website view en/doc/handbook/livecd.html @ rev 47
Minor edits (en)
| author | Paul Issott <paul@slitaz.org> |
|---|---|
| date | Sat May 17 11:19:39 2008 +0000 (2008-05-17) |
| parents | 455fdf8c7469 |
| children | 503cb2f011fc |
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21 <a href="install.html">Installation</a> |
22 <a href="index.html">Table of contents</a>
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24 <h1><font color="#3E1220">SliTaz Handbook (en)</font></h1>
25 </div>
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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="#prev">Option : previous</a> - Rollback to previous filesystem.</li>
49 <li><a href="#sessions">Sessions</a> - Logins, passwords and X.</li>
51 </ul>
53 <a name="boot"></a>
54 <h3>Boot from a cdrom</h3>
55 <p>
56 To boot SliTaz from a cdrom, just burn the ISO image onto a blank disc, then
57 reboot your computer with the disc in your cdrom drive. The first splash image
58 is powered by isolinux bootloader, you can then just press <code>ENTER</code>
59 with or without any options to start system initialisation. Note that pressing
60 <code>F1-F4</code> will display help and information. SliTaz runs entirely
61 in memory and will not damage the installed host system. When the boot
62 process is finished, you can login without any password as user
63 <code>hacker</code>. To become root administrator, you can use the command
64 <code>su</code> with the password <code>root</code> in a XTerm window or
65 the Linux console. In LiveCD mode the <em>root</em> password is <code>root</code>.
66 </p>
68 <a name="options"></a>
69 <h3>Options and parameters to pass at boot</h3>
70 <p>
71 The SliTaz LiveCD can pass various <em>boot</em> options via the command prompt powered by syslinux.
72 There are two types of option: those of SliTaz and those of the Linux Kernel.
73 The options for SliTaz are used by various startup scripts and the parameters
74 such as the VGA mode, are managed directly by the Kernel (<em>kernel boot parameters</em>).
75 To pass options at startup, just precede your commands with <code>slitaz</code>
76 </p>
77 <pre> slitaz vga=791 no387
78 </pre>
79 <p>
80 Note that the Linux Kernel keeps data passed to <em>boot</em> in the text file <code>/proc/cmdline</code>.
81 On a GNU/Linux system, you can view this information by running the command:
82 </p>
83 <pre> $ cat /proc/cmdline
84 </pre>
86 <a name="kernel-param"></a>
87 <h3>Parameters of the Linux Kernel</h3>
88 <p>
89 On GNU/Linux systems, parameters specific to the Kernel vary greatly depending on
90 the configuration used in compiling it. The kernel used by SliTaz
91 is constructed with a minimum of modules and offers very
92 few modifiable parameters at startup. However, you can disable the
93 emulation of a math coprocessor via option: <code>no387</code> and/or activate
94 <code>irqpoll</code> in the case of problems with interrupts (CD/DVD). The SliTaz
95 Kernel also provides a video output mode for the VGA Vesa <em>framebuffer</em>
96 - this is what displays the tux logo and manages the display of the Linux terminal.
97 Once the system has started you have access to six pseudo terminals via the key combinations
98 <code>Ctrl+alt+F1</code>, <code>Ctrl+alt+F2</code>, and so on.
99 </p>
101 <h4>vga=XXX - VGA Kernel modes</h4>
102 <pre class="script">Colors | 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024 1600x1200
103 -------------------------------------------------------
104 256 | 769 771 773 775 796
105 32768 | 784 787 790 793 797
106 65536 | 785 788 791 794 798
107 16,8M | 786 789 792 795 799
108 </pre>
110 <a name="usbmedia"></a>
111 <h3>Option : home=usb</h3>
112 <p>
113 To store your data permanently (bookmarks, downloads, Firefox Add-ons, etc),
114 you need USB media with a partition formatted in <code>ext3</code> and it must
115 specify <code>home=usb</code> for <code>sda1</code> (most cases) or
116 <code>home=devname</code> at boot time. Note that you can also specify the
117 device using the partition UUID or label by using <code>home=*</code>. Example:
118 </p>
119 <pre>
120 slitaz home=sda1
121 </pre>
122 <h4>Prepare USB media</h4>
123 <p>
124 All USB media can formatted in the native Linux <code>ext3</code> filesystem.
125 Ext3 is a journalized, stable filesystem, it allows you to keep permissions
126 on all files and is much more secure than the default Windows FAT32 filesystem.
