      CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR GRML
==============================================================================

These options work from the (isolinux/grub) bootprompt of Grml based (live) systems.

The following kernel options are available (do NOT use them as 'grml $OPTION',
use them as '$OPTION'!):

grml                                Use default settings (same as just pressing return)
grml2ram                            Copy Grml's squashfs file to RAM and
                                    run from there (compare with 'grml toram')
memtest                             Run Memtest86+ instead of Linux
fb1280x1024                         Use fixed framebuffer graphics (1)
fb1024x768                          Use fixed framebuffer graphics (2) [notice: Grml's default]
fb800x600                           Use fixed framebuffer graphics (3)
nofb                                Disable framebuffer
floppy                              Boot from floppydisk
hd / hd1 / hd2 / hd3                Boot from (local) primary / secondary /... harddisk
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
serial                              Activate ttyS0 and start a getty
grub                                Boot Grub bootloader (special all-in-one-image)
dos                                 Boot FreeDOS
bsd                                 Boot MirOS BSD
hdt                                 Boot Hardware Detection Tool (from syslinux project)

Further documentation regarding the boot process can be found at:
* http://git.grml.org/?p=live-initramfs-grml.git;a=blob_plain;f=manpages/live-initramfs.en.7.txt;hb=HEAD
* http://git.grml.org/?p=live-boot-grml.git;a=blob;f=manpages/en/live-boot.7;hb=HEAD
* http://git.debian.org/?p=kernel/initramfs-tools.git;a=blob_plain;f=initramfs-tools.8;hb=HEAD
* http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt

The following boot options can be combined.
Notice: not all of them 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 (UTC=yes)
grml utc                            Use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC=yes)
grml localtime                      Use local time (UTC=no)
grml tz=Europe/Vienna               Use specified timezone for TZ
grml keyboard=us xkeyboard=us       Use different keyboard layout (text-console/X)

Configuration settings:
-----------------------
grml myconfig=/dev/fd0              Set the DCS dir (debs, config, scripts) to the root of this device
                                    DCS dir defaults to the live image or a device labeled GRMLCFG
                                    If a file /config.tbz exists, it is extracted from there.
                                    /dev/fd0  for floppy disk
                                    /dev/sda1 for USB-stick/first SCSI-device
grml autoconfig=SOMELABEL           Set the DCS dir to the root of the device labeled with SOMELABEL.
                                    If undefined search for a device labeled with GRMLCFG.
grml netconfig=server/config.tbz    Download file and extract configuration archive
grml netscript=server/file          Download and execute file
grml partconf=/dev/sda2             Copy files specified in /etc/grml/partconf from /dev/sda2
                                    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 persistence                    Enable persistency feature, more details available at
                                    http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency
grml hostname=...                   Set hostname to given argument
grml hostname                       Set a random hostname
                                    [Note: only available with releases newer than 2010.04]
grml nonetworking                   Do not create/overwrite /etc/network/interface during startup
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 debnet                         Search through local partitions for file /etc/network/interfaces,
                                    copy /etc/network to local system and restart networking then
grml dns=8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4            Set DNS resolvers during boot and for live system.
grml ip=...                         Standard Linux kernel ip= boot option. Arguments:
                                    clientip:nfsserverip:gwip:netmask:hostname:device:autoconf
                                    Valid values for autoconf: off, on, dhcp, bootp, rarp, both.
                                    Almost everything is optional. Most common form: ip=dhcp
grml mypath=...                     Add specified option into $PATH of Zsh
                                    For example when using "grml mypath=/foobar" then /foobar
                                    will be added to the end of $PATH inside Zsh
grml debs                           Install all Debian packages from the "debs" directory of your DCS
                                    directory (see myconfig=, typically the root of your ISO image).
grml debs=path-name-wildcard        Install Debian packages from DCS directory (see myconfig=,
                                    typically the root of your ISO image). If path does not contain a
                                    "/" the package(s) will be installed from directory "debs" of the
                                    DCS directory instead.  The "path-name-wildcard" can contain
                                    wildcards (e.g. debs=rat* will install a packages starting with "rat"
                                    from directory debs/).
grml scripts=path-name              Execute script (defaulting to grml.sh) inside DCS dir. Path names
                                    allowed. If path-name points to a directory, all scripts found in
                                    the directory are executed.
grml config=path-name               Unpack archive that path-name points to
grml noautoconfig                   Disable searching for device labeled GRMLCFG
grml nobeep                         Disable welcome chime, sounded before grml-quickconfig starts.

