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, parameters to be passed to it, and additional modules to be load

ed; and generally 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 resem

ble
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 de

fined by the
setting's suffix; the prefix identifies which module the

setting controls.

The general parsing rules are:

+o Spaces and empty lines are ignored.

+o A # sign will mark the remainder of the line as a com

ment.

+o 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 re

ceive special
treatment, a setting will set the value of a loader(8) envi

ronment variable. The settings that receive special treatment are list

ed below.
Settings beginning with "*" below define the modules to be

loaded and may
have any prefix; the prefix identifies a module. All such

settings sharing 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. Mul

tiple
instances of it will be processed independent

ly.

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 dis

played 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 mod

ule.

*_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 environment 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 variable when loader(8) was compiled). Sets the

speed of the
serial console. If the previous boot loader

stage specified that a serial console is in use then

the default
speed is determined from the current serial

port speed
setting.

console (``vidconsole'') ``comconsole'' selects se

rial console,

``vidconsole'' selects the video console,

and
``nullconsole'' selects a mute console (use

ful for systems with neither a video console nor a se

rial 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
module, 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
module, 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 resolu

tion 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. Possible 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 au

tomatically

process loader.conf.

SEE ALSO

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

HISTORY

The file loader.conf first appeared in FreeBSD 3.2.

AUTHORS

This manual page was written by Daniel C. Sobral <dcs@FreeB

SD.org>.

BSD November 15, 2005

BSD