openadk/package/aboot/src/doc/man/abootconf.8

.\" This manpage has been automatically generated by docbook2man-spec
.\" from a DocBook document.  docbook2man-spec can be found at:
.\" <http://shell.ipoline.com/~elmert/hacks/docbook2X/> 
.\" Please send any bug reports, improvements, comments, patches, 
.\" etc. to Steve Cheng <steve@ggi-project.org>.
.TH "ABOOTCONF" "8" "26 Oktober 2003" "abootconf" ""
.SH NAME
abootconf \- Configure the location of the configuration file for the secondary bootloader aboot(8) for Linux/Alpha.
.SH SYNOPSIS
.sp
\fBabootconf\fR \fB/dev/xxx num\fR
.SH "COPYRIGHT"
.PP
\fBabootconf\fR is Copyright (C) 1996 Linus Torvalds, David Mosberger-Tang and Michael Schwingen
.SH "DESCRIPTIONS"
.PP


\fBabootconf\fR is used to change the partition
the alpha Linux boot loader \fBaboot\fR(8)
looks for its configuration file in. The configuration file is stored
in \fIetc/aboot.conf\fR(5)
relative to the root of the file system in this partition.
.PP
\fBabootconf\fR requires the boot device
(e.g. \fI/dev/hdb\fR, \fI/dev/sda\fR) and the
partition
to be used (e.g. 3). Thus if you want to boot from partition E: on your second
SCSI disk you would enter
.PP
\fBabootconf \fI/dev/sdb 5\fB\fR
.SH "NOTES"
.PP
\fBabootconf\fR is not needed if you are booting
your alpha system via \fBmilo\fR. 
.PP
For each disk one partition can be activated to contain the configuration
for \fBaboot\fR(8) which is located in
\fIetc/aboot.conf\fR(5).
The disk chosen to boot from is selected at
the SRM prompt as the second argument, e.g.
.PP
\fBboot \fIdqa\fB\fR
.PP
to boot from your first IDE hard disk. See the HP SRM-Manual and
\fBaboot\fR(8)
for details.
.PP
\fBaboot\fR(8) can load a kernel from an
arbitrary partition and can even use a different
root partition than the one \fIetc/aboot.conf\fR
belongs to. Hence you would usually
set up one \fIetc/aboot.conf\fR with all combinations and
would not require \fBabootconf\fR except for initial
set up. You can then
boot the requested
Linux kernel by giving the appropriate flags at the SRM prompt, e.g. to boot
the entry labeled 2 you would use
.PP
\fBboot \fIdqa -fl "2"\fB\fR
.PP
See the HP SRM manual and \fIaboot.conf\fR(5)
for details.
.PP
To show the current setting simply omit the last argument (i.e. the partition
number).
.PP
Note that you have to rerun \fBabootconf\fR if you updated
\fBaboot\fR.
.PP
Strictly speaking \fBabootconf\fR is not necessary as
you can specify the partition which \fIetc/aboot.conf\fR
resides on at the SRM-Prompt by prepending the partition number and a colon
in the flags-parameter, i.e. if \fIetc/aboot.conf\fR
resided on the fourth partition and you want to boot the entry labeled 2
you could also issue
.PP
\fBboot \fIdqa -fl "4:2"\fB\fR
.PP
at the SRM prompt.
.PP
Note that this applies to Linux only as VMS, Tru64, *BSD and
Windows NT each have their own secondary boot loader.
.PP
Also note that for initial hard disk setup \fBabootconf\fR
is no longer needed as \fBswriteboot\fR(8) contains the
entire functionality of \fBabootconf\fR.
.SH "AUTHOR"
.PP
This man page was written by Helge Kreutzmann <kreutzm@itp.uni-hannover.de> for the Debian GNU/Linux project but may be used by others.
.SH "FILES"
.PP
\fIetc/aboot.conf\fR
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\fBaboot\fR(8), \fBswriteboot\fR(8), \fIaboot.conf\fR(5), HP SRM Manual