1 CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML
2 ==============================================================================
4 Isolinux bootprompt options:
5 ----------------------------
7 These options work from the isolinux bootprompt of Grml based (live) systems.
8 (Do NOT use them as 'grml $OPTION', use them as '$OPTION'!):
10 grml Use default settings (same as just pressing return)
11 grml2ram Copy Grml's squashfs file to RAM and
12 run from there (compare with 'grml toram')
13 memtest Run Memtest86+ instead of Linux
14 fb1280x1024 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (1)
15 fb1024x768 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (2) [notice: Grml's default]
16 fb800x600 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (3)
17 nofb Disable framebuffer
18 floppy Boot from floppydisk
19 hd / hd1 / hd2 / hd3 Boot from (local) primary / secondary /... harddisk
20 debug Get shells during process of booting for debugging
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 * https://manpages.debian.org/live-boot-doc/live-boot.7.en.html
30 * https://manpages.debian.org/initramfs-tools-core/initramfs-tools.8.en.html
31 * https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.html
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 $LANG (use like in lines above) with iso-mode instead of utf8
42 grml utc Hardware Clock is set to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
43 grml localtime Hardware Clock is set to local time (LOCAL), this is the default
44 grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use specified timezone for TZ, defaults to TZ=UTC
45 grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)
47 Configuration settings:
48 -----------------------
49 grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Set the DCS dir (debs, config, scripts) to the root of this device
50 DCS dir defaults to the live image or a device labeled GRMLCFG
51 If a file /config.tbz exists, it is extracted from there.
52 /dev/fd0 for floppy disk
53 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
54 grml autoconfig=SOMELABEL Set the DCS dir to the root of the device labeled with SOMELABEL.
55 If undefined search for a device labeled with GRMLCFG.
56 grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
57 grml netscript=server/file Download and execute file
58 grml partconf=/dev/sda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/sda2
59 to booting grml system
60 grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration archive
61 instead of the default one (config.tbz)
62 grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
63 use it in combination with myconfig or netconfig
64 grml persistence Enable persistency feature, more details available at
65 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency
66 grml hostname=... Set hostname to given argument
67 grml hostname Set a random hostname
68 [Note: only available with releases newer than 2010.04]
69 grml nonetworking Do not create/overwrite /etc/network/interface during startup
70 grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a jpg file named like the
71 given distri name can be found in directory desktop on the ISO
72 (/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as wallpaper for grml
73 grml debnet Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
74 copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
75 grml dns=8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4 Set DNS resolvers during boot and for live system.
76 grml ip=... Standard Linux kernel ip= boot option. Arguments:
77 clientip:nfsserverip:gwip:netmask:hostname:device:autoconf
78 Valid values for autoconf: off, on, dhcp, bootp, rarp, both.
79 Almost everything is optional. Most common form: ip=dhcp
80 grml mypath=... Add specified option into $PATH of Zsh
81 For example when using "grml mypath=/foobar" then /foobar
82 will be added to the end of $PATH inside Zsh
83 grml debs Install all Debian packages from the "debs" directory of your DCS
84 directory (see myconfig=, typically the root of your ISO image).
85 grml debs=path-name-wildcard Install Debian packages from DCS directory (see myconfig=,
86 typically the root of your ISO image). If path does not contain a
87 "/" the package(s) will be installed from directory "debs" of the
88 DCS directory instead. The "path-name-wildcard" can contain
89 wildcards (e.g. debs=rat* will install a packages starting with "rat"
90 from directory debs/).
91 grml scripts=path-name Execute script (defaulting to grml.sh) inside DCS dir. Path names
92 allowed. If path-name points to a directory, all scripts found in
93 the directory are executed.
94 grml config=path-name Unpack archive that path-name points to
95 grml noautoconfig Disable searching for device labeled GRMLCFG
96 grml nobeep Disable welcome chime, sounded before grml-quickconfig starts.
98 Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and 'man 1 grml-autoconfig'
99 for more information regarding the configuration framework of Grml.
