INSTALLBOOT(8) BSD System Manager's Manual INSTALLBOOT(8)NAMEinstallboot_nbsd — install disk bootstrap software
SYNOPSISinstallboot_nbsd [-fnv] [-B s2bno] [-b s1bno] [-o options] [-t fstype]
filesystem primary [secondary]
installboot_nbsd-c [-fnv] [-o options] [-t fstype] filesystem
installboot_nbsd-e [-fnv] [-o options] bootstrap
installboot_nbsd -m(aster) device masterboot
DESCRIPTION
The installboot_nbsd utility installs and removes NetBSD disk bootstrap
software into a file system. installboot_nbsd can install primary into
filesystem, or disable an existing bootstrap in filesystem.
On some architectures the options of an existing installed bootstrap, or
those of a bootstrap file can be changed. Installing a new primary boot‐
strap will reset those options to default values.
Generally, NetBSD disk bootstrap software consists of two parts: a
“primary” bootstrap program usually written into the disklabel area of
the file system by installboot_nbsd, and a “secondary” bootstrap program
that usually resides as an ordinary file in the file system.
When booting, the primary bootstrap program is loaded and invoked by the
machine's PROM or BIOS. After receiving control of the system it loads
and runs the secondary bootstrap program, which in turn loads and runs
the kernel. The secondary bootstrap may allow control over various boot
parameters passed to the kernel.
Perform the following steps to make a file system bootable:
1. Copy the secondary bootstrap (usually /usr/mdec/boot.MACHINE or
/usr/mdec/boot) to the root directory of the target file system.
2. Use installboot_nbsd to install the primary bootstrap program (usu‐
ally /usr/mdec/bootxx_FSTYPE) into filesystem.
The following platforms do not require this step if the primary
bootstrap already exists and the secondary bootstrap file is just
being updated: alpha, amd64, amiga, i386, pmax, sparc64, and vax.
The following platform does not require the first step since a sin‐
gle bootstrap file is used. The single bootstrap is installed like
the primary bootstrap on other platforms: next68k.
The options and arguments recognized by installboot_nbsd are as follows:
-B s2bno When hard-coding the blocks of secondary into primary, start
from block s2bno instead of trying to determine the block
numbers occupied by secondary by examining filesystem. If
this option is supplied, secondary should refer to an actual
secondary bootstrap (rather than the file name of the one
present in filesystem) so that its size can be determined.
-b s1bno Install primary at block number s1bno instead of the default
location for the machine and file system type. [alpha, pmax,
vax]
-c Clear (remove) any existing bootstrap instead of installing
one.
-e Edit the options of an existing bootstrap. This can be use
to change the options in bootxx_xxxfs files, raw disk parti‐
tions, and the pxeboot_ia32.bin file. With -v and without
-o, show the current options. [amd64, i386]
-f Forces installboot_nbsd to ignore some errors.
-n Do not write to filesystem.
-o options Machine specific installboot_nbsd options, comma separated.
Supported options are (with the machines for they are valid
in brackets):
alphasum [alpha] Recalculate and restore the Alpha
checksum. This is the default for
NetBSD/alpha.
append [alpha, pmax, vax] Append primary to the end
of filesystem, which must be a regular file
in this case.
bootconf [amd64, i386] (Don't) read a “boot.cfg” file.
command=<boot command>
[amiga] Modify the default boot command line.
console=<console name>
[amd64, i386] Set the console device, <con‐
sole name> must be one of: pc, com0, com1,
com2, com3, com0kbd, com1kbd, com2kbd or
com3kbd.
ioaddr=<ioaddr>
[amd64, i386] Set the IO address to be used
for the console serial port. Defaults to the
IO address used by the system BIOS for the
specified port.
keymap=<keymap>
[amd64, i386] Set a boot time keyboard trans‐
lation map. Each character in <keymap> will
be replaced by the one following it. For
example, an argument of “zyz” would swap the
lowercase letters ‘y’ and ‘z’.
modules [amd64, i386] (Don't) load kernel modules.
password=<password>
[amd64, i386] Set the password which must be
entered before the boot menu can be accessed.
resetvideo
[amd64, i386] Reset the video before booting.
speed=<baud rate>
[amd64, i386] Set the baud rate for the
serial console. If a value of zero is speci‐
fied, then the current baud rate (set by the
BIOS) will be used.
sunsum [alpha, pmax, vax] Recalculate and restore
the Sun and NetBSD/sparc compatible checksum.
