Using the Help System

The boot loader online help is context sensitive. It gives information about the selected menu item or, if you are editing boot options, it tries to look up information about the option in which the cursor is positioned.

Navigation Keys

Up Arrow: highlight previous link
Down Arrow: highlight next link
Left Arrow, Backspace: return to previous topic
Right Arrow, Enter, Space: follow link
Page Up: scroll up one page
Page Down: scroll down one page
Home: go to page start
End: go to page end
Esc: leave help

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Splash Mode Selection

F3 lets you change the splash screen mode. You can use the splash kernel option directly, if you prefer.

native turns the splash screen off (same as splash=0)

silent suppresses all kernel and boot messages and shows a progress bar instead

verbose shows nice picture and kernel and boot messages

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Language and Keyboard Layout Selection

Press F2 to change language and keyboard layout the boot loader uses.

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Choose Profile

Press F4 to select a profile. Your system will be started using the configuration saved in this profile.

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Boot Options

Knoppix



Help -- Using the Help System.
About -- Short introduction to Knoppix.
Troubleshooting -- In case of problems

Hardware -- Hardware related cheatcodes
X11 -- X11 related cheatcodes
Expert -- Expert cheatcodes
Media -- Boot media related cheatcodes
Misc -- Misc cheatcodes

Memtest -- Run the memtest86 utility.

Cheatcodes

Misc cheatcodes



Splash -- influence the behavior of the splash screen.
Language -- specify language/keyboard.
Keyboard -- Use different keyboard (text/X)
hostname -- Use a different hostname instead

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Cheatcodes

Boot media related cheatcodes



Filesystems -- Supported filesystems
FromHD -- Boot from previously copied CD-Image
/home -- Mount loopback file.
ToHD -- Copy CD to HD partition and run from there
ToRAM -- Copy CD to RAM and run from there
Exotic cheatcodes -- Using alternative boot media

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Cheatcodes

Expert cheatcodes



Expert -- Interactive setup for experts
Config -- Customized boot
failsafe -- Boot with (almost) no HW-detection.
Runlevel -- Runlevel 1, load Knoppix base, Textmode only
TestCD -- Check CD data integrity and md5sums

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Cheatcodes

Hardware related cheatcodes



no -- Skip specified parts of HW-detection.
ACPI -- advanced configuration and power interface
APM -- toggle power management
Clock -- Clock options
VGA -- Framebuffer settings.
Framebuffer -- Use the Framebuffer for graphics
IDE DMA -- Enable/Disable DMA for IDE-Drives
Mem -- Specify Memory size in MByte.
PCI -- some PCI settings.

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Cheatcodes

X11 related cheatcodes



HRate -- Use specified horizontal refresh rate for X.
VRate -- Use specified vertical refresh
X module -- Use specified X Window System driver.
WM Screen -- Use specified Screen resolution

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Using the Help System

The boot loader online help is context sensitive. It gives information about the selected menu item or, if you are editing boot options, it tries to look up information about the option in which the cursor is positioned.

Navigation Keys

Up Arrow: highlight previous link
Down Arrow: highlight next link
Left Arrow, Backspace: return to previous topic
Right Arrow, Enter, Space: follow link
Page Up: scroll up one page
Page Down: scroll down one page
Home: go to page start
End: go to page end
Esc: leave help

Return to Boot Options

Knoppix: About

Knoppix GNU/Linux is a Live CD distribution: It boots from the CD/DVD media, while not touching the contents of your harddisk. Knoppix has a large number of derivatives for a variety of uses. For more information, please take a look at http://www.knoppix.org.

This CD is based on KNOPPIX 4.0.2. Details of changes from the original distribution are documented on the cd itself.

Most tools follow the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE. If you are in doubt, look at the specific docs.

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Knoppix: ACPI

ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is a standard that defines power and configuration management interfaces between an operating system and the BIOS. By default, acpi is switched on when a BIOS is detected that is newer than from year 2000. There are several commonly used parameters to control the behavior of ACPI:

pci=noacpi -- do not use ACPI to route PCI interrupts
acpi=oldboot -- only the parts of ACPI that are relevant for booting remain activated
acpi=off -- switch off ACPI completely
acpi=force -- switch on ACPI even if your BIOS is dated before 2000

Especially on new computers, it replaces the old apm system.

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Knoppix: APM

APM is one of the two power management strategies used on current computers. It is mainly used with laptops for functions like "suspend to disk", but it may also be responsible for switching off the computer after power down. APM relies on a correct working BIOS. If the BIOS is broken, APM may have only limited use or even prevent the computer from working. Therefore, it may be switched off with the parameter

apm=off -- switch off APM completely

Some very new computers may take more advantage from the newer ACPI.

