pcinitrd(8)
NAME
pcinitrd - create a PCMCIA initrd ram disk image
SYNOPSIS
pcinitrd [-v] [-a] [--all] [-d alternate-root] [--dir=alternate-root] [-r kernel-release] [--release=ker_ nel-release] [-s image-size] [--size=image-size] [-u] [--update] initrd-image [modules ...]
DESCRIPTION
The pcinitrd script creates an initrd ram disk image for
booting with the root filesystem on a PCMCIA device. If
the target is a block special device (i.e., /dev/fd0),
then the initrd image is created on that device. If the
target does not already exist or if it is an ordinary
file, then pcinitrd will create the image file using the
``loopback'' device.
Modules are specified with paths relative to /lib/mod_
ules/[kernel-release]. The core PCMCIA modules (pcm_
cia/pcmcia_core and pcmcia/ds) will automatically be
installed in the target image. All other device-specific
modules need to be listed on the command line, along with
the appropriate socket driver (pcmcia/i82365.o or pcm_
cia/tcic.o). Alternatively, if -a is specified, then all
available PCMCIA socket drivers and block device drivers
will be included in the image. Additional files to be
copied to the initrd image may also be listed on the com
mand line. Executable programs will be installed in /bin,
shared libraries will be installed in /lib, device files
will be installed in /dev, and any other files will be
placed in /etc.
The startup script in the resulting image, linuxrc, may
need to be customized for a particular system. It con
tains the same variable definitions as the normal PCMCIA
startup scripts (i.e., PCIC=, PCIC_OPTS=, and CORE_OPTS=
variables). The /etc/config.opts file may also need to be
edited. Any changes to linuxrc or config.opts will be
preserved if pcinitrd is executed in ``update'' mode.
Another feature of the generated linuxrc is that if the
DEBUG variable is set to a non-blank string at the boot
prompt, then cardmgr will echo all its status messages to
the console, and after linuxrc executes, it will fire up a
shell on the console. This can be helpful for debugging
initrd problems. However, few commands are available in
the normal initrd environment.
OPTIONS
-v Verbose mode. Identify files as they are copied.
- -a, --all
- Install all socket drivers and block-style PCMCIA
device drivers, including memory card, SCSI card,
and fixed-disk drivers. This is mainly intended
for use by package maintainers. - -d alternate-root, --dir=alternate-root
- Specifies an alternate directory tree to search for
all the files used to put together the initrd
image. This may be helpful for running pcinitrd after booting from an installation or rescue
diskette. - -r kernel-release, --release=kernel-release
- Specifies the kernel release number (i.e., 2.0.28)
to use when looking for modules in /lib/modules.
The default is the release of the running kernel. - -s image-size, --size=image-size
- Specifies the filesystem size to create on the tar
get file or device, in 1k blocks. The default is
2400. - -u, --update
- Update mode: updates cardmgr and all the kernel
modules in an existing initrd image, but does not
modify other files.
AUTHOR
David Hinds - dahinds@users.sourceforge.net