127 To format USB media you have a few options: the command line with
128 <code>mkfs.ext3</code>, the <code>tazusb</code> utility or graphically with Gparted.
129 To get a full list of available partitions including the USB drive you can use the command
130 <code>fdisk -l</code> and then format. Example:
131 </p>
132 <pre>
133 # fdisk -l
134 # tazusb format /dev/sda1
135 </pre>
137 <a name="mapping"></a>
138 <h3>Options : lang=XX and kmap=XX</h3>
139 <p>
140 When you use the LiveCD you have two options to directly configure the system
141 language and keyboard mapping, these options can be set by simply navigating to
142 your country code and reloading the bootloader configuration with <code>ENTER</code>.
143 To skip the language and keyboard configuration you can simply type options on the command
144 line, for English/UK:
145 </p>
146 <pre>
147 slitaz lang=en kmap=en
148 </pre>
150 <a name="config"></a>
151 <h3>Option : config=<device>,<path></h3>
152 <p>
153 The <code>config=</code> option lets you execute a script at SliTaz boot time,
154 the script can be located on external media or a HD partition. For example, the
155 script can mount an ISO image on <code>/usr</code> to save memory and boot the
156 LiveCD on computers with only 32 Mb of RAM. An example with a script named
157 <code>slitaz.sh</code> located on the first disk and partition:
158 </p>
159 <pre>
160 slitaz config=/dev/hda1,slitaz.sh
161 </pre>
163 <a name="screen"></a>
164 <h3>Option : screen=<type></h3>
165 <p>
166 The <code>screen=</code> option lets you specify your screen resolution at boot.
167 Note that the <code>screen=text</code> option disables the Slim login manager. Example:
168 </p>
169 <pre> slitaz screen=1024x768x24
170 </pre>
172 <a name="sound"></a>
173 <h3>Option : sound=*</h3>
174 <p>
175 The option <code>sound=no</code> or <code>sound=noconf</code> lets you respectively disable all
176 of the modules and applications relating to sound to save memory (ram) or skip the automatic setup
177 of the sound card, but still allow you to manually configure if needed:
178 </p>
179 <pre> slitaz sound=no
180 </pre>
182 <a name="modprobe"></a>
183 <h3>Option : modprobe=modules</h3>
184 <p>
185 To load Kernel modules at boot time use the following example:
186 </p>
187 <pre>
188 slitaz modprobe=module1,module2
189 </pre>
191 <a name="laptop"></a>
192 <h3>Option : laptop</h3>
193 <p>
194 The option <code>laptop</code> will automatically load ac and battery Kernel
195 modules - useful for laptop computers:
196 </p>
197 <pre>
198 slitaz laptop
199 </pre>
201 <a name="prev"></a>
202 <h3>Option : previous</h3>
203 <p>
204 Used by the Tazusb utility to rollback to a previous filesystem:
205 </p>
206 <pre>
207 slitaz previous
208 </pre>
210 <a name="sessions"></a>
211 <h3>Sessions - Login, passwords and X</h3>
212 <p>
213 When the system has finished it's initialization, the screen is cleared and the
214 login prompt or the session manager Slim is displayed. Now you can choose to login
215 as <code>hacker</code> (without password) or as <code>root</code> administrator (password <code>root</code>).
216 Once logged into a session, you can use the many commands available in Busybox,
217 the GNU text editor Nano or the Clex file manager. You can initiate a graphical server
218 (X) via <code>startx</code> or connect to a remote machine via SSH or X.
219 The <code>startx</code> command will launch Xvesa and start the window manager.
220 </p>
221 <p>
222 The desktop is powered by JWM (Joe's Window Manager), you can get the menu by
223 clicking on the screen with one of the mouse buttons. Applications are
224 classified by category and are available in English. Menu, theme and wallpaper
225 can all be changed to your needs/preferences by editing one single file -
226 personal settings and data can be stored on USB media (Flash key, SD card, etc).
227 </p>
228 <p>
229 To launch a X session from the Linux console, for example if you have passed the
230 <code>screen=text</code> option or if Slim is not configured to run at startup:
231 </p>
232 <pre> $ startx
233 </pre>
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