website view en/doc/handbook/livecd.html @ rev 27
Amend LiveCD - Handbook (en)
| author | Paul Issot <paul@slitaz.org> |
|---|---|
| date | Sat Apr 19 12:48:26 2008 +0100 (2008-04-19) |
| parents | 796d31b08d96 |
| children | 455fdf8c7469 |
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24 <h1><font color="#3E1220">SliTaz Handbook (en)</font></h1>
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28 <div id="content">
29 <div class="content-right"></div>
31 <h2><font color="#DF8F06">LiveCD usage and options</font></h2>
33 <ul>
34 <li><a href="#boot">Boot from a cdrom.</a></li>
35 <li><a href="#options">Options to pass at boot.</a></li>
36 <li><a href="#kernel-param">Linux Kernel Parameters.</a></li>
37 <li><a href="#usbmedia">Option : home=usb</a> - Use USB media as /home
38 partition.</li>
39 <li><a href="#mapping">Options : lang=XX and kmap=XX</a> - Specify language
40 and keyboard.</li>
41 <li><a href="#config">Option : config=<device>,<path></a> -
42 Execute a script at boot time.</li>
43 <li><a href="#screen">Option : screen=<type></a> - Specify screen resolution.</li>
44 <li><a href="#sound">Option : sound=*</a> - Disable sound support.</li>
45 <li><a href="#modprobe">Option : modprobe=modules</a> - Load needed Kernel
46 modules.</li>
47 <li><a href="#laptop">Option : laptop</a> - Load ac and battery modules.</li>
48 <li><a href="#sessions">Sessions</a> - Logins, passwords and X.</li>
50 </ul>
52 <a name="boot"></a>
53 <h3>Boot from a cdrom</h3>
54 <p>
55 To boot SliTaz from a cdrom, just burn the ISO image onto a blank disc, then
56 reboot your computer with the disc in your cdrom drive. The first splash image
57 is powered by isolinux bootloader, you can then just press <code>ENTER</code>
58 with or without any options to start system initialisation. Note that pressing
59 <code>F1-F4</code> will display help and information. SliTaz runs entirely
60 in memory and will not damage the installed host system. When the boot
61 process is finished, you can login without any password as user
62 <code>hacker</code>. To become root administrator, you can use the command
63 <code>su</code> with the password <code>root</code> in a XTerm window or
64 the Linux console. In LiveCD mode the <em>root</em> password is <code>root</code>.
65 </p>
67 <a name="options"></a>
68 <h3>Options and parameters to pass at boot</h3>
69 <p>
70 The SliTaz LiveCD can pass various <em>boot</em> options via the command prompt powered by syslinux.
71 There are two types of option: those of SliTaz and those of the Linux Kernel.
72 The options for SliTaz are used by various startup scripts and the parameters
73 such as the VGA mode, are managed directly by the Kernel (<em>kernel boot parameters</em>).
74 To pass options at startup, just precede your commands with <code>slitaz</code>
75 </p>
76 <pre> slitaz vga=791 no387
77 </pre>
78 <p>
79 Note that the Linux Kernel keeps data passed to <em>boot</em> in the text file <code>/proc/cmdline</code>.
80 On a GNU/Linux system, you can view this information by running the command:
81 </p>
82 <pre> $ cat /proc/cmdline
83 </pre>
85 <a name="kernel-param"></a>
86 <h3>Parameters of the Linux Kernel</h3>
87 <p>
88 On GNU/Linux systems, parameters specific to the Kernel vary greatly depending on
89 the configuration used in compiling it. The kernel used by SliTaz
90 is constructed with a minimum of modules and offers very
91 few modifiable parameters at startup. However, you can disable the
92 emulation of a math coprocessor via option: <code>no387</code> and/or activate
93 <code>irqpoll</code> in the case of problems with interrupts (CD/DVD). The SliTaz
94 Kernel also provides a video output mode for the VGA Vesa <em>framebuffer</em>
95 - this is what displays the tux logo and manages the display of the Linux terminal.
96 Once the system has started you have access to six pseudo terminals via the key combinations
97 <code>Ctrl+alt+F1</code>, <code>Ctrl+alt+F2</code>, and so on.
