CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML V1.0 / GRML-SMALL V0.4 / GRML64 V0.

1
==============================================================================

These options (can be combined) work from the isolinux bootprompt:

grml Use default settings (same as just pressing

return)
memtest Run Memtest86+ instead of Linux
expert [options...] Interactive setup for experts
fb1280x1024 Use fixed framebuffer graphics and X resolution
(1)
fb1024x768 Use fixed framebuffer graphics and X resolution
(2)
fb800x600 Use fixed framebuffer graphics and X resolution
(3)
nofb Disable framebuffer
floppy Boot from floppydisk
hd / hd1 / hd2 / hd3 Boot from (local) primary / secondary /...
harddisk
failsafe Boot with (almost) no HW-detection
debug Get shells during process of booting for
debugging
bootchart Create chart of booting sequence in
/var/log/bootchart.tgz
forensic Do not touch any harddisks during hardware
recognition
splash Text based bootsplash
serial Activate ttyS0 and start mgetty
dos Start FreeDOS 1.0
grub Boot into the Grub bootloader
qemu Boot with special options for use in Qemu
vmware Boot with special options for use in VMware

Important: if you notice any problems with one of the

following options please report it to the grml-team:
http://grml.org/bugs/

Notice: not all of the following cheatcodes are available on all the grml flavours.
For example the X window system is not part of grml-small.

Regional settings:
------------------
grml lang=at|de|cn|da|es|fr|it Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE -
utf8) + keyboard
grml lang=nl|pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us Specify language ($LANG, $LC_ALL, $LANGUAGE -
utf8) + keyboard
grml lang=$LANG-iso Activate $LANG (use like in lines above) with
iso-mode instead of utf8
grml gmt Use GMT-based time
grml tz=Europe/Vienna Use this timezone for TZ
grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)
grml setkeycodes Set some special function keys for MS/HP
keyboards

Configuration settings:
-----------------------
grml myconfig=/dev/fd0 Execute "grml.sh" and extract config.tbz from a
partition:
/dev/fd0 for floppy disk
 /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
grml netconfig=server/config.tbz Download file and extract configuration archive
grml partconf=/dev/hda2 Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from
/dev/hda2
to booting grml system
grml file=foobar.tbz Use specified file as name for configuration
archive
instead of the default one (config.tbz)
grml extract=/etc Extract only /etc from configuration archive,
use it in combination with myconfig or
netconfig
grml home=/dev/hda2 Mount specified partition as grml homedir
grml home=/dev/sda1/grml.img Mount loopback file as /home/grml
grml home=scan Automatic search for grml homedir (using file
grml.img)
grml hostname=... Set hostname
grml debnet Search through local partitions for file
/etc/network/interfaces,
copy /etc/network to local system and restart
networking then
grml distri=... Set distribution name to given argument. If a
jpg file named like the
given distri name can be found in directory
desktop on the ISO
(/cdrom/desktop/"$DISTRI") it will be taken as
wallpaper for grml
grml unionfs Use unionfs instead of aufs as overlay
filesystem

Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and

/usr/share/doc/grml-saveconfig/grml-config.html
for more information regarding the configuration
framework of grml.

Booting related options:

------------------------
grml toram Copy CD to RAM and run from there
grml tohd=/dev/hda1 Copy CD to HD partition and run from there
grml fromhd Skip checking for grml on CD-ROM
grml fromhd=/dev/hda1 Boot from previously copied CD-Image
grml bootfrom=/dev/hda1 Access Image then boot from previously
copied CD-Image
grml bootfrom=/dev/hda1/GRML.iso Access image, boot from ISO-Image
grml grml_dir=GRML Directory to search for on the CD
grml grml_name=GRML SquashFS-File to search for on the CD

Debugging related settings:

---------------------------
debug Get shells during process of booting
grml nocolor Disable colorized output while booting
grml log Log error messages while booting and
grml testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums

Service related settings:

-------------------------
grml ssh=password Set password for user grml and start ssh-server
grml nosyslog Do not start syslog-ng
grml nogpm Disable GPM daemon
grml noblank Disable console blanking
grml small Do not start that many consoles
grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500 Set up basic traffic shaping
grml services={postfix,mysql,...} Start service(s) which have an init-script
(/etc/init.d/)
grml welcome Welcome message via soundoutput
grml noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
grml noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when
halting/rebooting the system
grml distcc=$NETWORK,$INTERFACE Activate distcc-daemon to listen on specified
network
and interface, usage example:
distcc=192.168.0.1/24,eth0
grml gcc=3.4 gpp=3.4 Link /usr/bin/gcc, /usr/bin/cpp and /usr/bin/c+
+ to specified version
grml startx{=windowmanager} Start X window system automatically
Default window manager (if not provided): wm-ng
(wrapper around fluxbox)

Accessibility related settings:

-------------------------------
grml blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
grml swspeak Prepare system for use with software
synthesizer through speakup
Run 'swspeak' after booting up to activate
sound output
grml brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device (e.g.:
brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
grml speakup_synth=... Use speakup kernel module with given hardware
type

Hardware related settings:

