EXTIPL(8)EXTIPL(8)NAMEextipl - a partition-selectable boot loader/installer for IBM-PC com‐
patible computers.
SYNOPSISextipl subcommand arguments ...
DESCRIPTION
This manual page describes briefly the extipl command.
extipl stands for "Extended IPL". That is an IBM's HD-IPL compatible
boot strap code for IBM-PC compatible computers. But it allows to
select one of partitions, or one of several BIOS supported HDDs.
extipl is the installer of ExtIPL. This version (v5.0) has 4 IPLs and
three of them now supports the LBA access for large HDD.
built-in IPLs
gemini The default IPL which has simple GUI-like menu function. The
label for each partition in the 1st HDD can be modified for easy
recognition. Delay for auto-boot also can be changed from 1 to
999, or forever (default is 15 seconds). This also supports the
booting from any BIOS supported HDD, and can change the active
partition on the 1st HDD. This IPL actually consists of two
code blocks: pollux (in MBR) and castor (in several sectors fol‐
lowing the MBR). Therefore named after the famous twin in the
sky, Gemini.
taurus The simple IPL which does not have the selector function. It
just loads the OS loader from the active partitions. The dif‐
ference from the conventional IPL is the support of LBA access
for the large HDD and the support of booting from logical parti‐
tions. This IPL is named after the zodiac signs followed by gem‐
ini.
aquila This IPL can select partitions in the 1st HDD to boot up from.
LBA access and booting from logical partition are supported.
Unlike the gemini IPL, selection menu is much more simple, and
can not change the active partition. The name is taken from the
constellation, and the old famous movie.
scorpius
This is the IPL in the old version of extipl. It uses CHS access
only, i.e. does not support LBA access. Selection menu is very
simple, but it does support booting from any BIOS supported
HDDs. This name is also taken from another constellation and
the movie.
COMMANDS
save device-filename-of-HD [file]
Store the current content of MBR in the specified HDD to a file
"filename". Saved content of MBR can be restored by "extipl
restore" described below. If you omit the filename, the default
value "./master.ipl" is used. Back up file is set to be read-
only.
restore device-filename-of-HD file
Restore the MBR from the specified file which contains partition
information and the OS booter.
You are asked as:
C)ode: restore ipl code only
T)able: restore partition table only
A)ll: restore ipl code and partition table
restore (c/t/a)?
Reply 'c', 't', or 'a'. It is not examined whether specified
file is valid copy of MBR. Filename cannot be omitted.
install device-filename-of-HD @IPL_NAME
Install one of the four Extended-IPL boot code to MBR in the
hard disk specified with the argument device-filename-of-HD.
IPL_NAME is one of the following: gemini, taurus, aquila, and
scorpius. The default IPL is gemini.
Before installation, you are forced to back up MBR to a file,
and are prompted:
Enter file name to save:
If you press <Enter> key only, MBR will be saved into
"./fdiskIPL.<nnn>", where <nnn> is a number from 001 to 999.
That number is incremented automatically if that file exists
already.
fdtest device-filename-of-FD @IPL_NAME
Install one of the four Extended-IPL boot code to a floppy disk
specified with the argument "device-filename-of-FD." You can't
use Extended-IPL installed floppy for any other purpose.
IPL_NAME is one of the following: gemini, taurus, aquila, and
scorpius. The default IPL is gemini.
This is for testing or trying Extended-IPL, but you can use a
floppy with Extended-IPL to boot your PC if it doesn't boot from
hard disk.
show device-filename-of-HD
Display the content of the partition tables in a hard disk spec‐
ified with the argument "device-filename-of-HD". The content of
an extended partition is also displayed.
[Example]
# extipl show /dev/hda
=========
Partition TABLE on "/dev/hda"
=========
[1] 0B: MS-Win FAT32 1866MB
[2] 06: DOS FAT16(>32MB) 125MB
A[3] A5: FreeBSD/old NetBSD/386BSD 2596MB
[4] 05: Extended DOS --
( 1) 83: Linux native 256MB
( 2) 83: Linux native 1153MB
( 3) 83: Linux native 86MB
( 4) 82: Linux swap/Solaris x86 62MB
chgboot device-filename-of-HD
Change the bootable partition in the specified device interac‐
tively. If you mark an extended partition bootable, you can
also mark a partition in the bootable extended partition
bootable.
The follwing keys are understood:
Number : mark the selected partition bootable.
w : write back the modified parition table to the device.
q : quit without any modification to the device
c : clear the bootable mark.
b : back to the parent partition when you are in an extended
partition. If you are in the top level partition, quit without
any modification.
