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Chapter 8. Additional Boot Options for Intel® and AMD Systems

This section discusses additional boot and kernel boot options available for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation program.
To use any of the boot options presented here, type the command you wish to invoke at the installation boot: prompt.
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.
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 is 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 5. 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
nomce
nonet
nopass
nopcmcia
noprobe
noshell
nostorage
nousb
nousbstorage
numa=off
reboot=b
rescue
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.
updates=
this command allows you to specify a URL to retrieve updates (bug fixes) for the anaconda installation program.
vnc
this command allows you to install from a VNC server.
vncpassword=
this command sets the password used to connect to the VNC server.