boot(F)
boot --
default boot and init settings
Format
name [ = ] value
Description
The file /etc/default/boot
is used by several programs involved in the
startup process, including
boot
itself, and
init.
The defaults file read by boot
can be changed using the ALTDEF keyword.
Two distinct copies of /etc/default/boot exist; in the root
filesystem and on the boot filesystem, /stand.
(This permits /etc/default/boot to be read by programs that
run from the boot filesystem before the
kernel has loaded.) The copy on /stand is named
/etc/default/boot (the slashes actually form part of the
filename), while the main copy is named
boot and is stored in /etc/default.
/etc/default/boot is copied to /stand/etc/default/boot
whenever the system makes an orderly shutdown, so that any changes
are loaded at the next reboot.
All keywords and aliases boot recognizes are in the form:
name [ = ] value
If no = is used, one or more tabs or spaces should separate the
name from the value.
An = separating name from value
may be preceded or followed by spaces and tabs.
Programs other than boot which read the defaults file
require the = and do not allow spaces or tabs.
The keywords boot recognizes include:
standalone=definition-
boot checks to see if the entered standalone
command is defined (or ``aliased'') in the defaults file;
if it is, its definition is substituted for the entered
standalone command, with any entered arguments
appended to the end.
For example, if boot was loaded from the hard disk (hd(40))
and the entered command was:
test mem=1m-12m
and test is aliased as:
test /etc/conf/cf.d/unix prompt="Ready? "
then the result bootstring is:
hd(40)/etc/conf/cf.d/unix prompt="Ready? " mem=1m-12m
By convention, standalone aliases (including
defbootstr) are lowercase and keywords are uppercase,
but boot will recognize both aliases and keywords in either case.
(However, the case of the values, such as YES and NO,
must be uppercase.)
ALTDEF=defaults-
The file defaults, if it exists,
is used instead as the default file (for boot).
This process is repeated up to 100 times.
apm.cmd=arg-
Configure any BIOS-APM present. See
apm(HW)
for details.
AUTOBOOT=YES or NO-
If YES, boot
automatically loads the UNIX system kernel as per the defbootstr
setting after waiting for input for the time specified by
TIMEOUT.
The default is NO.
BOOTMNT=RO or RW or NO-
If RO is used, mount the boot filesystem read only; this is
the default setting. If RW is specified, the boot filesystem
is read-write. If NO is specified, the boot filesystem is
not mounted.
defbootstr=standalone arguments ...-
The standalone program to run (with optional arguments)
when only <Enter> is pressed or when AUTOBOOT=YES
and nothing is entered within TIMEOUT seconds.
PWRCHECK=Y or N-
Applies only to some machines equipped with a built-in uninterruptible
power supply (UPS):
if Y, checks the mains and battery condition;
if the battery is low or the mains power has failed,
warns that the system probably should not be booted.
Default is N;
note that this option applies only to a few machines
and almost all available systems cannot use this facility.
If the machine has a BIOS-APM, the
apm.cmd= keyword should be used.
RONLYROOT=YES or NO -
Whether or not the root filesystem is mounted readonly.
This must be used only during installation, and not for a normal
boot. It will effectively prevent writing to the filesystem.
SERIAL=param1, param2, ...-
List of parameters specifying the baud rate, character size, parity,
and number of stop bits of the serial console (SYSTTY=1).
The params are the same as for the kernel.systty
bootstring argument.
Please see
bootstring(HW)
for details,
including the default values.
SYSTTY=digit-
If digit is 0,
the system console is the display adapter;
if 1, the system console is COM1.
Please see
bootstring(HW)
for details,
including the default console search procedure.
TIMEOUT=n-
How many seconds to wait for input after the first prompt
before assuming an answer of <Enter> (this causes
defbootstr to be used).
Applies only when AUTOBOOT is YES;
the default is 60 seconds.
Several other commands besides boot
involved in the bootup procedure also use the
/etc/default/boot file.
init
recognizes the keywords:
DEFAULT_LEVEL=n-
The run-level to enter when leaving single-user mode.
FSCKFIX=YES or NO-
Controls whether or not fsck(ADM) fixes any root filesystem
problems by itself.
If set to YES (default) and AUTOBOOT is YES
(also default), then
fsck
is run on the root filesystem and all
fixes are made automatically.
INHIBIT=n-
If an inittab entry is respawned SPAWN_LIMIT
times within SPAWN_INTERVAL seconds, init
will not try to respawn that entry for this many seconds (unless a
``telinit q'' is done).
The default value is 300 seconds (five minutes).
MAPKEY=YES or NO-
Sets whether or not
init
invokes
mapkey
to configure console keyboard mapping;
if not set, default is YES.
MULTIUSER=YES or NO-
Sets whether or not
init
invokes
sulogin
or proceeds to multiuser mode.
PANICBOOT=YES or NO-
Whether or not the system reboots after a panic;
default is NO.
SERIAL8=YES or NO-
Sets whether or not
init
allows the use of 8-bit characters (no parity)
on a console configured over a serial line;
if not set, default is NO.
SLEEPTIME=n-
Sets the number n of seconds that
init
waits between checking
th inittab file
for changes. The default value is 0 (zero), suppressing this
periodic examination. The kernel process bdflush writes
cached changes to disk at BDFLUSHR intervals specified in
the
mtune(F)
file
SPAWN_INTERVAL=n-
If an inittab entry is respawned SPAWN_LIMIT
times within this amount of time (seconds), init
will not try to respawn that entry for INHIBIT
seconds (unless a ``telinit q'' is done).
The default value is 120 seconds.
SPAWN_LIMIT=n-
If an inittab entry is respawned this many times within
SPAWN_INTERVAL seconds, init
will not try to respawn that entry for INHIBIT
seconds (unless a ``telinit q'' is done).
The default value is 10 attempts.
See also
boot(HW),
bootos(HW),
bootstring(HW),
fsck(ADM),
init(M),
link(HW),
mapkey(M),
mem(HW),
mtune(F),
sulogin(ADM)
© 2003 Caldera International, Inc. All rights reserved.
SCO OpenServer Release 5.0.7 -- 11 February 2003