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Knoppix: expert

Interactive setup for experts. Use

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/soundcard/xserver. "expert" mode supports the same boot options as "knoppix".

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Knoppix: expert

Customized boot. Use

The floppyconfig or (my)config=/dev/partition options allow you to reconfigure the system after autoconfiguration by running a bourne shell script called "knoppix.sh" from the root directory on the given device (or floppy). There is a GUI to create such a configuration floppy disk called "saveconfig" (also located in the KDE menu under "KNOPPIX", but experts also know how to do this by creating their own shellscripts. From Version 2.1 and up, a file called "knoppix.sh", if located in the toplevel KNOPPIX directory on CD, will also be executed at startup. This makes ist easier to create customized versions without having to change anything on the compressed filesystem KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX.

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Knoppix: Failsafe

Boot Knoppix with (almost) no HW-detection.. Use

failsafe

to enable this mode.

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Knoppix: Framebuffer

Some Framebuffer settings:

fb1280x1024 - used fixed framebuffer for graphics
fb1024x768 - used fixed framebuffer for graphics
fb800x600 - used fixed framebuffer for graphics
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Knoppix: fromHD

Use the command

fromhd=/dev/hda1 (hda2,hda3,...)

to boot from previously copied CD image to this partition.

See also Exotic Cheatcodes

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Knoppix: home

Mount Knoppix homedir.

home=/dev/sda1 - Mount loopback file (morphix.img) as /home/morph.

home=scan - Automatic search for morphix homedir image.

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Knoppix: Horizontal refresh rate

You can set your horizontal refresh rate with:

xhrefresh=80 (or hsync=80) - Use 80 kHz horizontal refresh rate for X

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Knoppix: Keyboard

Keyboard settings:

keyboard=us xkeyboard=us - Use different keyboard (tet/X)

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Knoppix: Language

Specifies a language for your keyboard. If available, Knoppix sets the correct locale for your language. Possible settings are:

lang=be - Belgian
lang=bg - Bulgarian
lang=ch - Swiss
lang=cn - Chinese
lang=cz - Czech
lang=de - German
lang=da - Danish
lang=el - Greek
lang=es - Spanish
lang=fi - Finnish
lang=fr - French
lang=gl - Galician
lang=he - Hebrew
lang=it - Italian
lang=ja - Japanese
lang=lv - Latvian
lang=lt - Lithuanian
lang=nl - Dutch
lang=pl - Polish
lang=ru - Russian
lang=sf - Swiss French
lang=sk - Slovak
lang=sl - Slovenian
lang=tr - Turkish
lang=tw - Taiwanese
lang=uk - British
lang=us - US (default)
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Knoppix: Memory size

Specify Memory size in MByte.

mem=128M

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Knoppix: memtest86 utility

Check the RAM of your system, doesn't boot Knoppix

memtest

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Knoppix: No!

Skip specified parts of HW-detection.Available are:

(select one for more informations)

noapic - turns APIC off.
noagp - turns AGP off.
noapm - turns APM off.
noacpi - turns ACPI off.
noaudio - turns AUDIO off.
noddc - turns DDC off.
nodma - turns DMA off.
nofirewire - turns FIREWIRE off.
noisapnpbios - turns ISAPNPBIOS off.
nopcmcia - turns PCMCIA off.
noscsi - turns SCSI off.
noswap - turns SWAP off.
nousb - turns USB off.

nonvidia - turns off the proprietary NVidia driver minimodule (if available)

To turn almos everything off see failsafe off.

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Knoppix: PCI

Some PCI settnigs:

pci=irqmask=0x0e98 - Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work.
pci=bios - Workaround for bad PCI controllers.

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Knoppix: runlevel 1

Boot only the Knoppix base, don't load any modules. Useful for debugging.

1

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Knoppix: splash options

The splash screen is the picture shown during system start-up.

splash=0
The splash screen is switched off. This may be useful with very old monitors or if some error occurs.

splash=verbose
Activates splash, kernel and boot messages are still shown.

splash=silent
Activates splash, but no messages. Instead a progress bar is drawn.

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Knoppix: testCD

With the command

testcd

you can check CD data integrity and md5sums.

Return to Boot Options

Knoppix: toHD

Use the command

tohd=/dev/hda1 (hda2,hda3,...)

to copy the whole CD to specified partition and boot from there.

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Knoppix: to RAM

Use the command

toram

to copy the whole CD to RAM an boot from there.