Notice: Take a look at http://grml.org/config/ and 'man 1 grml-autoconfig'
for more information regarding the configuration framework of Grml.

Booting related options:
------------------------
grml toram                          Copy the whole CD/medium to RAM and run from there
grml toram=filename.squashfs        Copy the specified file to RAM and run from there
                                    Usage example: grml toram=grml-medium.squashfs
                                    Notice: grml2ram is an alias for this option which
                                    corresponds with the grml flavour settings by default
grml tohd=/dev/sda1                 Copy Grml's squashfs file to harddisk partition for later
                                    use via "grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1"
grml bootfrom=/dev/sda1             Use the squashfs file from directory 'live' of the specified device
                                    Setup can be done booting 'grml tohd=/dev/sda1' or
                                    running 'rsync -a --progress /lib/live/mount/medium/live /media/sda1/'
grml bootfrom=removable             Restrict search for the live media to removable type only.
grml bootfrom=removable-usb         Restrict search for the live media to usb mass storage only.
grml isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso     Use specified ISO image for booting
                                    Useful when booting as a rescue system from harddisk - just boot
                                    the according grml kernel and initrd using the bootoptions
                                    "boot=live isofrom=/dev/sda1/grml.iso"
                                    Notice: "fromiso" does the same as "isofrom", it's just there
                                    to prevent any typing errors
grml findiso=/grml_2010.12.iso      Look for the specified ISO file on all disks where it usually
                                    looks for the .squashfs file (so you don't have to know the device name
                                    as in isofrom=....).
grml fetch=$IP/filename.squashfs    Download a squashfs image from a given url, copying to ram and booting it.
                                    [Note: releases before 2011.05 didn't support DNS but IP only.]
grml live-media-path=/live/grml...  Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium
                                    By default, it is set to /live/$GRML_FLAVOUR/ (where $GRML_FLAVOUR
                                    is corresponding to grml64-full, grml32-full, grml64-small,...
                                    [Note: this option is mandatory since release 2011.12]
grml nostats                        Don't send any information to the Grml project at startup.
                                    Parameters sent are Grml version, if the cpu supports 64bit,
                                    anonymized boot parameters and boot source (remote or local).
                                    [Note: only available since release 2011.12]
grml module=grml                    Instead of using the default "$name.module" another file can
                                    be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be placed
                                    on "/live" directory of the live medium
                                    Useful for Multiboot USB pen, see
                                    http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=tips#multiboot_usb_pen
grml bootid=mybootid                Use specified argument as identifier for the ISO.
                                    mybootid is specified in /conf/bootid.txt on the ISO.
                                    [Note: only available since release 2010.04]
grml ignore_bootid                  Disable bootid verification.
                                    [Note: only available since release 2010.04]


Debugging related settings:
---------------------------
grml debug                          Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, be verbose
grml debug=1                        Get shells during process of booting, using GNU screen, be verbose and
                                    display shell code being executed in initramfs.
grml debug=noscreen                 Get shells during process of booting, verbose, but without using GNU screen
grml nocolor                        Disable colorized output while booting
grml log                            Log error messages while booting to /tmp/grml.log.`date +%Y%m%d`"
                                    and /var/log/boot
grml testcd                         Check CD data integrity and md5sums

Security / login related settings:
----------------------------------

grml ssh=password                   Set password for root & grml user and start ssh-server
grml passwd=...                     Set password for root & grml user
grml encpasswd=....                 Set specified hash as password for root & grml user, use e.g.
                                    'mkpasswd -H md5' to generate such a hash (available in Grml >=2013.09)

