181 and interface, usage example:
182 distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
183 grml gcc=3.4 gpp=3.4 Link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c++ to specified version
184 grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically
185 Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng (wrapper around fluxbox)
186 grml nostartx If using startx as default bootoption the nostartx *disables* automatic
187 startup of X again. (This bootoption is relevant for grml based derivatives
188 which decide to enable startx by default only, plain grml does not use
189 automatic startup of X by default.)
190 grml vnc=password Start VNC server with startup of X.org and sets the password to the specified
191 one. To automatically start the VNC server use the startx bootoption.
192 [Note: Grml 2011.12+ doesn't include a VNC server.]
193 grml vnc_connect=host[:port] Connect to a listening VNC client ("vncviewer -listen" reverse connection).
194 Can be used to connect from devices behind firewalls as connection is
195 initiated from the VNC server instead of the VNC client. Has to be
196 combined with the vnc bootoption.
197 [Note: Grml 2011.12+ doesn't include a VNC client.]
199 Accessibility related settings:
200 -------------------------------
201 grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
202 See http://mielke.cc/brltty/guidelines.html for documentation.
204 Hardware related settings:
205 --------------------------
206 grml swap Activate present/detected swap partitions
207 grml noswraid Disable scanning for software raid arrays (creates /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf)
208 grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid arrays
209 grml nodmraid Do not enable present dmraid devices.
210 grml dmraid=on Automatically enable any present dmraid devices.
211 grml dmraid=off Actively try to stop any present dmraid devices.
212 grml nolvm Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
213 grml lvm Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
214 grml read-only Make sure all harddisk devices (/dev/hd* /dev/sd*) are forced to read-only mode
215 grml ethdevice=... Use specified network device for network boot instead of default (eth0)
216 grml ethdevice-timeout=... Use specified network configuration timeout instead of default (15sec)
217 grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
218 grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
219 grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
220 grml no{acpi,agp,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
221 grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
222 grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
223 grml blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
224 blacklisting through udev's /etc/modprobe.d/grml
225 grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via /sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
226 grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
227 grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
228 grml micvol=number Set mixer volume of microphone to level $number (default: 0)
229 grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
230 grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
231 grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in booting sequence
232 grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
233 grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
234 grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
235 grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
236 grml libata.force=[ID:]VAL Force configurations for libata.
237 Usage example: grml libata.force=1:pio4
238 to force pio4 mode on device "ata1:00:"
239 grml libata.dma=0 Disable DMA on PATA and SATA devices
240 grml libata.ignore_hpa=1 Disable host protected area (which should enable the whole disk)
241 grml vga=normal No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
242 grml vga=ask Display menu for framebuffer mode
243 grml radeon.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Radeon driver.
244 grml i915.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Intel driver.
245 grml nouveau.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Nouveau driver.
246 grml cirrus.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Cirrus driver.
247 grml mgag200.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for MGAG200 driver.
249 Installation related settings:
250 ------------------------------
252 Caution: do *NOT* use the debian2hd bootoption if you do not know what you are doing!
254 Install plain Debian via debian2hd bootoption (which runs grml-debootstrap in non-interactive mode):
256 debian2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for debian2hd are:
258 target= target partition/directory of the new Debian system, e.g.: target=/dev/sda1
259 grub= where to install grub to, e.g.: grub=/dev/sda
260 release= specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.: release=sid
261 mirror= specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.: mirror=http://ftp.debian.org/debian
262 password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn
264 Usage example for automatic installation:
266 debian2hd target=/dev/sda1 grub=/dev/sda mirror=http://ftp.debian.org/debian password=foobar
268 See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.
273 *) If your Grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
274 errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
275 then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, your CD-burner
276 created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media or your
277 CD-ROM drive is broken. This is the most common error reported. Please
278 boot with "grml testcd" to check if the CD is OK, and/or even better,
279 verify the MD5 checksums that are present on the mirrors before writing
280 the CD. Check your CD low-level via running 'readcd -c2scan
281 dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective IDE controllers cause this
282 error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please read the grml-FAQ.
284 *) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
285 the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
286 grml noagp noapic acpi=off nodma
287 to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
289 *) Some boards (especially those with E-ISA slots) apparently don't pass
290 the proper memory size to the linux-kernel. It may cause the message
291 "Panic: cannot mount root file system" and the system hangs. Use "grml
292 mem=128M" to solve that problem if your system has 128MByte memory for
293 example (caution: you MUST use a capital "M" here).
295 *) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the
296 system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
297 "grml.sh" and/or extracting configuration files from a file named
298 config.tbz from the root directory on the given device (or floppy).
299 Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ for more information regarding
300 the configuration framework of grml.
302 *) If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify
304 -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
305 -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
307 as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
308 directory live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
309 must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
311 *) Caution: screensavers: Don't start physlock or any other screensaver
312 that requires a password manually. There are no default passwords on
313 the live system - all accounts are LOCKED by default for security reasons.
314 Instead just invoke the script grml-lock which prompts for setting a
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