nl/boot-installer/parameters.xml

<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking -->
<!-- $Id: parameters.xml 14359 2004-04-24 22:56:33Z fjpop-guest $ -->

 <sect1 id="boot-parms"><title>Boot Parameters</title>
<para>

Boot parameters are Linux kernel parameters which are generally used
to make sure that peripherals are dealt with properly.  For the most
part, the kernel can auto-detect information about your peripherals.
However, in some cases you'll have to help the kernel a bit.

</para><para>

If this is the first time you're booting the system, try the default
boot parameters (i.e., don't try setting arguments) and see if it works
correctly. It probably will.  If not, you can reboot later and look for
any special parameters that inform the system about your hardware.

</para><para>

Information on many boot parameters can be found in the 
<ulink url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/BootPrompt-HOWTO.html"> Linux
BootPrompt HOWTO</ulink>, including tips for obscure hardware.  This
section contains only a sketch of the most salient parameters.  Some
common gotchas are included below in 
<xref linkend="boot-troubleshooting"/>.

</para><para>

When the kernel boots, a message 

<informalexample><screen>

Memory:<replaceable>avail</replaceable>k/<replaceable>total</replaceable>k available 

</screen></informalexample>

should be emitted early in the process.
<replaceable>total</replaceable> should match the total amount of RAM,
in kilobytes.  If this doesn't match the actual amount of RAM you have
installed, you need to use the
<userinput>mem=<replaceable>ram</replaceable></userinput> parameter,
where <replaceable>ram</replaceable> is set to the amount of memory,
suffixed with ``k'' for kilobytes, or ``m'' for megabytes.  For
example, both <userinput>mem=65536k</userinput> and
<userinput>mem=64m</userinput> mean 64MB of RAM.

</para><para>

If your monitor is only capable of black-and-white, use the
<userinput>mono</userinput> boot argument.  Otherwise, your
installation will use color, which is the default.

</para><para condition="supports-serial-console">

If you are booting with a serial console, generally the kernel will
autodetect this 
<phrase arch="mipsel">(although not on DECstations)</phrase>
If you have a videocard (framebuffer) and a keyboard also attached to
the computer which you wish to boot via serial console, you may have
to pass the
<userinput>console=<replaceable>device</replaceable></userinput>
argument to the kernel, where <replaceable>device</replaceable> is
your serial device, which is usually something like
<filename>ttyS0</filename>.

</para><para arch="sparc">

For &arch-title; the serial devices are <filename>ttya</filename> or
<filename>ttyb</filename>.
Alternatively, set the <envar>input-device</envar> and
<envar>output-device</envar> OpenPROM variables to
<filename>ttya</filename>.

</para>


  <sect2 id="installer-args"><title>Debian Installer Arguments</title>
<para>

The installation system recognizes a few boot arguments which may be
useful. 

</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>DEBCONF_PRIORITY</term>
<listitem><para>

This parameter settings will set the highest priority of messages
to be displayed. 

</para><para>

The default installation uses <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=high</userinput>.
This means that both high and critical priority messages are shown, but medium
and low priority messages are skipped. 
If problems are encountered, the installer adjusts the priority as needed.

</para><para>

If you add <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=medium</userinput> as boot parameter, you
will be shown the installation menu and gain more control over the installation.
When <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=low</userinput> is used, all messages are shown
(this is equivalent to the <emphasis>expert</emphasis> boot method).
With <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=critical</userinput>, the installation system
will display only critical messages and try to do the right thing without fuss.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>


<varlistentry>
<term>DEBCONF_FRONTEND</term>
<listitem><para>

This boot parameter controls the type of user interface used for the
installer. The current possible parameter settings are:

<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=noninteractive</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=text</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=newt</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=slang</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=ncurses</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=bogl</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=gtk</userinput></para>
</listitem><listitem>
<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=corba</userinput></para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

The default front end is <userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=newt</userinput>.
<userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=text</userinput> may be preferable for
serial console installs. Other frontends but
<userinput>newt</userinput> are not available on default install
media, so this is not very useful right now.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>


<varlistentry>
<term>BOOT_DEBUG</term>
<listitem><para>

Passing this boot parameter will cause the boot to be more verbosely 
logged.