Service related settings:
-------------------------
grml startup=script                 Start $script instead of grml-quickconfig on startup
grml nosyslog                       Do not start syslog daemon
grml nogpm                          Disable GPM daemon
grml noconsolefont                  Disable setting of console font (using consolechars)
grml noblank                        Disable console blanking
grml noquick                        Disable grml-quickconfig startup script
grml wondershaper=eth0,1000,500     Set up basic traffic shaping
grml services={postfix,mysql,...}   Start service(s) which have an init-script (/etc/init.d/)
grml welcome                        Welcome message via soundoutput
grml noeject                        Do NOT eject CD after halt/reboot
grml noprompt                       Do NOT prompt to remove the CD when halting/rebooting the system
grml distcc=$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)
grml nostartx                       If using startx as default bootoption the nostartx *disables* automatic
                                    startup of X again. (This bootoption is relevant for grml based derivatives
                                    which decide to enable startx by default only, plain grml does not use
                                    automatic startup of X by default.)
grml vnc=password                   Start VNC server with startup of X.org and sets the password to the specified
                                    one. To automatically start the VNC server use the startx bootoption.
                                    [Note: Grml 2011.12+ doesn't include a VNC server.]
grml vnc_connect=host[:port]        Connect to a listening VNC client ("vncviewer -listen" reverse connection).
                                    Can be used to connect from devices behind firewalls as connection is
                                    initiated from the VNC server instead of the VNC client. Has to be
                                    combined with the vnc bootoption.
                                    [Note: Grml 2011.12+ doesn't include a VNC client.]

Accessibility related settings:
-------------------------------
grml brltty=type,port,table         Parameters for Braille device (e.g.: brltty=al,/dev/ttyS0,text.de.tbl)
                                    See http://mielke.cc/brltty/guidelines.html for documentation.

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 nodmraid                       Do not enable present dmraid devices.
grml dmraid=on                      Automatically enable any present dmraid devices.
grml dmraid=off                     Actively try to stop any present dmraid devices.
grml nolvm                          Disable scanning for Logical Volumes (LVM)
grml lvm                            Automatically activate Logival Volumes (LVM) during boot
grml read-only                      Make sure all harddisk devices (/dev/hd* /dev/sd*) are forced to read-only mode
grml ethdevice=...                  Use specified network device for network boot instead of default (eth0)
grml ethdevice-timeout=...          Use specified network configuration timeout instead of default (15sec)
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,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 blacklist=modulename[,module2] Completely disable loading of specified module(s) via
                                    blacklisting through udev's /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 micvol=number                  Set mixer volume of microphone to level $number (default: 0)
grml pnpbios=off                    No PnP Bios initialization
grml acpi=off                       Disable ACPI Bios completely
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 libata.force=[ID:]VAL          Force configurations for libata.
                                    Usage example: grml libata.force=1:pio4
                                    to force pio4 mode on device "ata1:00:"
grml libata.dma=0                   Disable DMA on PATA and SATA devices
grml libata.ignore_hpa=1            Disable host protected area (which should enable the whole disk)
grml vga=normal                     No-framebuffer mode (does not influence X)
grml vga=ask                        Display menu for framebuffer mode
grml radeon.modeset=0  nomodeset    Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Radeon driver.
grml i915.modeset=0    nomodeset    Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Intel driver.
grml nouveau.modeset=0 nomodeset    Disable Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) for Nouveau driver.

Installation related settings:
------------------------------

Caution: do *NOT* use the 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/sda1
  grub=         where to install grub to, e.g.: grub=/dev/sda
  release=      specify release of new Debian system (default is stable), e.g.: release=sid
  mirror=       specify mirror for apt-get/aptitude, e,g.: mirror=http://http.debian.net/debian
  password=     set passwort of user root without prompting for it, e.g.: password=AiTh5ahn

  Usage example for automatic installation:

    debian2hd target=/dev/sda1 grub=/dev/sda mirror=http://http.debian.net/debian password=foobar

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

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

*) 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, your CD-burner
created a defective CD due to wrong writing speed or bad media or your
CD-ROM drive is broken. 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 noapic acpi=off nodma
to skip some critical parts of the autodetection system.

*) Some boards (especially those with E-ISA slots) 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 "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 live, containing the squashfs compressed filesystem file,
must be located in the top level directory of the CD.

*) Caution: screensavers: Don't start vlock or any other screensaver
that requires a password manually. There are no default passwords on
the live system - all accounts are LOCKED by default for security reasons.
Instead just invoke the script grml-lock which prompts for setting a
password.

# EOF