Please read the documantation for more details.
clrboot device-filename-of-HD
marks all partition to be not bootable in a hard disk specified
with the argument "device-filename-of-HD". This force Extended-
IPL to enter partition selection even if shift key is not
pressed down. Original booter in MBR cannot boot OS if all par‐
tition is marked non-bootable. You have to use Extended-IPL to
boot something. If BIOS loader of MBR checks the validity of
MBR strictly, it consider the MBR invalid.
In such a case, YOU BECOME UNABLE TO BOOT ANY OS IN YOUR HARD‐
DISK. BE extremely CAREFUL.
Please read the documantation for more details.
OPTIONextipl command accepts some option flags for speciallized purpose.
Please read the documentation and the source code for more details.
Options includes:
-d : debug
Option flag for debugging boot code. If you specify this option,
extipl does not install the specified boot code, but writes out
the binary image of boot sector into the file named "./_Boot‐
Sec.<nnn>" where <nnn> is the automatic increment counter.
You can check the content of that image using dump tool or ndis‐
asm, disassembler for i8086. It may be usefull to improve the
boot code for Extended-IPL or to develop your own IPL code.
-f : force install
This option affects only the subcommand "install". If you spec‐
ify this option, extipl does not prompt for the name of backup
file and does not prompt for confirmation of install, but do
write it's IPL boot code into MBR in the specified hard disk
silently, and save the contents of the original MBR into
"./fdiskIPL.<nnn>", where <nnn> is a number from 001 to 999.
That number is incremented automatically if that file exists
already.
If you don't need that back up file, please remove it manually.
Usage of the gemini IPL
Initial load
When the boot sequence is started, the string "extipl" is shown
on the screen, and the timer is counting. Default delay for auto
startup is 15 seconds (can be modified from the menu later).
Press <Enter> to boot up from the active partition immediately.
Any other key such as <Space> interrupts this count down, and
the selector menu is displayed.
Selector Menu
The selector menu is divided into three parts: top line, lower
left, and lower right. The top line shows the drive to boot
from, and the access mode (LBA/CHS). The lower left area shows
the partitions, and the lower right shows the available com‐
mands.
You can use cursor key to select an item from the menu, and
<Enter> decides to execute it. When an extended partiion is
selected, then <Space> key lists the logical partitions in the
selected extended.
Modification of the waiting delay
In the Selector Menu of gemini, you can use "<Alt> + t" in order
to modify the waiting delay for auto startup. The unit is sec‐
ond, and the default is 15 seconds. 0-999 can be entered here,
and "0" means that Selector Menu will be always shown (i.e. no
automatic startup).
Modification of the partition label
In the Selector Menu of gemini, you can use "<Alt> + n" in order
to modify the partition label for the 1st HDD. Maximum length
of the label is 20 charaters, and the maximum number of labels
is 12. To delete the registered label, just press <Enter> only
after using "<Alt> + n". <Esc> cancels the current input when
the label is entered.
Save the current setup for delay and labels
In the Selector Menu of gemini, you can use "<Alt> + s" in order
to save the modification you done for delay and labels.
Usage of the taurus IPL
taurus IPL can not select partition to boot from. Is just loads the PBR
in the active partition. So nothing special to be done for this.
Usage of the aquila IPL
Initial load
To boot up from the active partition, just wait. Nothing to be
done. To show the selector menu, enable <CapsLock> after the
BIOS keyboard initialization. The usage of this menu is similar
to the old one, so please read the description for scorpius
below.
Usage of the scorpius IPL
<Shift>
Extended-IPL loads and runs the boot sector of the first
bootable partition on the first HDD. If shift key is pressed
when extended-IPL booting, it displays a boot selection menu.
<0> Select the other HDD.
<1>,<2>,<3>,<4>
Select one of primary/extended/logical partitions of current HDD
to load and run the boot sector in that partition.
<Enter>
Load and run the boot sector of selected partition.
<End> Change the bootable flag of selected partition and load and run
that boot sector.
SEE ALSO
The programs are documented fully at
/usr/local/share/doc/extipl/extipl/English/extipl.txt in English, or
/usr/local/share/doc/extipl/extipl/Japanese/extipl.txt in Japanese.
AUTHOR
The author of Extended-IPL is Takamiti Kimura <takamiti@tsden.org>,
English documentation is written by Ryutaroh Matsumoto <ryu‐
taroh@tsden.org> and distributed as the part of the original source ar‐
chive.
This manual page was originally written by Akira YOSHIYAMA
<yosshy@debian.or.jp>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system. Then Taketoshi
Sano <kgh12351@nifty.ne.jp> update the information to match the new
upstream release.
This man page can be freely used by anyone.
EXTIPL(8)
