BOOT(8) OpenBSD System Manager's Manual (Zaurus) BOOT(8)NAME
boot, boot.conf - zaurus-specific second-stage bootstrap
DESCRIPTION
The main purpose of this program is to load the system kernel while
dealing with the peculiarities of the zaurus machine.
As described in boot_zaurus(8), this program is loaded by the primary
bootstrap loader and provides a convenient way to load the kernel. This
program acts as an enhanced boot monitor for zaurus systems, providing a
common interface for the kernel to start from.
Basic operations include:
o Detecting and switching between multiple consoles.
o Loading kernels from any device supported by the primary bootstrap
loader.
o Passing system parameters queried from the primary bootstrap loader
to the kernel.
o Providing an interactive command line.
The sequence of its operation is as follows: initialization, parsing the
configuration file, then an interactive command line. While at the
command line you have 5 seconds to type any commands, if needed. If time
expires, the kernel will be loaded according to the current variable
settings (see the set command). Each time a kernel load fails, the
timeout is increased by one second. The sequence of boot operations is
as follows:
1. Probe for console devices, which includes the (default) LCD+Keyboard
console (cn0) and up to three serial consoles (com0 through com2)
connected to the serial ports. Display messages to the default
console about the devices found.
2. Probe for disk devices, and select the first disk with an i386-
compatible MBR and a valid OpenBSD primary partition.
3. If the file /etc/boot.conf exists on the root filesystem on the
selected disk, open and parse it. This file may contain any
commands boot accepts at the interactive prompt. Though default
settings usually suffice, they can be changed here.
4. The header line
>> OpenBSD/zaurus BOOT [x.xx]
is displayed to the active console, where x.xx is the version number
of the boot program, followed by the
boot>
prompt, which means you are in interactive mode and may enter
commands. If you do not, boot will proceed to load the kernel with
the current parameters after the timeout period has expired.
By default, boot attempts to load the kernel executable /bsd. If it
fails to find the kernel and no alternative kernel image has been
specified, the system will be unable to boot.
COMMANDS
The following commands are accepted at the boot prompt:
boot [image [-acds]]
Boots the kernel image specified by image with any options
given. Image specification consists of a pair device:filename;
either or both can be omitted (`:' is not needed if both are
omitted), in which case values from boot variables will be used.
When selecting the device to boot from, boot makes no
distinction between SCSI and IDE type drives; they are detected
as `hd' devices. Therefore, to boot kernel /bsd from slice `a'
on the first hard drive (irrespective of device type), specify
``boot hd0a:/bsd''.
Note: Normally, the internal hard disk is designated by the
device name `hd0'. If a CF hard disk is present in the socket
when the system starts, the internal hard disk is instead
designated by the prefix `hd1', and `hd0' will access the CF
hard disk.
-a Causes the kernel to ask for the root device to use.
-c Causes the kernel to go into boot_config(8) before
performing autoconf(4) procedures.
-d Causes the kernel to drop into ddb(4) at the earliest
convenient point.
-s Causes the kernel to boot single-user.
clear Clears the console screen. This is useful if your bootstrap
console doesn't scroll the screen automatically when the cursor
is in the bottom line.
echo [args]
Displays args on the console device.
help Prints a list of available commands and machine dependent
commands, if any.
ls [directory]
Prints contents of the specified directory in long format
including: attributes and file type, owner, group, size,
filename.
reboot Returns control to the primary bootstrap loader.
set [varname [value]]
If invoked without arguments, prints a list of variables and
their values. If only varname is specified, displays contents
of that variable. If varname and value are both specified, sets
that variable to the given value. Variables include:
addr Address at which to load the kernel.
debug Debug flag if boot was compiled with DEBUG defined.
device Boot device name (e.g., hd0a).
howto Options to pass to the loaded kernel.
image File name containing the kernel image.
timeout Number of seconds boot will wait for human intervention
before booting the default kernel image.
tty Active console device name (e.g., cn0, com0, com1).
stty [device [speed]]
Displays or sets the speed for a console device. If changing
the baudrate for the currently active console, boot offers you
five seconds of grace time before committing the change to allow
you to change your terminal's speed to match. If changing speed
not for the active console, the baudrate is set for the next
time you switch to a serial console.
The default baudrate is 9600bps.
time Displays system time and date.
UPDATING BOOTBLOCKS
Since the bootblocks actually live in a Linux flash filesystem, a rather
obtuse method must currently be used to upgrade them.
1. Place zboot and zbsdmod.o onto an MS-DOS filesystem on a CF
card, and then insert into the Zaurus.
2. Remove power from the Zaurus.
3. Unplug the battery.
4. Start holding down the `b' and `d' keys.
5. Wait 30 seconds, then re-insert the battery and power up the
Zaurus.
6. When you see text start to appear on the Zaurus, release the
`b' and `d' keys.
7. Login as root and perform the following steps:
# mount /dev/mtdblock2 /tmp
# cp /mnt/cf/z* /tmp/home/etc/rc.d
# reboot
An SD card with an MS-DOS filesystem may be used instead, in
which case the Linux pathname will be /mnt/card instead of
/mnt/cf.
FILES
/usr/mdec/zbsdmod.o kernel module for the primary bootstrap loader that
must be loaded before the system bootstrap
/usr/mdec/zboot system bootstrap
/etc/boot.conf system bootstrap's startup file
/bsd kernel image
/bsd.rd kernel image for installation/recovery
EXAMPLES
Boot the default kernel:
boot> boot
Remove the 5 second pause at boot-time permanently, causing boot to load
the kernel immediately without prompting:
# echo "boot" > /etc/boot.conf
Use serial console. A null modem cable should connect the specified
serial port to a terminal. Useful for debugging.
boot> set tty com0
Invoke the serial console at every boot:
# echo "set tty com0" > /etc/boot.conf
Boot the kernel named /bsd from the second hard disk in ``User Kernel
Configuration'' mode (see boot_config(8)). This mechanism allows for the
explicit enabling and disabling of devices during the current boot
sequence, as well as the modification of device parameters. Once booted,
such changes can be made permanent by using config(8)'s -e option.
boot> boot hd1a:/bsd -c
SEE ALSOautoconf(4), ddb(4), boot_config(8), boot_zaurus(8), fdisk(8), reboot(8)HISTORY
This program was written by Michael Shalayeff for OpenBSD 2.1, and
adapted to zaurus by Uwe Stuehler for OpenBSD 3.7.
BUGS
Non-IDE disks can not be used to load /etc/boot.conf or the kernel from
them.
OpenBSD 4.9 May 31, 2007 OpenBSD 4.9