Chapter 15. Additional Boot Options for IBM Power Systems

Boot Time Command Arguments

askmethod

this command asks you to select the installation method you would like to use when booting from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD-ROM.

dd

this argument causes the installation program to prompt you to use a driver diskette.

dd=url

this argument causes the installation program to prompt you to use a driver image from a specified HTTP, FTP, or NFS network address.

display=ip:0

this command allows remote display forwarding. In this command, ip should be replaced with the IP address of the system on which you want the display to appear.

On the system you want the display to appear on, you must execute the command xhost +remotehostname, where remotehostname is the name of the host from which you are running the original display. Using the command xhost +remotehostname limits access to the remote display terminal and does not allow access from anyone or any system not specifically authorized for remote access.

driverdisk

this command performs the same function as the dd command and also prompts you to use a driver diskette during the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

ide=nodma

this command disables DMA on all IDE devices and may be useful when having IDE-related problems.

mediacheck

this command gives you the option of testing the integrity of the install source (if an ISO-based method). this command works with the CD, DVD, hard drive ISO, and NFS ISO installation methods. Verifying that the ISO images are intact before you attempt an installation helps to avoid problems that are often encountered during an installation.

mem=xxxm

this command allows you to override the amount of memory the kernel detects for the machine. This may be needed for some older systems where only 16 mb is detected and for some new machines where the video card shares the video memory with the main memory. When executing this command, xxx should be replaced with the amount of memory in megabytes.

mpath

enables multipath support.

Important

If you install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.11 on a network storage device accessible through multiple paths, you must boot the installation process with this option. If you do not specify this option at boot time, installation will fail, or the system will fail to boot after installation completes.

noeject

do not eject optical discs after installation. This option is useful in remote installations where it is difficult to close the tray afterwards.

nopass

this command disables the passing of keyboard and mouse information to stage 2 of the installation program. It can be used to test keyboard and mouse configuration screens during stage 2 of the installation program when performing a network installation.

nopcmcia

this command ignores any PCMCIA controllers in system.

noprobe

this command disables hardware detection and instead prompts the user for hardware information.

noshell

this command disables shell access on virtual console 2 during an installation.

nostorage

this command disables probing for SCSI and RAID storage hardware.

nousb

this command disables the loading of USB support during the installation. If the installation program tends to hang early in the process, this command may be helpful.

nousbstorage

this command disables the loading of the usbstorage module in the installation program's loader. It may help with device ordering on SCSI systems.

rescue

this command runs rescue mode. Refer to Chapter 27, Basic System Recovery for more information about rescue mode.

resolution=

tells the installation program which video mode to run. it accepts any standard resolution, such as 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, and so on.

serial

this command turns on serial console support.

text

this command disables the graphical installation program and forces the installation program to run in text mode.

updates

this command prompts you to insert a floppy diskette containing updates (bug fixes) for the anaconda installation program. It is not needed if you are performing a network installation and have already placed the updates image contents in rhupdates/ on the server.

vnc

this command allows you to install from a VNC server.

vncpassword=

this command sets the password used to connect to the VNC server.