101 Booting related options:
102 ------------------------
103 grml toram Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
104 grml toram=filename.squashfs Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
105 Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
106 Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
107 corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default
108 grml tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy Grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
109 use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
110 grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1 Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device
111 Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
112 running 'rsync -a --progress /lib/live/mount/medium/live /media/sda1/'
113 grml bootfrom=removable Restrict search for the live media to removable type only.
114 grml bootfrom=removable-usb Restrict search for the live media to usb mass storage only.
115 grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso Use specified ISO image for booting
116 Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
117 the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
118 "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso"
119 Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
120 to prevent any typing errors
121 grml findiso=/grml_2010.12.iso Look for the specified ISO file on all disks where it usually
122 looks for the .squashfs file (so you don't have to know the device name
124 grml fetch=$IP/filename.squashfs Download a squashfs image from a given url, copying to ram and booting it.
125 [Note: releases before 2011.05 didn't support DNS but IP only.]
126 grml live-media-path=/live/grml... Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium
127 By default, it is set to /live/$GRML_FLAVOUR/ (where $GRML_FLAVOUR
128 is corresponding to grml64-full, grml32-full, grml64-small,...
129 [Note: this option is mandatory since release 2011.12]
130 grml module=grml Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
131 be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
132 on "/live" directory of the live medium
133 Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
134 http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
135 grml bootid=mybootid Use specified argument as identifier for the ISO.
136 mybootid is specified in /conf/bootid.txt on the ISO.
137 [Note: only available since release 2010.04]
138 grml ignore_bootid Disable bootid verification.
139 [Note: only available since release 2010.04]
142 Debugging related settings:
143 ---------------------------
144 grml debug Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, be verbose
145 grml debug=1 Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, be verbose and
146 display shell code being executed in initramfs.
147 grml debug=noscreen Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
148 grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
149 Also set SYSTEMD_COLORS=0 to disable colors in systemd output
150 grml log Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
152 grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
154 Security / login related settings:
155 ----------------------------------
157 grml ssh=password Set password for root & grml user and start ssh-server
158 grml passwd=... Set password for root & grml user
159 grml encpasswd=.... Set specified hash as password for root & grml user, use e.g.
160 'mkpasswd -H md5' to generate such a hash (available in Grml >=2013.09)
162 Service related settings:
163 -------------------------
164 grml startup=script Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
165 grml nosyslog Do not start syslog daemon
166 grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
167 grml noconsolefont Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
168 grml noblank Disable console blanking
169 grml noquick Disable grml-quickconfig startup script
170 grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 Set up basic traffic shaping
171 grml services={postfix,mysql,...} Start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
172 grml welcome Welcome message via soundoutput
173 grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
174 grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when halting/rebooting the system
175 grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE Activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified network
176 and interface, usage example:
177 distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
178 grml gcc=3.4 gpp=3.4 Link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c++ to specified version
179 grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically
180 Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng (wrapper around fluxbox)
181 grml nostartx If using startx as default bootoption the nostartx *disables* automatic
182 startup of X again. (This bootoption is relevant for grml based derivatives
183 which decide to enable startx by default only, plain grml does not use
184 automatic startup of X by default.)
185 grml vnc=password Start VNC server with startup of X.org and sets the password to the specified
186 one. To automatically start the VNC server use the startx bootoption.
187 [Note: Grml 2011.12+ doesn't include a VNC server.]
188 grml vnc_connect=host[:port] Connect to a listening VNC client ("vncviewer -listen" reverse connection).
189 Can be used to connect from devices behind firewalls as connection is
190 initiated from the VNC server instead of the VNC client. Has to be
191 combined with the vnc bootoption.
192 [Note: Grml 2011.12+ doesn't include a VNC client.]