Note: The existing NetBSD/sparc disklabel
should use no more than 4 partitions.
timeout=<seconds>
[amd64, i386] Set the timeout before the
automatic boot begins to the given number of
seconds.
-t fstype Use fstype as the type of filesystem. The default operation
is to attempt to auto-detect this setting. The following
file system types are currently supported by
installboot_nbsd:
ffs BSD Fast File System.
raid Mirrored RAIDframe File System.
raw ‘Raw’ image. Note: if a platform needs to hard-
code the block offset of the secondary bootstrap,
it cannot be searched for on this file system
type, and must be provided with -B s2bno.
-v Verbose operation.
filesystem The path name of the device or file system image that
installboot_nbsd is to operate on. It is not necessary for
filesystem to be a currently mounted file system.
primary The path name of the “primary” boot block to install. The
path name must refer to a file in a file system that is cur‐
rently mounted.
secondary The path name of the “secondary” boot block, relative to the
root of the file system in the device or image specified by
the filesystem argument. Note that this may refer to a file
in a file system that is not mounted. Most systems require
secondary to be in the “root” directory of the file system,
so the leading “/” is not necessary on secondary.
Only certain combinations of platform (-m machine) and file
system type (-t fstype) require that the name of the sec‐
ondary bootstrap is supplied as secondary, so that informa‐
tion such as the disk block numbers occupied by the secondary
bootstrap can be stored in the primary bootstrap. These are:
Platform File systems
macppc ffs, raw
news68k ffs, raw
newsmips ffs, raw
sparc ffs, raid, raw
sun2 ffs, raw
sun3 ffs, raw
installboot_nbsd exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.
ENVIRONMENTinstallboot_nbsd uses the following environment variables:
MACHINE Default value for machine, overriding the result from uname(3).
FILES
Most NetBSD ports will contain variations of the following files:
/usr/mdec/bootxx_FSTYPE Primary bootstrap for file system type FSTYPE.
Installed into the bootstrap area of the file
system by installboot_nbsd.
/usr/mdec/bootxx_fat16 Primary bootstrap for MS-DOS FAT16 file sys‐
tems. This differs from bootxx_msdos in that
it doesn't require the filesystem to have been
initialised with any ‘reserved sectors’. It
also uses the information in the ‘Boot
Parameter Block’ to get the media and filesytem
properties.
/usr/mdec/bootxx_ffsv1 Primary bootstrap for FFSv1 file systems (the
"traditional" NetBSD file system). Use
dumpfs(8) to confirm the file system format is
FFSv1.
/usr/mdec/bootxx_ffsv2 Primary bootstrap for FFSv2 file systems. Use
dumpfs(8) to confirm the file system format is
FFSv2.
/usr/mdec/bootxx_lfsv1 Primary bootstrap for LFSv1 file systems.
/usr/mdec/bootxx_lfsv2 Primary bootstrap for LFSv2 file systems (the
default LFS version).
/usr/mdec/bootxx_msdos Primary bootstrap for MS-DOS FAT file systems.
/usr/mdec/bootxx_ustarfs Primary bootstrap for TARFS boot images. This
is used by various install media.
/usr/mdec/boot.MACHINE Secondary bootstrap for machine type MACHINE.
This should be installed into the file system
before installboot_nbsd is run.
/usr/mdec/boot Synonym for /usr/mdec/boot.MACHINE
/boot.MACHINE Installed copy of secondary bootstrap for
machine type MACHINE.
/boot Installed copy of secondary bootstrap.
Searched for by the primary bootstrap if
/boot.MACHINE is not found.
NetBSD/macppc files
/usr/mdec/bootxx NetBSD/macppc primary bootstrap.
/usr/mdec/ofwboot NetBSD/macppc secondary bootstrap.
/ofwboot Installed copy of NetBSD/macppc secondary boot‐
strap.
NetBSD/next68k files
/usr/mdec/boot NetBSD/next68k bootstrap.
NetBSD/sparc64 files
/usr/mdec/bootblk NetBSD/sparc64 primary bootstrap.
/usr/mdec/ofwboot NetBSD/sparc64 secondary bootstrap.
/ofwboot Installed copy of NetBSD/sparc64 secondary
bootstrap.
EXAMPLES
common
Verbosely install the Berkeley Fast File System primary bootstrap on to
disk ‘sd0’:
installboot_nbsd-v /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/bootxx_ffs
Note: the “whole disk” partition (c on some ports, d on others) is used
here, since the a partition probably is already opened (mounted as /), so
installboot_nbsd would not be able to access it.
