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
25 grub Boot into the Grub bootloader
26 qemu Boot with special options for use in Qemu
27 vmware Boot with special options for use in VMware
29 The following boot options can be combined.
30 Notice: not all of the them are available on all the grml flavours.
31 For example the X window system is not part of grml-small.
35 grml lang=at|de|cn|da|es|fr|it Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
36 grml lang=nl|pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE - utf8) + keyboard
37 grml lang=$LANG-iso Activate $LANG (use like in lines above) with iso-mode instead of utf8
38 grml gmt Use GMT-based time
39 grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use this timezone for TZ
40 grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)
41 grml setkeycodes Set some special function keys for MS/HP keyboards
43 Configuration settings:
44 -----------------------
45 grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Execute "grml.sh" and extract config.tbz from a partition:
46 /dev/fd0 for floppy disk
47 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
48 grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
49 grml partconf=/dev/hda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/hda2
50 to booting grml system
51 grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration archive
52 instead of the default one (config.tbz)
53 grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
54 use it in combination with myconfig or netconfig
55 grml home=/dev/hda2 Mount specified partition as grml homedir
56 grml home=/dev/sda1/grml.img Mount loopback file as /home/grml
57 grml home=scan Automatic search for grml homedir (using file grml.img)
58 grml hostname=... Set hostname
59 grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a jpg file named like the
60 given distri name can be found in directory desktop on the ISO
61 (/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as wallpaper for grml
62 grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
63 copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
64 grml mypath=... Add specified option into $PATH of Zsh.
65 For example when using "grml mypath=/foobar" then /foobar
66 will be added to the end of $PATH inside Zsh.
67 grml noautoconfig Disable searching for device labeled GRMLCFG.
69 Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and /usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html
70 for more information regarding the configuration framework of grml.
72 Booting related options:
73 ------------------------
74 grml2ram Copy grml's squashfs file to RAM and run from there
75 grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
76 grml toram=filename.squashfs Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
77 Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
78 Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
79 corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default.
81 grml tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
82 use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
83 grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1 Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device.
84 Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
85 running 'rsync -a --progress /live/image/live /mnt/sda1/'.
86 grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso Use specified ISO image for booting.
87 Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
88 the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
89 "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso".
90 Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
91 to prevent any typing errors.
93 grml live-media-path=live Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium.
94 By default, it is set to /live.
95 grml module=grml Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
96 be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
97 on "/live" directory of the live medium.
98 Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
99 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
101 Debugging related settings:
102 ---------------------------
103 debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, most verbose
104 grml debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, verbose
105 grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
106 grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
107 grml log Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
109 grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
111 Service related settings:
112 -------------------------
113 grml ssh=password Set password for user grml and start ssh-server
114 grml startup=script Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
115 grml nosyslog Do not start syslog daemon
116 grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
117 grml noconsolefont Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
118 grml noblank Disable console blanking
119 grml tsplash Text based bootsplash
120 grml noquick Disable grml-quickconfig startup script
121 grml small Do not start that many consoles
122 grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 Set up basic traffic shaping
123 grml services={postfix,mysql,...} Start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
124 grml welcome Welcome message via soundoutput
125 grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
126 grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when halting/rebooting the system
127 grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE Activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified network
128 and interface, usage example:
129 distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
130 grml gcc=3.4 gpp=3.4 Link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c++ to specified version
131 grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically
132 Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng (wrapper around fluxbox)
134 Accessibility related settings:
135 -------------------------------
136 grml blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
137 grml swspeak Prepare system for use with software synthesizer through speakup
138 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
139 grml swspeak=espeak Use espeakup (if available) as connector to speakup.
140 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
141 grml swspeak=speechd Use speech-dispatcher / speechd-up (if available) as connector to speakup.