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=0</userinput></term>
<listitem><para>This is the default.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=1</userinput></term>
<listitem><para>More verbose than usual.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=2</userinput></term>
<listitem><para>Lots of debugging information.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=3</userinput></term>
<listitem><para>

Shells are run at various points in the boot process to allow detailed
debugging. Exit the shell to continue the boot.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>


<varlistentry>
<term>INSTALL_MEDIA_DEV</term>
<listitem><para>

The value of the parameter is the path to the device to load the
Debian installer from. For example,
<userinput>INSTALL_MEDIA_DEV=/dev/floppy/0</userinput>

</para><para>

The boot floppy, which normally scans all floppys and USB storage
devices it can to find the root floppy, can be overridden by this
parameter to only look at the one device.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>debian-installer/framebuffer</term>
<listitem><para>

Some architectures use the kernel framebuffer to offer installation in
a number of languages. If framebuffer causes a problem on your system
you can disable the feature by the parameter
<userinput>debian-installer/framebuffer=false</userinput>. Problem
symptoms are error messages about bterm or bogl, a blank screen, or
a freeze within a few minutes after starting the install.

</para><para arch="i386">

The <userinput>video=vga16:off</userinput> argument may also be used
to disable the framebuffer. Such problems have been reported on a Dell
Inspiron with Mobile Radeon card.

</para><para arch="m68k">

Such problems have been reported on the Amiga 1200 and SE/30.

</para><para arch="hppa">

Such problems have been reported on hppa.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>debian-installer/probe/usb</term>
<listitem><para>

Set to <userinput>false</userinput> to prevent probing for USB on
boot, if that causes problems.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>netcfg/use_dhcp</term>
<listitem><para>

By default, the &d-i; automatically probes for network configuration
via DHCP. If the probe succeeds, you won't have a chance to review and
chage the obtained settings. You can get to the manual network setup
only in case the DHCP probe fails.

</para><para>

If you have a DHCP server on your local network, but want to avoid it
because e.g. it gives wrong answers, you can use the parameter
<userinput>netcfg/use_dhcp=false</userinput> to prevent configuring
the network with DHCP and to enter the information manually.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>hw-detect/start_pcmcia</term>
<listitem><para>

Set to <userinput>false</userinput> to prevent starting PCMCIA
services, if that causes problems. Some laptops are well known for
this misbehaviour.