98 </p>
100 <h4>vga=XXX - VGA Kernel modes</h4>
101 <pre class="script">Colors | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024 1600x1200
102 -------------------------------------------------------
103 256 | 769 771 773 775 796
104 32768 | 784 787 790 793 797
105 65536 | 785 788 791 794 798
106 16,8M | 786 789 792 795 799
107 </pre>
109 <a name="usbmedia"></a>
110 <h3>Option : home=usb</h3>
111 <p>
112 To store your data permanently (bookmarks, downloads, Firefox Add-ons, etc),
113 you need USB media with a partition formatted in <code>ext3</code> and it must
114 specify <code>home=usb</code> for <code>sda1</code> (most cases) or
115 <code>home=devname</code> at boot time. Note that you can also specify the
116 device using the partition UUID or label by using <code>home=*</code>. Example:
117 </p>
118 <pre>
119 slitaz home=sda1
120 </pre>
121 <h4>Prepare USB media</h4>
122 <p>
123 All USB media can formatted in the native Linux <code>ext3</code> filesystem.
124 Ext3 is a journalized, stable filesystem, it allows you to keep permissions
125 on all files and is much more secure than the default Windows FAT32 filesystem.
126 To format USB media you have a few options: the command line with
127 <code>mkfs.ext3</code>, the <code>tazusb</code> utility or graphically with Gparted.
128 To get a full list of available partitions including the USB drive you can use the command
129 <code>fdisk -l</code> and then format. Example:
130 </p>
131 <pre>
132 # fdisk -l
133 # tazusb format /dev/sda1
134 </pre>
136 <a name="mapping"></a>
137 <h3>Options : lang=XX and kmap=XX</h3>
138 <p>
139 When you use the LiveCD you have two options to directly configure the system
140 language and keyboard mapping, these options can be set by simply navigating to
141 your country code and reloading the bootloader configuration with <code>ENTER</code>.
142 To skip the language and keyboard configuration you can simply type options on the command
143 line, for English/UK:
144 </p>
145 <pre>
146 slitaz lang=en kmap=en
147 </pre>
149 <a name="config"></a>
150 <h3>Option : config=<device>,<path></h3>
151 <p>
152 The <code>config=</code> option lets you execute a script at SliTaz boot time,
153 the script can be located on external media or a HD partition. For example, the
154 script can mount an ISO image on <code>/usr</code> to save memory and boot the
155 LiveCD on computers with only 32 Mb of RAM. An example with a script named
156 <code>slitaz.sh</code> located on the first disk and partition:
157 </p>
158 <pre>
159 slitaz config=/dev/hda1,slitaz.sh
160 </pre>
162 <a name="screen"></a>
163 <h3>Option : screen=<type></h3>
164 <p>
165 The <code>screen=</code> option lets you specify your screen resolution at boot.
166 Note that the <code>screen=text</code> option disables the Slim login manager. Example:
167 </p>
168 <pre> slitaz screen=1024x768x24
169 </pre>
171 <a name="sound"></a>
172 <h3>Option : sound=*</h3>
173 <p>
174 The option <code>sound=no</code> or <code>sound=noconf</code> lets you respectively disable all
175 of the modules and applications relating to sound to save memory (ram) or skip the automatic setup
176 of the sound card, but still allow you to manually configure if needed:
177 </p>
178 <pre> slitaz sound=no
179 </pre>
181 <a name="modprobe"></a>
182 <h3>Option : modprobe=modules</h3>
183 <p>
184 To load Kernel modules at boot time use the following example:
185 </p>
186 <pre>
187 slitaz modprobe=module1,module2
188 </pre>
190 <a name="laptop"></a>
191 <h3>Option : laptop</h3>
192 <p>
193 The option <code>laptop</code> will automatically load ac and battery Kernel
194 modules - useful for laptop computers:
195 </p>
196 <pre>
197 slitaz laptop
198 </pre>
200 <a name="sessions"></a>
201 <h3>Sessions - Login, passwords and X</h3>
202 <p>
203 When the system has finished it's initialization, the screen is cleared and the
204 login prompt or the session manager Slim is displayed. Now you can choose to login
205 as <code>hacker</code> (without password) or as <code>root</code> administrator (password <code>root</code>).
206 Once logged into a session, you can use the many commands available in Busybox,
207 the GNU text editor Nano or the Clex file manager. You can initiate a graphical server
208 (X) via <code>startx</code> or connect to a remote machine via SSH or X.
209 The <code>startx</code> command will launch Xvesa and start the window manager.
210 </p>
211 <p>
212 The desktop is powered by JWM (Joe's Window Manager), you can get the menu by
213 clicking on the screen with one of the mouse buttons. Applications are
214 classified by category and are available in English. Menu, theme and wallpaper
215 can all be changed to your needs/preferences by editing one single file -
216 personal settings and data can be stored on USB media (Flash key, SD card, etc).
217 </p>
218 <p>
219 To launch a X session from the Linux console, for example if you have passed the
220 <code>screen=text</code> option or if Slim is not configured to run at startup:
221 </p>
222 <pre> $ startx
223 </pre>
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