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suggested re-work of myconfig, GRMLCFG, config, debs and scripts
by Marc Haber 28 Jul '09

28 Jul '09

Hi, this is what I recently filed in the BTS as issue715, and mika said that it may be a good idea to discuss my suggestion here as well. The interaction between GRMLCFG, myconfig, scripts, debs and config is incredibly byzantine to me. It has clearly grown, but I'd like to have some more features which would be available by a re-work of the semantics. I would like to see the following behavior implemented: - debs, config and scripts are always searched and read from the same place ($dcs-dir). Which place this is varies, depending on GRMLCFG, noautoconfig and myconfig. - debs are searched in $dcs-dir/debs. If debs=foo is given, foo is taken as a shell wildcard for the debs being installed, paths are allowed and relative to $dcs-dir. - config archives (config.tbz) are searched directly in $dcs-dir. If config=foo is given and foo is a file, that file is unpacked and its content taken as configuration archive. If config=foo is given and foo is a directory, the contents of the directory tree is copied over the live CD configuration. paths are allowed and relative to $dcs-dir - scripts are searched in $dcs-dir/scripts. If scripts=foo is given and foo is a file, that file is executed. If scripts=foo is given and foo is a directory, all files inside that directory are executed. Paths are allowed and relative to $dcs-dir. - If no GRMLCFG partition is found and noautoconfig is _not_ given on the command line, nothing is changed and the dcs files are searched within the .iso, $dcs-dir is set to the root directory within the .iso - If a GRMLCFG partition is found, $dcs-dir is set to the root of the GRMLCFG partition unless noautoconfig is set. If noautoconfig is set, $dcs-dir is set to the root directory within the .iso. - If myconfig=foo is set on the command line, $dcs-dir is set to foo, even if a GRMLCFG partition is present. I tried to craft this new behavior not to break mainstream configurations while some more exotic schemes now need different handling. It also has the advantage of having similiar definitions for scrips, debs and config which will probably allow some code to be re-used for all three cases. Please indicate whether you find this behavior acceptable and desireable. If this new behavior would break a setup you use, please say so as well. I believe this new behavior can be implemented alone by changing /etc/init.d/grml-autoconfig and/or /etc/grml/autoconfig.functions. Greetings Marc -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | lose things." Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 72739834 Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 3221 2323190

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Network booting, Terminal Server or PXE
by T o n g 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

Hi Mika, Just out of curiosity, how do you compare Terminal Server and PXE? I knew the term "Terminal Server" when I knew grml, and only within the grml community. The outside world seems to be interested in PXE instead. So I like to know the reason behind why grml chose Terminal Server over PXE. Here are the homeworks I've done: The only "Terminal Server" I found on the web seems to related with KNOPPIX http://knoppix.manty.net/ http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/KNOPPIX_Terminal_Server But the original author of the wiki document, Rjent, has moved his efforts to working on something else. PXE is backed by Intel and is part of Intels(tm) Wired for Management (WfM) http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/PXE_FAQ The Linux Magazine has written a good article about 'Network Booting' http://www.linux-mag.com/id/1179 Tim Kientzle Tuesday, October 15th, 2002 in which Tim recommended PXE. Thanks PS. For those PC that has Network booting built-in capability in ROM, are they booting PXE or Terminal Server or something else? PPS. The reason that I'm asking, its very easy to test PXE booting in KVM... -- Tong (remove underscore(s) to reply) http://xpt.sourceforge.net/techdocs/ http://xpt.sourceforge.net/tools/

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installing grml onto hard drive
by Don Raikes 17 Jul '09

17 Jul '09

Hello, I am just getting started with grml as of today. I am blind, and would like to install grml onto my hard drive. I downloaded the latest iso image: grml_2009.05.iso After looking at teh menu.lst file, it looks like I need to specify that I use teh grml-hd menu option, but I need to add the brltty and ppossibly speakup parameters to teh kernel, and I am not quite sure how to do that. My second alternative would be to install grml from teh running liveCD once I get brltty and speakup running successfully. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

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Persistency on grml
by T o n g 12 Jul '09

12 Jul '09

Hi mika, Thanks you for your detailed wiki: Persistency on grml http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=persistency I got it working after following your detailed instructions. However, I found that you've mixed the two cases. The wiki should read: To use the persistency feature you need * either a writeable partition with label 'live-rw' * or execute the command 'live-snapshot' then follow the instructions. I.e., both method can get you the persistent feature, but either one is enough. you don't need both. For 'live-rw' partition, checking whether the live snapshot is included by running 'mount | grep live-snapshot' does not apply, Moreover, if you have a writeable partition with label 'live-rw', then having another 'home-rw' one is not necessary unless you want to. cheers -- Tong (remove underscore(s) to reply) http://xpt.sourceforge.net/techdocs/ http://xpt.sourceforge.net/tools/