</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>
  </sect2>
 </sect1>

1	fjpop-guest	11832	<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking -->
2	fjpop-guest	14361	<!-- $Id: parameters.xml 14359 2004-04-24 22:56:33Z fjpop-guest $ -->
3	fjpop-guest	11832
4			<sect1 id="boot-parms"><title>Boot Parameters</title>
5			<para>
6
7			Boot parameters are Linux kernel parameters which are generally used
8			to make sure that peripherals are dealt with properly. For the most
9			part, the kernel can auto-detect information about your peripherals.
10			However, in some cases you'll have to help the kernel a bit.
11
12			</para><para>
13
14			If this is the first time you're booting the system, try the default
15			boot parameters (i.e., don't try setting arguments) and see if it works
16			correctly. It probably will. If not, you can reboot later and look for
17			any special parameters that inform the system about your hardware.
18
19			</para><para>
20
21			Information on many boot parameters can be found in the
22			<ulink url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/BootPrompt-HOWTO.html"> Linux
23			BootPrompt HOWTO</ulink>, including tips for obscure hardware. This
24			section contains only a sketch of the most salient parameters. Some
25			common gotchas are included below in
26			<xref linkend="boot-troubleshooting"/>.
27
28			</para><para>
29
30			When the kernel boots, a message
31
32			<informalexample><screen>
33
34			Memory:<replaceable>avail</replaceable>k/<replaceable>total</replaceable>k available
35
36			</screen></informalexample>
37
38			should be emitted early in the process.
39			<replaceable>total</replaceable> should match the total amount of RAM,
40			in kilobytes. If this doesn't match the actual amount of RAM you have
41			installed, you need to use the
42			<userinput>mem=<replaceable>ram</replaceable></userinput> parameter,
43			where <replaceable>ram</replaceable> is set to the amount of memory,
44			suffixed with ``k'' for kilobytes, or ``m'' for megabytes. For
45			example, both <userinput>mem=65536k</userinput> and
46			<userinput>mem=64m</userinput> mean 64MB of RAM.
47
48			</para><para>
49
50			If your monitor is only capable of black-and-white, use the
51			<userinput>mono</userinput> boot argument. Otherwise, your
52			installation will use color, which is the default.
53
54			</para><para condition="supports-serial-console">
55
56			If you are booting with a serial console, generally the kernel will
57			autodetect this
58			<phrase arch="mipsel">(although not on DECstations)</phrase>
59			If you have a videocard (framebuffer) and a keyboard also attached to
60			the computer which you wish to boot via serial console, you may have
61			to pass the
62			<userinput>console=<replaceable>device</replaceable></userinput>
63			argument to the kernel, where <replaceable>device</replaceable> is
64			your serial device, which is usually something like
65			<filename>ttyS0</filename>.
66
67			</para><para arch="sparc">
68
69			For &arch-title; the serial devices are <filename>ttya</filename> or
70			<filename>ttyb</filename>.
71			Alternatively, set the <envar>input-device</envar> and
72			<envar>output-device</envar> OpenPROM variables to
73			<filename>ttya</filename>.
74
75			</para>
76
77
78			<sect2 id="installer-args"><title>Debian Installer Arguments</title>
79			<para>
80
81			The installation system recognizes a few boot arguments which may be
82			useful.
83
84			</para>
85
86			<variablelist>
87			<varlistentry>
88			<term>DEBCONF_PRIORITY</term>
89			<listitem><para>
90
91	fjpop-guest	14361	This parameter settings will set the highest priority of messages
92			to be displayed.
93	fjpop-guest	11832
94			</para><para>
95
96	fjpop-guest	14361	The default installation uses <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=high</userinput>.
97			This means that both high and critical priority messages are shown, but medium
98			and low priority messages are skipped.
99			If problems are encountered, the installer adjusts the priority as needed.
100	fjpop-guest	11832
101			</para><para>
102
103	fjpop-guest	14361	If you add <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=medium</userinput> as boot parameter, you
104			will be shown the installation menu and gain more control over the installation.
105			When <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=low</userinput> is used, all messages are shown
106			(this is equivalent to the <emphasis>expert</emphasis> boot method).
107			With <userinput>DEBCONF_PRIORITY=critical</userinput>, the installation system
108			will display only critical messages and try to do the right thing without fuss.
109	fjpop-guest	11832
110			</para></listitem>
111			</varlistentry>
112
113
114			<varlistentry>
115			<term>DEBCONF_FRONTEND</term>
116			<listitem><para>
117
118			This boot parameter controls the type of user interface used for the
119			installer. The current possible parameter settings are:
120
121			<itemizedlist>
122			<listitem>
123			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=noninteractive</userinput></para>
124			</listitem><listitem>
125			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=text</userinput></para>