--------------------------
grml swap Activate present/detected swap partitions
grml noswraid Disable scanning for software raid arrays
(creates /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf)
grml swraid Enable automatic assembling of software raid
arrays
grml scandelay[=seconds] Delay accessing ISO-device (useful for booting
via usb/firewire)
grml cdrom=/dev/... Use specifed device as CD-ROM device (used for
mounting the grml-ISO)
grml xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified X.org-Module (1)
grml xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified X.org-Module (2)
grml xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified X.org-Module (3)
grml no{acpi,agp,apm,cpu,dhcp} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
grml no{dma,fstab,modem} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
grml no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
grml 915resolution=... Start resolution modify tool for Intel graphic
chipset
usage: $MODE,$XRESO,$YRESO
grml blacklist=modulename Completely disable loading of specified module
via
blacklisting through /etc/modprobe.d/grml
grml fwtimeout=50 Set firmware timeout via
/sys/class/firmware/timeout to specified value
grml nosound Mute sound devices (notice: this does not
deactivate loading of sound drivers!)
grml vol=number Set mixer volumes to level $number
grml pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
grml acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
grml nousb2 Disable initialization of USB 2.x controller(s)
grml nousb Disable initialization of USB in booting
sequence
grml nofirewire Disable initialization of firewire devices in
booting sequence
grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
grml pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
grml ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-ROM (some notebooks)
grml mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
grml dma Enable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
grml nodma ide=nodma Disable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
grml vga=normal [video=ofonly] No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
grml vga=ask [video=ofonly] Display menu for framebuffer mode

Installation related settings:

------------------------------

Caution: do *not* use the grml2hd and/or debian2hd bootoption if you do not know
what you are doing!

Install plain Debian via debian2hd bootoption (which runs grml-debootstrap in non-
interactive mode):

debian2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for debian2hd are:

target= target partition/directory of the new Debian system, e.g.:

target=/dev/hda1
grub= where to install grub to? Use grub syntax for specifying, e.g.:
grub=hd0
groot= specify root device for usage in grub (use grub syntax), e.g.:
groot=hd0,0
release= specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.:
release=sid
mirror= specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.:
mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian
password= set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.:
password=AiTh5ahn

Usage example for automatic installation:

debian2hd target=/dev/hda1 grub=hd0 groot=hd0,0
mirror=ftp://ftp.tugraz.at/mirror/debian password=foobar

See http://grml.org/grml-debootstrap/ for more information.

Install grml via grml2hd bootoption (which runs grml2hd in non-interactive mode):

grml2hd <options> ... whereas valid options for grml2hd are:

user= user name for user which should be used at hd-install

filesystem={ext2|ext3|reiserfs|reiser4|jfs|xfs} filesystem to be used
mbr=/dev/... partition where MBR should be installed (default:=partition)
partition=/dev/... partition where grml should be installed

Usage example for booting:

grml2hd partition=/dev/hda4 mbr=/dev/hda filesystem=ext3 user=mika

Passwords of user root and user are "grml" - please adjust after hd-install!
 See http://grml.org/grml2hd/ for more information.

Additional notes:
-----------------

*) Try "grml pci=irqmask=0x0e98" if (you have a notebook and) your

PS/2 mouse doesn't work. (Possibly caused by a BIOS-flaw on your board,
BIOS updates can help.) Sometimes, switching to the text console with
Control-Alt-F1 and back to the X-screen with Control-Alt-F7 solves the
problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse
driver during that procedure.

*) Bootfrom needs access to a running grml-System with the same Kernel

as the Bootkernel, before it is able to mount the partition / ISO-Image.
This should allow a poor mans install from NTFS-Partitions and makes it
also possible to boot an ISO-Image directly. You can also use wildcards
in the ISO-Filename, but it must be unique. So: If you have just one
grml.iso on /dev/hda1 you can access it as: bootfrom=/dev/hda1/G*.iso,
but if there are several, you need to make clear, which one you want.
(Feature added by Fabian Franz.)

*) If your grml-CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent
errors like "squashfs: read error", or programs are crashing randomly,
then your CD image is probably defective or incomplete, or your CD-burner
created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media. This is
the most common error reported. Please boot with "grml testcd" to check
if the CD is OK, and/or even better, verify the MD5 checksums that are
present on the mirrors before writing the CD. Check your CD low-level
via running 'readcd -c2scan dev=/dev/cdrom'. In some cases, defective
IDE controllers cause this error if you have DMA enabled. Also, please
read the grml-FAQ.

*) In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of

the "no-" options as shown in the table above, like in
grml noagp noapm noapic acpi=off nodma
to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.

*) Some boards apparently don't pass the proper memory size to the
linux-kernel. It may cause the message "Panic: cannot mount root file
system" and the system hangs. Use "grml mem=128M" to solve that
problem if your system has 128MByte memory for example (caution:
you MUST use a capital "M" here).

*) The "expert" mode provides a very simple interface to loading additional

Kernel modules from floppy disks (ext2 or vfat), plus interactive
configuration of mouse/keyboard/xserver. "expert" mode supports
the same boot options as "grml".

*) The "myconfig=/dev/partition" option allows you to reconfigure the

system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called
"grml.sh" and/or extracting configuration files from a file named
config.tbz from the root directory on the given device (or floppy).
Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ for more information regarding
the configuration framework of grml.

*) If you wish to remaster the CD, please don't forget to specify

-no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \

-b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat
as option to mkisofs. Otherwise your CD won't be bootable. The
directory GRML, containig the compressed filesystem file "GRML",
must be located in the top level directory of the CD.

*) Caution: screensavers: Don't start xlock/vlock or any other screensaver

that requires a password. There are no default passwords on grml,
i.e. all accounts are LOCKED unless you explicitly set a password.
See also README_Security.txt about this issue.
Hint: If you accidentially started a screensaver switch to one of the
textconsoles by Control-Alt-F1 and kill the screensaver (or just set a
password for the grml user). Take a look at the script grml-lock.

# EOF