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OT: memory info
by Josh Lawrence 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

Marked OT just in case :) I need to get more RAM for my computer at home, but the RAM isn't labeled for type, speed etc. Is there a command in Linux and/or grml that will give me this information? Thank you, Josh -- Josh Lawrence http://www.hardbop200.com

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OT: Downloading the .deb package
by T o n g 08 Jul '09

08 Jul '09

Hi, How to download the .deb file for a package? $ aptitude download linux-image-2.6.28-grml64 Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Reading extended state information Initializing package states... Done Unable to find an archive "grml" for the package "linux-image-2.6.28- grml64" What's wrong? Thanks -- Tong (remove underscore(s) to reply) http://xpt.sourceforge.net/techdocs/ http://xpt.sourceforge.net/tools/

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Speeding up udev?
by Hermann 01 Jul '09

01 Jul '09

Hi, in former mails I reported a slow boot procedure of GRML, and I couldn't figure out the reason why. In the meantime I found out that udev seems to slow down the whole thing. Deactivating it seems no good solution, since there is hardly any hardware detected; only the internal drives are recognized. But no sound, no network etc. So is there a chance to speed up udev? I didn't find anything in the manual that refers to "speeding up the procedure". Any hints? Hermann --

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Request for Comments / Poll: removal of LaTeX on grml
by Michael Prokop 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

Hi grml users, especially on grml64 we are running out of space and I'm thinking about removing LaTeX from grml, which would save us 100MB of uncompressed space. I'm talking about the following Debian packages: | auctex catdvi ctioga dvipng gnuhtml2latex lacheck latex-beamer | latexmk latex-mk latextug latex-xcolor libkpathsea4 libtioga-ruby | libtioga-ruby1.8 pdfjam pgf preview-latex-style tetex-bin tex-common | texify texlive texlive-base texlive-base-bin texlive-common | texlive-doc-base texlive-extra-utils texlive-fonts-recommended | texlive-lang-german texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-recommended | texpower tth vim-latexsuite I'd like to know *your* opinion on this issue, so please let us know your opinion through this poll: http://doodle.com/3dnzvhv43tmhpcpn Thanks! regards, -mika- -- http://grml.org/ # Linux for texttool-users and sysadmins http://wiki.grml.org/ # share your knowledge http://grml.supersized.org/ # the grml development weblog #grml @ irc.freenode.org # meet us on irc

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GRML and debian unstable?
by Michael Whapples 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

Hello, There's one thing which has slightly puzzled me about GRML, why does it use debian unstable? I can imagine stable is not wanted as it can get quite out dated due to the time between debian stable releases, but why not testing? Why this puzzles me is that due to it using debian unstable problems can occur with package conflicts, broken packages, etc, so leading to it really not being good for those unfamiliar with linux and debian package management. However there are parts of GRML which I feel are good for useability, eg. some of the scripts for configuring the system, like grml-network which is probably the simplest way of configuring a network interface I have found for a text console. Also as a blind user the in built accessibility is something which makes it good for me (some other distros either didn't have any accessibility for the install process, required a separate modified CD (eg. fedora) or in the case of slackware which while providing the accessibility only could use a hardware speech synthesiser for the install). This meant if anyone asked about an accessible install then GRML was good from that angle. However things are changing, vinux has moved towards being debian based and may be now would be my suggestion for a first time users distro with accessibility. Michael Whapples

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grml_2009.05.iso and swspeak
by Martin McCormick 29 Jun '09

29 Jun '09

I have been trying to install grml_2009.05.iso on a Dell Enspiron laptop from the 2002 era. This computer does work as it does have the last edition of oralux on it with speakup. The speech and Ethernet functions work fine but such things as sound recording and serial communications do not work so I have been hoping that a newer distribution would bring more systems to life. I downloaded grml_2009.05.iso and did the following: Boot the CDROM and wait for things to settle down. type swspeak=espeak and hit Enter. Nothing. I had a sighted person watch and the first thing to hit the screen is a picture of a keyboard and the boot prompt. If I then type swspeak=espeak or swspeak=speechd, the screen goes black and the CDROM drive runs for a few more seconds and then nothing. Am I forgetting something, possibly an en cantation over a frog killed in the first quarter of the Moon or what? I even downloaded the medium image and tried it with the same results. Does the medium ISO image contain any software speech? I did get a 2-year-old grml live CD to talk, but it began spelling any time one tried to go in to the installation routine so so much for that. Any other suggestions as to what to try or do I have some part of the procedure wrong? Many thanks. Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK Systems Engineer OSU Information Technology Department Telecommunications Services Group

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