194 Accessibility related settings:
195 -------------------------------
196 grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
197 See http://mielke.cc/brltty/guidelines.html for documentation.
199 Hardware related settings:
200 --------------------------
201 grml swap Activate present/detected swap partitions
202 grml noswraid Disable scanning for software raid arrays (creates /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf)
203 grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid arrays
204 grml nodmraid Do not enable present dmraid devices.
205 grml dmraid=on Automatically enable any present dmraid devices.
206 grml dmraid=off Actively try to stop any present dmraid devices.
207 grml nolvm Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
208 grml lvm Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
209 grml read-only Make sure all harddisk devices (/dev/hd* /dev/sd*) are forced to read-only mode
210 grml ethdevice=... Use specified network device for network boot instead of default (eth0)
211 grml ethdevice-timeout=... Use specified network configuration timeout instead of default (15sec)
212 grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
213 grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
214 grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
215 grml no{acpi,agp,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
216 grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
217 grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
218 grml blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
219 blacklisting through udev's /etc/modprobe.d/grml
220 grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via /sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
221 grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
222 grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
223 grml micvol=number Set mixer volume of microphone to level $number (default: 0)
224 grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
225 grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
226 grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in booting sequence
227 grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
228 grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
229 grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
230 grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
231 grml libata.force=[ID:]VAL Force configurations for libata.
232 Usage example: grml libata.force=1:pio4
233 to force pio4 mode on device "ata1:00:"
234 grml libata.dma=0 Disable DMA on PATA and SATA devices
235 grml libata.ignore_hpa=1 Disable host protected area (which should enable the whole disk)
236 grml vga=normal No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
237 grml vga=ask Display menu for framebuffer mode
238 grml radeon.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Radeon driver.
239 grml i915.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Intel driver.
240 grml nouveau.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Nouveau driver.
241 grml cirrus.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Cirrus driver.
242 grml mgag200.modeset=0 nomodeset Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for MGAG200 driver.
244 Installation related settings:
245 ------------------------------
247 Caution: do *NOT* use the debian2hd bootoption if you do not know what you are doing!
249 Install plain Debian via debian2hd bootoption (which runs grml-debootstrap in non-interactive mode):
251 debian2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for debian2hd are:
253 target= target partition/directory of the new Debian system, e.g.: target=/dev/sda1
254 grub= where to install grub to, e.g.: grub=/dev/sda
255 release= specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.: release=sid
256 mirror= specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.: mirror=http://ftp.debian.org/debian
257 password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn
259 Usage example for automatic installation:
261 debian2hd target=/dev/sda1 grub=/dev/sda mirror=http://ftp.debian.org/debian password=foobar
263 See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.
268 *) If your Grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
269 errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
270 then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, your CD-burner
271 created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media or your
272 CD-ROM drive is broken. This is the most common error reported. Please
273 boot with "grml testcd" to check if the CD is OK, and/or even better,
274 verify the MD5 checksums that are present on the mirrors before writing
275 the CD. Check your CD low-level via running 'readcd -c2scan
276 dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective IDE controllers cause this
277 error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please read the grml-FAQ.
279 *) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of
280 the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
281 grml noagp noapic acpi=off nodma
282 to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.
284 *) Some boards (especially those with E-ISA slots) apparently don't pass
285 the proper memory size to the linux-kernel. It may cause the message
286 "Panic: cannot mount root file system" and the system hangs. Use "grml
287 mem=128M" to solve that problem if your system has 128MByte memory for
288 example (caution: you MUST use a capital "M" here).
290 *) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the
291 system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
292 "grml.sh" and/or extracting configuration files from a file named
293 config.tbz from the root directory on the given device (or floppy).
294 Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ for more information regarding
295 the configuration framework of grml.
297 *) If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify
299 -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
300 -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
302 as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
303 directory live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
304 must be located in the top level directory of the CD.
306 *) Caution: screensavers: Don't start physlock or any other screensaver
307 that requires a password manually. There are no default passwords on
308 the live system - all accounts are LOCKED by default for security reasons.
309 Instead just invoke the script grml-lock which prompts for setting a
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