126			</listitem><listitem>
127			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=newt</userinput></para>
128			</listitem><listitem>
129			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=slang</userinput></para>
130			</listitem><listitem>
131			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=ncurses</userinput></para>
132			</listitem><listitem>
133			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=bogl</userinput></para>
134			</listitem><listitem>
135			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=gtk</userinput></para>
136			</listitem><listitem>
137			<para><userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=corba</userinput></para>
138			</listitem>
139			</itemizedlist>
140
141			The default front end is <userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=newt</userinput>.
142	fjpop-guest	14361	<userinput>DEBCONF_FRONTEND=text</userinput> may be preferable for
143			serial console installs. Other frontends but
144			<userinput>newt</userinput> are not available on default install
145			media, so this is not very useful right now.
146	fjpop-guest	11832
147			</para></listitem>
148			</varlistentry>
149
150
151			<varlistentry>
152			<term>BOOT_DEBUG</term>
153			<listitem><para>
154
155			Passing this boot parameter will cause the boot to be more verbosely
156			logged.
157
158			<variablelist>
159			<varlistentry>
160			<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=0</userinput></term>
161			<listitem><para>This is the default.</para></listitem>
162			</varlistentry>
163
164			<varlistentry>
165			<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=1</userinput></term>
166			<listitem><para>More verbose than usual.</para></listitem>
167			</varlistentry>
168
169			<varlistentry>
170			<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=2</userinput></term>
171			<listitem><para>Lots of debugging information.</para></listitem>
172			</varlistentry>
173
174			<varlistentry>
175			<term><userinput>BOOT_DEBUG=3</userinput></term>
176			<listitem><para>
177
178			Shells are run at various points in the boot process to allow detailed
179			debugging. Exit the shell to continue the boot.
180
181			</para></listitem>
182			</varlistentry>
183			</variablelist>
184
185			</para></listitem>
186			</varlistentry>
187
188
189			<varlistentry>
190			<term>INSTALL_MEDIA_DEV</term>
191			<listitem><para>
192
193			The value of the parameter is the path to the device to load the
194			Debian installer from. For example,
195			<userinput>INSTALL_MEDIA_DEV=/dev/floppy/0</userinput>
196
197			</para><para>
198
199			The boot floppy, which normally scans all floppys and USB storage
200			devices it can to find the root floppy, can be overridden by this
201			parameter to only look at the one device.
202
203			</para></listitem>
204			</varlistentry>
205
206			<varlistentry>
207			<term>debian-installer/framebuffer</term>
208			<listitem><para>
209
210			Some architectures use the kernel framebuffer to offer installation in
211			a number of languages. If framebuffer causes a problem on your system
212			you can disable the feature by the parameter
213			<userinput>debian-installer/framebuffer=false</userinput>. Problem
214			symptoms are error messages about bterm or bogl, a blank screen, or
215			a freeze within a few minutes after starting the install.
216
217			</para><para arch="i386">
218
219			The <userinput>video=vga16:off</userinput> argument may also be used
220			to disable the framebuffer. Such problems have been reported on a Dell
221			Inspiron with Mobile Radeon card.
222
223			</para><para arch="m68k">
224
225			Such problems have been reported on the Amiga 1200 and SE/30.
226
227			</para><para arch="hppa">
228
229			Such problems have been reported on hppa.
230
231			</para></listitem>
232			</varlistentry>
233
234	fjpop-guest	14361	<varlistentry>
235			<term>debian-installer/probe/usb</term>
236			<listitem><para>
237
238			Set to <userinput>false</userinput> to prevent probing for USB on
239			boot, if that causes problems.
240
241			</para></listitem>
242			</varlistentry>
243
244			<varlistentry>
245			<term>netcfg/use_dhcp</term>
246			<listitem><para>
247
248			By default, the &d-i; automatically probes for network configuration
249			via DHCP. If the probe succeeds, you won't have a chance to review and
250			chage the obtained settings. You can get to the manual network setup
251			only in case the DHCP probe fails.
252
253			</para><para>
254
255			If you have a DHCP server on your local network, but want to avoid it
256			because e.g. it gives wrong answers, you can use the parameter
257			<userinput>netcfg/use_dhcp=false</userinput> to prevent configuring
258			the network with DHCP and to enter the information manually.
259
260			</para></listitem>
261			</varlistentry>
262
263			<varlistentry>
264			<term>hw-detect/start_pcmcia</term>
265			<listitem><para>
266
267			Set to <userinput>false</userinput> to prevent starting PCMCIA
268			services, if that causes problems. Some laptops are well known for
269			this misbehaviour.
270
271			</para></listitem>
272			</varlistentry>
273
274	fjpop-guest	11832	</variablelist>
275			</sect2>
276			</sect1>
277