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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 .It Ar kernel_options
111 Flags to be passed to the kernel.
113 Provides a password to be required by check-password before execution is
115 .It Ar verbose_loading
118 module names will be displayed as they are loaded.
122 that module will be loaded.
123 If no name is defined (see below), the
124 module's name is taken to be the same as the prefix.
126 Defines the name of the module.
128 Defines the module's type.
129 If none is given, it defaults to a kld module.
131 Flags and parameters to be passed to the module.
133 Commands to be executed before the module is loaded.
137 Commands to be executed after the module is loaded.
141 Commands to be executed if the loading of a module fails.
145 which aborts the bootstrap process, use of this setting should be avoided.
149 developers should never use these suffixes for any kernel environment
150 variables (tunables) or conflicts will result.
154 default settings can be ignored.
155 The few of them which are important
157 .Bl -tag -width bootfile -offset indent
162 a bitmap will be loaded to be displayed on screen while booting.
164 .Pq Dq Pa /boot/splash.bmp
165 Name of the bitmap to be loaded.
166 Any other name can be used.
167 .It Va comconsole_speed
170 .Va BOOT_COMCONSOLE_SPEED
174 Sets the speed of the serial console.
175 If the previous boot loader stage specified that a serial console
176 is in use then the default speed is determined from the current
177 serial port speed setting.
181 selects serial console,
183 selects the video console, and
185 selects a mute console
186 (useful for systems with neither a video console nor a serial port).
188 .Pq Dq Pa /boot/kernel/kernel
189 .It Va loader_conf_files
190 .Pq Dq Pa /boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf.local
191 .It Va splash_bmp_load
195 will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a bmp image
196 on the screen while booting.
197 .It Va splash_pcx_load
201 will load the splash screen module, making it possible to display a pcx image
202 on the screen while booting.
207 the vesa module will be loaded, enabling bitmaps above VGA resolution to
209 .It Va beastie_disable
212 the beastie boot menu will be skipped.
213 .It Va loader_logo Pq Dq Li fbsdbw
214 Selects a desired logo in the beastie boot menu.
223 .Bl -tag -width /boot/defaults/loader.conf -compact
224 .It Pa /boot/defaults/loader.conf
225 default settings -- do not change this file.
226 .It Pa /boot/loader.4th
227 defines the commands used by loader to read and process
229 .It Pa /boot/loader.conf
230 user defined settings.
231 .It Pa /boot/loader.conf.local
232 machine-specific settings for sites with a common loader.conf.
233 .It Pa /boot/loader.rc
234 contains the instructions to automatically process
246 when it encounters a syntax error, so any options which are vital for
247 booting a particular system (i.e.\&
248 .Dq Va hw.ata.ata_dma Ns "=0" )
249 should precede any experimental additions to
257 This manual page was written by
258 .An Daniel C. Sobral Aq dcs@FreeBSD.org .