xref: /netbsd-src/share/man/man8/man8.prep/mkbootimage.8 (revision 8b0f9554ff8762542c4defc4f70e1eb76fb508fa)
1.\" $NetBSD: mkbootimage.8,v 1.2 2006/03/23 19:53:07 wiz Exp $
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36.Dd March 23, 2006
37.Dt MKBOOTIMAGE 8
38.Os
39.Sh NAME
40.Nm mkbootimage
41.Nd create a prep boot image
42.Sh SYNOPSIS
43.Nm
44.Op Fl ls
45.Op Fl b Ar bootfile
46.Op Fl k Ar kernel
47.Op Fl r Ar rawdev
48.Ar boot-image
49.Sh DESCRIPTION
50.Nm
51is the utility used to create a bootable prep kernel image on
52.Nx .
53.Pp
54The
55.Nm
56utility takes the boot-program, and the optional kernel, and creates a boot
57image from them.
58This image contains the boot code, kernel, and optionally
59an i386 partition table.
60The image can be written directly to a floppy or hard drive with
61the
62.Xr dd 1
63command, or it can be directly netbooted via
64.Xr bootpd 8 .
65.Pp
66The following options are available:
67.Bl -tag -width indent
68.It Fl b
69Specifies which bootloader to embed in the bootable image.
70Defaults to
71.Pa /usr/mdec/boot .
72.It Fl k
73Specifies which kernel binary to embed in the bootable image.
74Defaults to
75.Pa /netbsd .
76.It Fl l
77Creates a partition table for a 2.88MB floppy instead of a 1.44MB floppy.
78This is primarily used for El-Torrito style CD images.
79.It Fl r
80Specifies the raw device to read to gather the current partition table.
81This is generally
82.Pa /dev/rsd0c .
83.It Fl s
84Generates a standalone image with no partition table embedded.
85.El
86.Pp
87There are three primary ways to use
88.Nm
89to build a bootable image:
90.Pp
91The first method is to build an image suitable for a floppy or netboot.
92This will create an image with an embedded partition table with a
93single PReP boot partition of type 0x41(65).
94The image can be directly netbooted, or if it
95is small enough, written directly to a floppy with
96.Xr dd 1 .
97.Nm
98will warn you if the generated image is too large to be written to a floppy.
99.Pp
100The second method is to build a standalone image with no partition table.
101This should be written to the PReP boot partition on your hard drive with
102.Xr dd 1 .
103.Pp
104The third method is for use in upgrading older systems that have
105been built by writing the floppy image directly to the head of the
106hard drive.
107This method reads the existing partition table and embeds that in
108the image.
109This should prevent loss of your current partition layout.
110This image should be written directly to the head of the disk with
111.Xr dd 1 .
112.Pp
113The recommended setup for a PReP machine is to build a partition table with
114.Xr fdisk 8
115that contains a PReP boot partition (type 65) as partition 0, marked active,
116and a second partition for
117.Nx
118encompassing the remainder of the disk.
119You should then create a disklabel on
120that disk with a partition (such as e) pointing to the PReP boot partition.
121Partition c should be the whole disk, and partition d can optionally be the
122.Nx
123portion of the disk.
124You may then use the other partitions for your normal disk layout.
125The PReP boot partition can be placed anywhere on the disk, but it is
126recommended that it be placed at the beginning of the disk.
127.Sh EXAMPLES
128Create a floppy or netboot image named
129.Sq boot.fs :
130.Dl Ic mkbootimage -b /usr/mdec/boot -k /netbsd boot.fs
131Create a standalone image for booting from a hard disk:
132.Dl Ic mkbootimage -s -b /usr/mdec/boot -k /netbsd boot.fs
133Use the partition information on
134.Sq sd0
135to create a new bootable image with com0 as the console:
136.Dl Ic mkbootimage -b /usr/mdec/boot_com0 -k /netbsd -r /dev/rsd0c boot.fs
137.Sh SEE ALSO
138.Xr dd 1 ,
139.Xr boot 8 ,
140.Xr bootpd 8 ,
141.Xr disklabel 8 ,
142.Xr fdisk 8
143.Sh HISTORY
144.Nm
145first appeared in
146.Nx 1.5 .
147.Sh AUTHORS
148.Nm
149was written by
150.An NONAKA Kimihiro .
151