Remove the primary bootstrap from disk ‘sd1’:
installboot_nbsd-c /dev/rsd1c
NetBSD/amiga
Modify the command line to change the default from "netbsd -ASn2" to
"netbsd -S":
installboot_nbsd-m amiga -o command="netbsd -S" /dev/rsd0a
/usr/mdec/bootxx_ffs
NetBSD/ews4800mips
Install the System V Boot File System primary bootstrap on to disk ‘sd0’,
with the secondary bootstrap ‘/boot’ already present in the SysVBFS par‐
tition on the disk:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/bootxx_bfs
NetBSD/i386 and NetBSD/amd64
Install new boot blocks on an existing mounted root file system on ‘wd0’,
setting the timeout to five seconds, after copying a new secondary boot‐
strap:
cp /usr/mdec/boot /boot
installboot_nbsd-v -o timeout=5 /dev/rwd0a /usr/mdec/bootxx_ffsv1
Create a bootable CD-ROM with an ISO9660 file system for an i386 system
with a serial console:
mkdir cdrom
cp sys/arch/i386/compile/mykernel/netbsd cdrom/netbsd
cp /usr/mdec/boot cdrom/boot
cp /usr/mdec/bootxx_cd9660 bootxx
installboot_nbsd-o console=com0,speed=19200 -m i386 -e bootxx
makefs -t cd9660 -o 'bootimage=i386;bootxx,no-emul-boot' boot.iso
cdrom
Create a bootable floppy disk with an FFSv1 file system for a small cus‐
tom kernel (note: bigger kernels needing multiple disks are handled with
the ustarfs file system):
newfs -s 1440k /dev/rfd0a
Note: Ignore the warnings that newfs(8) displays; it can not
write a disklabel, which is not a problem for a floppy disk.
mount /dev/fd0a /mnt
cp /usr/mdec/boot /mnt/boot
gzip -9 < sys/arch/i386/compile/mykernel/netbsd > /mnt/netbsd.gz
umount /mnt
installboot_nbsd-v /dev/rfd0a /usr/mdec/bootxx_ffsv1
Create a bootable FAT file system on ‘wd1a’, which should have the same
offset and size as a FAT primary partition in the Master Boot Record
(MBR):
newfs_msdos -r 16 /dev/rwd1a
Notes: The -r 16 is to reserve space for the primary boot‐
strap. newfs_msdos(8) will display an “MBR type” such as
‘1’, ‘4’, or ‘6’; the MBR partition type of the appropriate
primary partition should be changed to this value.
mount -t msdos /dev/wd1a /mnt
cp /usr/mdec/boot /mnt/boot
cp path/to/kernel /mnt/netbsd
umount /mnt
installboot_nbsd-t raw /dev/rwd1a /usr/mdec/bootxx_msdos
Make the existing FAT16 filesystem on ‘sd0e’ bootable. This can be used
to make USB memory bootable provided it has 512 byte sectors and that the
manufacturer correctly initialised the file system.
mount -t msdos /dev/sd0e /mnt
cp /usr/mdec/boot /mnt/boot
cp path/to/kernel /mnt/netbsd
umount /mnt
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0e /usr/mdec/bootxx_fat16
It may also be necessary to use fdisk to make the device itself bootable.
Switch the existing installed bootstrap to use a serial console without
reinstalling or altering other options such as timeout.
installboot_nbsd-e -o console=com0 /dev/rwd0a
NetBSD/macppc
Note the installboot_nbsd utility is only required for macppc machines
with OpenFirmware version 2 to boot. OpenFirmware 3 cannot load boot‐
blocks specified in the Apple partition map.
Install the Berkeley Fast File System primary bootstrap on to disk ‘wd0’:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rwd0c /usr/mdec/bootxx /ofwboot
The secondary NetBSD/macppc bootstrap is located in /usr/mdec/ofwboot.
The primary bootstrap requires the raw ofwboot for the secondary boot‐
strap, not ofwboot.xcf, which is used for the OpenFirmware to load ker‐
nels.
NetBSD/next68k
Install the bootstrap on to disk ‘sd0’:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/boot
NetBSD/pmax
Install the Berkeley Fast File System primary bootstrap on to disk ‘sd0’:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/bootxx_ffs
NetBSD/pmax requires that this file system starts at block 0 of the disk.
