loader.conf
- system bootstrap configuration information
DESCRIPTION
The file
contains descriptive information on bootstrapping the system.
Through
it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parameters to be passed to
it, and additional modules to be loaded; and generally set all variables
described in
loader(8).
The file
/boot/loader.rc
must contain the following two lines for
to be automatically processed:
include /boot/loader.4th
start
If no
/boot/loader.rc
exists at installworld time, one with the above lines will be installed.
SYNTAX
Though
's
format was defined explicitly to resemble
rc.conf5,
and can be sourced by
sh(1),
some settings are treated in a special fashion.
Also, the
behavior of some settings is defined by the setting's suffix;
the prefix identifies which module the setting controls.
The general parsing rules are:
Spaces and empty lines are ignored.
A # sign will mark the remainder of the line as a comment.
Only one setting can be present on each line.
All settings have the following format:
variable="value"
Unless it belongs to one of the classes of settings that receive special
treatment, a setting will set the value of a
loader(8)
environment variable.
The settings that receive special
treatment are listed below.
Settings beginning with
Qq *
below define the modules to be loaded and
may have any prefix; the prefix identifies a module.
All such settings sharing a common
prefix refer to the same module.
exec
Immediately executes a
loader(8)
command.
This type of setting cannot be processed by programs other
than
loader(8),
so its use should be avoided.
Multiple instances of it will be processed
independently.
loader_conf_files
Defines additional configuration files to be processed right after the
present file.
kernel
Name of the kernel to be loaded.
If no kernel name is set, no additional
modules will be loaded.
kernel_options
Flags to be passed to the kernel.
password
Provides a password to be required by check-password before execution is
allowed to continue.
verbose_loading
If set to
``YES''
module names will be displayed as they are loaded.
*_load
If set to
``YES''
that module will be loaded.
If no name is defined (see below), the
module's name is taken to be the same as the prefix.
*_name
Defines the name of the module.
*_type
Defines the module's type.
If none is given, it defaults to a kld module.
*_flags
Flags and parameters to be passed to the module.
*_before
Commands to be executed before the module is loaded.
Use of this setting
should be avoided.
*_after
Commands to be executed after the module is loaded.
Use of this setting
should be avoided.
*_error
Commands to be executed if the loading of a module fails.
Except for the
special value
``abort''
which aborts the bootstrap process, use of this setting should be avoided.
WARNING:
developers should never use these suffixes for any kernel environment
variables (tunables) or conflicts will result.
DEFAULT SETTINGS
Most of
's
default settings can be ignored.
The few of them which are important
or useful are:
bitmap_load
(``NO''
)
If set to
``YES''
a bitmap will be loaded to be displayed on screen while booting.
bitmap_name
(``/boot/splash.bmp
''
)
Name of the bitmap to be loaded.
Any other name can be used.
comconsole_speed
``( 9600''
or the value of the
BOOT_COMCONSOLE_SPEED
variable when
loader(8)
was compiled).
Sets the speed of the serial console.
If the previous boot loader stage specified that a serial console
is in use then the default speed is determined from the current
serial port speed setting.
console
(``vidconsole''
)
``comconsole''
selects serial console,
``vidconsole''
selects the video console, and
``nullconsole''
selects a mute console
(useful for systems with neither a video console nor a serial port).
kernel
(``/boot/kernel/kernel
''
)
loader_conf_files
(``/boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf.local
''
)
splash_bmp_load
(``NO''
)
If set to
``YES''
will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a bmp image
on the screen while booting.
splash_pcx_load
(``NO''
)
If set to
``YES''
will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a pcx image
on the screen while booting.
vesa_load
(``NO''
)
If set to
``YES''
the vesa module will be loaded, enabling bitmaps above VGA resolution to
be displayed.
beastie_disable
If set to
``YES''
the beastie boot menu will be skipped.
loader_logo (``fbsdbw
''
)
Selects a desired logo in the beastie boot menu.
Possible values are:
``fbsdbw
''
``beastiebw
''
``beastie
''
and
``none
''
FILES
/boot/defaults/loader.conf
default settings -- do not change this file.
/boot/loader.4th
defines the commands used by loader to read and process
.
/boot/loader.conf
user defined settings.
/boot/loader.conf.local
machine-specific settings for sites with a common loader.conf.
/boot/loader.rc
contains the instructions to automatically process
.
The
loader(8)
stops reading
when it encounters a syntax error, so any options which are vital for
booting a particular system (i.e.
``hw.ata.ata_dma =0
''
should precede any experimental additions to
.
HISTORY
The file
first appeared in
Fx 3.2 .
AUTHORS
This manual page was written by
An Daniel C. Sobral Aq dcs@FreeBSD.org .
