The Linux kernel can accept a variety of boot options, which are passed to it on the command line. These options can be used to change the kernel’s behavior at boot time, such as enabling or disabling features, specifying hardware settings, or passing information to kernel modules.
Here is a table of some of the most common Linux kernel boot options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| quiet | Suppresses the kernel’s boot messages. This can be useful if you are troubleshooting a problem and do not need to see the boot messages. |
| splash | Displays a splash screen during the boot process. This can be a nice way to add some visual flair to your boot process. |
| nomodeset | Prevents the kernel from loading graphics drivers, which can be useful for troubleshooting graphics problems. |
| log_buf_len=1M | Sets the size of the kernel’s log buffer to 1 megabyte. This can be useful if you are experiencing kernel panics or other errors, as it will give you more information to troubleshoot the problem. |
| print_fatal_signals=1 | Causes the kernel to print a message when it receives a fatal signal. This can be useful for debugging kernel crashes. |
| rd.break=initramfs | Forces the kernel to load the initramfs before the root filesystem. This can be useful if you are using a custom initramfs or if you are troubleshooting a problem with the root filesystem. |
| init=/bin/bash | Specifies the command to run after the kernel has booted. This can be useful if you want to run a custom startup script or if you are troubleshooting a problem with the init system. |
| console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200 | Specifies the console devices to use. This can be useful if you are using a serial console or if you are troubleshooting a problem with the console. |
| mem=1024M | Sets the amount of memory to be allocated to the kernel. This can be useful if you are running out of memory or if you are troubleshooting a problem with memory management. |
| root=/dev/sda1 | Specifies the root filesystem device. This can be useful if you are using a different root filesystem or if you are troubleshooting a problem with the root filesystem. |
| noapic | Prevents the kernel from using the Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) chip. (You can use this command on motherboards known to have a bad APIC.) |
| apic | Works around a bug commonly encountered in the Intel 440GX chipset BIOS and only executes with the installation program kernel. |
| vnc | Starts a VNC (Virtual Network Computing) server so that you can control the GUI installer from another networked system that runs a VNC client. |
| ks | Configures the Ethernet card using DHCP and runs a kickstart installation by using a kickstart file from an NFS server identified by the boot server parameters provided by the DHCP server. |
| rescue | Starts the kernel in rescue mode where you get a shell prompt and can try to fix problems. |
For a complete list of kernel boot options, please refer to the Linux kernel documentation: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/v4.14/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.html.
Note that the exact method for specifying kernel boot options may vary depending on your Linux distribution and bootloader. It’s recommended to refer to your distribution’s documentation or the documentation of your specific bootloader for detailed instructions on how to add and configure kernel boot options.
