READ: http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/10-boot-time-parameters-you-should-know-about-the-linux-kernel.html∞

Useful boot time parameters

To specify the process to start after kernel is loaded.

Single user mode - in fact you can specify other run levels as well. For example, 3 will force the system to boot into runlevel 3.

Panic timeout - reboot 30 seconds after kernel panics

VGA mode - default VGA mode is 640x480, specify a different VGA mode, say 791, gives you 1024x768.

Disable hdx - linux may still detects your drives even if you disable it from BIOS. If you're having problems installing Linux because you have disks on different controllers, you might wanna disable certain hd during the install. In my case, I have a linux on a drive connected to the onboard controller. I wish to install another linux on a USB drive, and I'd pass this to the installer