loader.conf man page on FreeBSD

Man page or keyword search:  
man Server   9747 pages
apropos Keyword Search (all sections)
Output format
FreeBSD logo
[printable version]

LOADER.CONF(5)		    BSD File Formats Manual		LOADER.CONF(5)

NAME
     loader.conf — system bootstrap configuration information

DESCRIPTION
     The file loader.conf contains descriptive information on bootstrapping
     the system.  Through it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parame‐
     ters to be passed to it, and additional modules to be loaded; and gener‐
     ally set all variables described in loader(8).

     The file /boot/loader.rc must contain the following two lines for
     loader.conf 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 loader.conf's format was defined explicitly to resemble
     rc.conf(5), 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 con‐
     trols.

     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 vari‐
     able.  The settings that receive special treatment are listed below.
     Settings beginning with "*" below define the modules to be loaded and may
     have any prefix; the prefix identifies a module.  All such settings shar‐
     ing 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 envi‐
     ronment variables (tunables) or conflicts will result.

DEFAULT SETTINGS
     Most of loader.conf'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 vari‐
		     able when loader(8) was compiled).	 Sets the speed of the
		     serial console.  If the previous boot loader stage speci‐
		     fied 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 mod‐
		     ule, 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 mod‐
		     ule, 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.  Possi‐
		     ble 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 loader.conf.
     /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 loader.conf.

SEE ALSO
     boot(8), loader(8), loader.4th(8)

BUGS
     The loader(8) stops reading loader.conf 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
     loader.conf.

HISTORY
     The file loader.conf first appeared in FreeBSD 3.2.

AUTHORS
     This manual page was written by Daniel C. Sobral ⟨dcs@FreeBSD.org⟩.

BSD			       January 16, 2008				   BSD
[top]

List of man pages available for FreeBSD

Copyright (c) for man pages and the logo by the respective OS vendor.

For those who want to learn more, the polarhome community provides shell access and support.

[legal] [privacy] [GNU] [policy] [cookies] [netiquette] [sponsors] [FAQ]
Tweet
Polarhome, production since 1999.
Member of Polarhome portal.
Based on Fawad Halim's script.
....................................................................
Vote for polarhome
Free Shell Accounts :: the biggest list on the net