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Knoppix: VGA

Framebuffer setting.

vga=normal - No framebuffer, but X.
vga=785 - 640x480 framebuffer.
vga=788 - 800x600 framebuffer.
vga=791 - 1024x786 framebuffer.
vga=794 - 1280x1024 framebuffer.

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Knoppix: Vertical refresh rate

You can set your vertical refresh rate with:

xvrefresh=60 (or vsync=60) - Use 60 Hz vertical refresh rate for X.

Return to Boot Options

Knoppix: Screen resolution for X

Sets the Screen Resolution for X (for your windowmanager).

screen=1280x1024 - to use for a resolution of 1280x1024
screen=1024x768 - to use for a resolution of 1024x768

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Knoppix: X Module

Its possible to use different modules, also posiible to combine them:

xmodule=ati - uses ati module.
xmodule=fbdev - uses bdev module.
xmodule=i810 - uses i810 sound module (intel compatible).
xmodule=mga - uses mga module.
xmodule=nv - uses NVidia module.
xmodule=radeon - uses Radeon module.
xmodule=savage - uses Savage module.
xmodule=s3 - uses SiS module.
xmodule=svga - uses SVGA module.



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Knoppix: Using alternative boot media

Note: These cheatcodes are not available in original knoppix.

Alternative boot methods (ie not booting from cd). Useful for testing while remastering knoppix.

nbdhost=10.0.0.1 mount filesystem on network block
device
nbdport=1234 (nbd) served by specified host.
nfsdir=10.0.0.1:/knoppix mount nfs directory (*)
don't ask for ip (diskless) (*)
fromiso=/dir/file.iso boot from iso directly. doesn't
need cd as bootfrom cheatcode.
nocloop don't mount a KNOPPIX cloop image.
other cheatcodes determine
directory to use as /KNOPPIX
loopfile=/dir/image mount filesystem on specified file
(implies nocloop)

(*) : same cheatcodes as available on knoppix-terminal-server clients.


Examples
========

Boot from knoppix iso on hd:
(the whole cd iso, not the KNOPPIX cloop file - compare with just fromhd=...)
fromhd=/dev/hda4 fromiso=/share/isos/knoppix_402.iso

Boot from ext2 filesystem in loop file /knoppix_loop on hd partition /dev/hda4:
fromhd=/dev/hda4 loopfile=/knoppix_loop

Boot from nfs on 10.0.0.101 serving content of knoppix cd (same as knoppix terminal server):
nfsdir=10.0.0.101:/mnt/tmp nodhcp

Boot from nbd on 10.0.0.101 port 1234 serving same /knoppix_loop fileas above:
nocloop nbdhost=10.0.0.101 nbdport=1234 nodhcp

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Filesystems supported during boot

The cd's initrd image supports the following filesystems
iso9660 reiserfs ext3 ext2 ntfs vfat
(original one only supports iso9660 ext2 vfat, so can't use fromhd on ntfs
for example. bootfrom has to be used instead, but requires the cd...)

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Kernel Options: ide

IDE is, unlike SCSI, commonly used in most desktop workstations. To circumvent some hardware problems that occur with IDE systems, use the kernel parameter:

ide=nodma -- switch off dma for IDE drives


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Troubleshooting

If your KNOPPIX CD makes strange noises during boot, or you see frequent errors like "cloop: read error", or programs on your KDE desktop keep 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 try Diagnostics/Verify CD to check if the CD is OK.

In some cases, defective IDE controllers cause this error if you have DMA enabled, so try Failsafe/DMA off

In case of a failing hardware autodetection, try booting with any of the "no-" options (Failsafe menu entries), like:
noagp noaudio noapm noapic acpi=off nodma nopcmcia noscsi nousb
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 mem=128M to solve that problem if your system has 128MByte memory for example (caution: you MUST use a capital "M" here).

If you suspect there is something wrong with the pc itself, you can test the system's memory with the Diagnostics/Memory diagnostic tool.

If your BIOS does not support "no emulation boot" from CD, you can create two bootable floppy disks by issuing (from Knoppix running on a different machine) the command "mkbootfloppy", which will create a bootable Kernel-disk plus a disk containing the initial ramdisk, which will be prompted for at boottime.

Try 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-F5 solves the problem without rebooting, since the X server reinitializes the mouse driver during that procedure.

Also, please read the KNOPPIX-FAQ.



Return to Boot Options.

Hostname options

Modify the default hostname, which is "Knoppix"

hostname=mybox -- Set the hostname to "mybox"


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Username options

Modify the default username, which is "morph"

username=mymorph -- Set the username to "mymorph"


Return to Boot Options.

Clock options

Use the hardware clock as the GMT time

gmt


Return to Boot Options.