142 Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate sound output
143 grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
144 grml speakup_synth=... Use speakup kernel module with given hardware type
146 Hardware related settings:
147 --------------------------
148 grml swap Activate present/detected swap partitions
149 grml noswraid Disable scanning for software raid arrays (creates /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf)
150 grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid arrays
151 grml nolvm Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
152 grml lvm Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
153 grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
154 grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
155 grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
156 grml no{acpi,agp,apm,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
157 grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
158 grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
159 grml 915resolution=... Start resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset
160 usage: $MODE,$XRESO,$YRESO
161 grml blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
162 blacklisting through udev's /etc/modprobe.d/grml
163 grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via /sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
164 grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
165 grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
166 grml micvol=number Set mixer volume of microphone to level $number (default: 0)
167 grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
168 grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
169 grml nousb2 Disable initialization of USB 2.x controller(s)
170 grml nousb Disable initialization of USB in booting sequence
171 grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in booting sequence
172 grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
173 grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
174 grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
175 grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
176 grml dma Enable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
177 grml nodma ide=nodma Disable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
178 grml vga=normal [video=ofonly] No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
179 grml vga=ask [video=ofonly] Display menu for framebuffer mode
181 Installation related settings:
182 ------------------------------
184 Caution: do *not* use the grml2hd and/or debian2hd bootoption if you do not know what you are doing!
186 Install plain Debian via debian2hd bootoption (which runs grml-debootstrap in non-interactive mode):
188 debian2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for debian2hd are:
190 target= target partition/directory of the new Debian system, e.g.: target=/dev/hda1
191 grub= where to install grub to? Use grub syntax for specifying, e.g.: grub=hd0
192 groot= specify root device for usage in grub (use grub syntax), e.g.: groot=hd0,0
193 release= specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.: release=sid
194 mirror= specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.: mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
195 password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn
197 Usage example for automatic installation:
199 debian2hd target=/dev/hda1 grub=hd0 groot=hd0,0 mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar
201 See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.
203 Install grml via grml2hd bootoption (which runs grml2hd in non-interactive mode):
205 grml2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for grml2hd are:
207 user= user name for user which should be used at hd-install
208 filesystem={ext2|ext3|reiserfs|reiser4|jfs|xfs} filesystem to be used
209 mbr=/dev/... partition where MBR should be installed (default:=partition)
210 partition=/dev/... partition where grml should be installed
212 Usage example for booting:
213 grml2hd partition=/dev/hda4 mbr=/dev/hda filesystem=ext3 user=mika
215 Passwords of user root and user are "grml" - please adjust after hd-install!
217 See http://grml.org/grml2hd/ for more information.
222 *) Try "grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98" if (you have a notebook and) your
223 PS/2 mouse doesn't work. (Possibly caused by a BIOS-flaw on your board,
224 BIOS updates can help.) Sometimes, switching to the text console with
225 Control-Alt-F1 and back to the X-screen with Control-Alt-F7 solves the
226 problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse
227 driver during that procedure.
229 *) If your grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
230 errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
231 then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, your CD-burner
232 created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media or your
233 CD-ROM drive is broken. This is the most common error reported. Please
234 boot with "grml testcd" to check if the CD is OK, and/or even better,
235 verify the MD5 checksums that are present on the mirrors before writing
236 the CD. Check your CD low-level via running 'readcd -c2scan
237 dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective IDE controllers cause this
238 error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please read the grml-FAQ.
240 *) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
241 the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
242 grml noagp noapm noapic acpi=off nodma
243 to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
245 *) Some boards (especially those with E-ISA slots) apparently don't pass
246 the proper memory size to the linux-kernel. It may cause the message
247 "Panic: cannot mount root file system" and the system hangs. Use "grml
248 mem=128M" to solve that problem if your system has 128MByte memory for
249 example (caution: you MUST use a capital "M" here).
251 *) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the
252 system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
253 "grml.sh" and/or extracting configuration files from a file named
254 config.tbz from the root directory on the given device (or floppy).
255 Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ for more information regarding
256 the configuration framework of grml.
258 *) If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify
260 -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
261 -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
263 as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
264 directory live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
265 must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
267 *) Caution: screensavers: Don't start xlock/vlock or any other screensaver
268 that requires a password. There are no default passwords on grml,
269 i.e. all accounts are LOCKED unless you explicitly set a password.
270 See also README.txt about this issue.
271 Hint: If you accidentially started a screensaver switch to one of the
272 textconsoles by Control-Alt-F1 and kill the screensaver (or just set a
273 password for the grml user). Take a look at the script grml-lock.
projects / grml-live.git / blob