- 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.
- apic
This x86 boot command works around a bug commonly encountered in the Intel
440GX chipset BIOS and should only be executed with the installation
program kernel.
- apm=allow_ints
This x86 boot command changes how the suspend service is handled (and may
be necessary for some laptops).
- apm=off
This x86 boot command disables APM (Advanced Power Management). It useful
because some BIOSes have buggy power management (APM) and tend to
crash.
- apm=power_off
This x86 boot command makes Red Hat Enterprise Linux shutdown (power off) the system by
default. It is useful for SMP systems that do not shutdown by
default.
- apm=realmode_power_off
Some BIOSes crash on x86-based systems when trying to shutdown
(power off) the machine. This command changes the method of how
this is done from the Windows NT way to the Windows 95 way.
- 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.
- linux upgradeany
This command relaxes some of the checks on your
/etc/redhat-release file. If your
/etc/redhat-release file has been changed from
the default, your Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation may not be found when
attempting an upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. Use this option only if
your existing Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation was not detected.
- 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.
- nmi_watchdog=1
This command enables the built-in kernel deadlock detector.
This command can be used to debug hard kernel lockups. By executing
periodic NMI (Non Maskable Interrupt) interrupts, the kernel can
monitor whether any CPU has locked up and print out debugging
messages as needed.
- noapic
This x86 boot command tells the kernel not to use the APIC
chip. It may be helpful for some motherboards with a bad APIC (such
as the Abit BP6) or with a buggy BIOS. Systems based on the NVIDIA
nForce3 chipset (such as the ASUS SK8N) have been known to hang
during IDE detection at boot time, or display other
interrupt-delivery issues.
- noht
This x86 boot command disables hyperthreading.
- nofb
This command disables frame buffer support and allows the
installation program to run in text mode. This command may be
necessary for accessibility with some screen reading hardware.
- nomce
This x86 boot command disables self-diagnosis checks performed on the
CPU. The kernel enables self-diagnosis on the CPU by default (called
Machine Check Exception). Early Compaq
Pentium systems may need this option as they do not support
processor error checking correctly. A few other laptops, notably
those using the Radeon IGP chipset, may also need this option.
- 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.
- 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.
- numa=off
Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access) on the AMD64
architecture. While all CPUs can access all memory even without NUMA
support, the NUMA support present in the updated kernel causes
memory allocations to favor the CPU on which they originate as much
as possible, thereby minimizing inter-CPU memory traffic. This can
provide significant performance improvements in certain
applications. To revert to the original non-NUMA behavior, specify
this boot option.
- reboot=b
This x86, AMD64, and Intel® EM64T boot command changes the way the
kernel tries to reboot the machine. If a kernel hang is experienced
while the system is shutting down, this command may cause the system
to reboot successfully.
- rescue
This command runs rescue mode. Refer to the
Red Hat Enterprise Linux System Administration Guide 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.
- skipddc
This x86 boot command skips the ddc monitor probe
which causes problems on some systems.
- 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). 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.