Install the ISO 9660 primary bootstrap in the file /tmp/cd-image:
installboot_nbsd-m pmax /tmp/cd-image /usr/mdec/bootxx_cd9660
Make an ISO 9660 filesystem in the file /tmp/cd-image and install the ISO
9660 primary bootstrap in the filesystem, where the source directory for
the ISO 9660 filesystem contains a kernel, the primary bootstrap
bootxx_cd9660 and the secondary bootstrap boot.pmax:
mkisofs -o /tmp/cd-image -a -l -v iso-source-dir
...
48 51 iso-source-dir/bootxx_cd9660
...
installboot_nbsd-b `expr 48 \* 4` /tmp/cd-image
/usr/mdec/bootxx_cd9660
NetBSD/sparc
Install the Berkeley Fast File System primary bootstrap on to disk ‘sd0’,
with the secondary bootstrap ‘/boot’ already present:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/bootxx /boot
NetBSD/sparc64
Install the primary bootstrap on to disk ‘sd0’:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/bootblk
The secondary NetBSD/sparc64 bootstrap is located in /usr/mdec/ofwboot.
NetBSD/sun2 and NetBSD/sun3
Install the Berkeley Fast File System primary bootstrap on to disk ‘sd0’,
with the secondary bootstrap ‘/boot’ already present:
installboot_nbsd /dev/rsd0c /usr/mdec/bootxx /boot
SEE ALSOuname(3), boot(8), disklabel(8), dumpfs(8), fdisk(8), pxeboot(8)HISTORY
This implementation of installboot_nbsd appeared in NetBSD 1.6.
AUTHORS
The machine independent portion of this implementation of
installboot_nbsd was written by Luke Mewburn. The following people con‐
tributed to the various machine dependent back-ends: Simon Burge (pmax),
Chris Demetriou (alpha), Matthew Fredette (sun2, sun3), Matthew Green
(sparc64), Ross Harvey (alpha), Michael Hitch (amiga), Paul Kranenburg
(sparc), David Laight (i386), Christian Limpach (next68k), Luke Mewburn
(macppc), Matt Thomas (vax), Izumi Tsutsui (news68k, newsmips), and
UCHIYAMA Yasushi (ews4800mips).
BUGS
There are not currently primary bootstraps to support all file systems
types which are capable of being the root file system.
If a disk has been converted from FFS to RAID without the contents of the
disk erased, then the original FFS installation may be auto-detected
instead of the RAID installation. In this case, the -t raid option must
be provided.
NetBSD/alpha
The NetBSD/alpha primary bootstrap program can only load the secondary
bootstrap program from file systems starting at the beginning (block 0)
of disks. Similarly, the secondary bootstrap program can only load ker‐
nels from file systems starting at the beginning of disks.
The size of primary bootstrap programs is restricted to 7.5KB, even
though some file systems (e.g., ISO 9660) are able to accommodate larger
ones.
NetBSD/hp300
The disk must have a boot partition large enough to hold the bootstrap
code. Currently the primary bootstrap must be a LIF format file.
NetBSD/i386 and NetBSD/amd64
The bootstrap must be installed in the NetBSD partition that starts at
the beginning of the mbr partition. If that is a valid filesystem and
contains the /boot program then it will be used as the root filesystem,
otherwise the ‘a’ partition will be booted.
The size of primary bootstrap programs is restricted to 8KB, even though
some file systems (e.g., ISO 9660) are able to accommodate larger ones.
NetBSD/macppc
Due to restrictions in installboot_nbsd and the secondary bootstrap
implementation, file systems where kernels exist must start at the begin‐
ning of disks.
Currently, installboot_nbsd doesn't recognize an existing Apple partition
map on the disk and always writes a faked map to make disks bootable.
The NetBSD/macppc bootstrap program can't load kernels from FFSv2 parti‐
tions.
NetBSD/next68k
The size of bootstrap programs is restricted to the free space before the
file system at the beginning of the disk minus 8KB.
NetBSD/pmax
The NetBSD/pmax secondary bootstrap program can only load kernels from
file systems starting at the beginning of disks.
The size of primary bootstrap programs is restricted to 7.5KB, even
though some file systems (e.g., ISO 9660) are able to accommodate larger
ones.
NetBSD/sun2 and NetBSD/sun3
The NetBSD/sun2 and NetBSD/sun3 secondary bootstrap program can only load
kernels from file systems starting at the beginning of disks.
NetBSD/vax
The NetBSD/vax secondary bootstrap program can only load kernels from
file systems starting at the beginning of disks.
The size of primary bootstrap programs is restricted to 7.5KB, even
though some file systems (e.g., ISO 9660) are able to accommodate larger
ones.
BSD August 3, 2011 BSD
