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31 .Nd "system bootstrap configuration information"
35 contains descriptive information on bootstrapping the system.
37 it you can specify the kernel to be booted, parameters to be passed to
38 it, and additional modules to be loaded; and generally set all variables
44 must contain the following two lines for
46 to be automatically processed:
48 .Dl include /boot/loader.4th
53 exists at installworld time, one with the above lines will be installed.
57 format was defined explicitly to resemble
61 some settings are treated in a special fashion.
63 behavior of some settings is defined by the setting's suffix;
64 the prefix identifies which module the setting controls.
66 The general parsing rules are:
69 Spaces and empty lines are ignored.
71 A # sign will mark the remainder of the line as a comment.
73 Only one setting can be present on each line.
76 All settings have the following format:
80 Unless it belongs to one of the classes of settings that receive special
81 treatment, a setting will set the value of a
84 The settings that receive special
85 treatment are listed below.
86 Settings beginning with
88 below define the modules to be loaded and
89 may have any prefix; the prefix identifies a module.
90 All such settings sharing a common
91 prefix refer to the same module.
94 Immediately executes a
97 This type of setting cannot be processed by programs other
100 so its use should be avoided.
101 Multiple instances of it will be processed
103 .It Ar loader_conf_files
104 Defines additional configuration files to be processed right after the
107 Name of the kernel to be loaded.
108 If no kernel name is set, no additional
109 modules will be loaded.
110 The name must be a subdirectory of
112 that contains a kernel.
113 .It Ar kernel_options
114 Flags to be passed to the kernel.
116 Provides a password to be required by check-password before execution is
118 .It Ar verbose_loading
121 module names will be displayed as they are loaded.
125 that module will be loaded.
126 If no name is defined (see below), the
127 module's name is taken to be the same as the prefix.
129 Defines the name of the module.
131 Defines the module's type.
132 If none is given, it defaults to a kld module.
134 Flags and parameters to be passed to the module.
136 Commands to be executed before the module is loaded.
140 Commands to be executed after the module is loaded.
144 Commands to be executed if the loading of a module fails.
148 which aborts the bootstrap process, use of this setting should be avoided.
152 developers should never use these suffixes for any kernel environment
153 variables (tunables) or conflicts will result.
157 default settings can be ignored.
158 The few of them which are important
160 .Bl -tag -width bootfile -offset indent
165 a bitmap will be loaded to be displayed on screen while booting.
167 .Pq Dq Pa /boot/splash.bmp
168 Name of the bitmap to be loaded.
169 Any other name can be used.
170 .It Va comconsole_speed
173 .Va BOOT_COMCONSOLE_SPEED
177 Sets the speed of the serial console.
178 If the previous boot loader stage specified that a serial console
179 is in use then the default speed is determined from the current
180 serial port speed setting.
184 selects serial console,
186 selects the video console, and
188 selects a mute console
189 (useful for systems with neither a video console nor a serial port).
192 .It Va loader_conf_files
193 .Pq Dq Pa /boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf.local
194 .It Va splash_bmp_load
198 will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a bmp image
199 on the screen while booting.
200 .It Va splash_pcx_load
204 will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a pcx image
205 on the screen while booting.
210 the vesa module will be loaded, enabling bitmaps above VGA resolution to
212 .It Va beastie_disable
215 the beastie boot menu will be skipped.
216 .It Va loader_logo Pq Dq Li fbsdbw
217 Selects a desired logo in the beastie boot menu.
226 .Bl -tag -width /boot/defaults/loader.conf -compact
227 .It Pa /boot/defaults/loader.conf
228 default settings -- do not change this file.
229 .It Pa /boot/loader.4th
230 defines the commands used by loader to read and process
232 .It Pa /boot/loader.conf
233 user defined settings.
234 .It Pa /boot/loader.conf.local
235 machine-specific settings for sites with a common loader.conf.
236 .It Pa /boot/loader.rc
237 contains the instructions to automatically process
249 when it encounters a syntax error, so any options which are vital for
250 booting a particular system (i.e.\&
251 .Dq Va hw.ata.ata_dma Ns "=0" )
252 should precede any experimental additions to
260 This manual page was written by
261 .An Daniel C. Sobral Aq dcs@FreeBSD.org .