3 .\" This page is based on the lilo docs, which carry the following
6 .\" LILO program code, documentation and auxiliary programs are
7 .\" Copyright 1992-1998 Werner Almesberger.
8 .\" Extensions to LILO, documentation and auxiliary programs are
9 .\" Copyright 1999-2005 John Coffman.
10 .\" Extensions to LILO, documentation and auxiliary programs are
11 .\" Copyright 2009-2011 Joachim Wiedorn.
13 .\" All rights reserved by the respective copyright holders.
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16 .\" whole original or derived work are permitted provided that the
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19 .\" this software without specific prior written permission. This work
20 .\" is provided "as is" and without any express or implied warranties.
22 .TH LILO.CONF 5 "June 2011"
24 lilo.conf \- configuration file for lilo
29 is read by the boot loader installer 'lilo' (see lilo(8)).
31 It might look as follows:
45 menu-title=" John's Computer "
47 ### bootable kernel images ###
48 image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.29-1-i386
50 initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.29-1-i386
51 image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.33-1-i386
55 initrd=/tamu/initrd.img
59 ### other operating systems ###
62 boot-as=0x80 # must be C:
65 boot-as=0x80 # must be C:
72 This configuration file specifies that lilo uses the Master
73 Boot Record on /dev/hda. (For a discussion of the various ways
74 to use lilo, and the interaction with other operating systems,
75 see user.pdf from the lilo documentation.)
77 When booting, the boot loader will issue its
79 prompt and wait for you to enter the label of the kernel (and any
80 options) which you wish to boot. At any time you may hit [Tab] to
81 see a list of kernel/other labels.
82 Alternately, if the \fBmenu\fP boot loader is installed,
83 a menu of boot options will be presented for your selection.
84 The title of this menu is overridden with the menu
85 title specification in this configuration file.
86 If you enter nothing, then the default kernel image, the first
87 mentioned, (in the example /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.29-1-i386) will be
88 booted after a timeout of 15 seconds (150 deciseconds). There may
89 be at least 16 images mentioned in lilo.conf. (The exact number
90 depends upon compilation options.)
92 As can be seen above, a configuration file starts with a number
93 of global options (the top 9 lines in the example),
94 followed by descriptions of the options for the various images.
95 An option in an image description will override a global option.
97 Comment lines may appear anywhere, and begin with the "#" character.
100 There are many possible keywords. The description below is
101 almost literally from user.pdf (just slightly abbreviated).
103 .BI "backup=" <backup-file>
104 Specifies the location where a copy of any modified boot sector will be
105 saved in a file. 'backup=' may specify this location in one of three ways:
106 a directory where the default backup file 'boot.NNNN' will be created;
107 a file pathname template to which the '.NNNN' suffix will be added; or
108 the full file pathname, which must include the correct '.NNNN' suffix.
109 All RAID installations should use only the first two alternatives, as
110 multiple backups may be created. The '.NNNN' suffix is the hexadecimal
111 representation of the major and minor device numbers of the device or
112 partition. If this option is not specified, the default name of boot sector
113 backups is '/boot/boot.NNNN'. If a backup already exists, it will be
114 preserved, rather than overwritten. C.f., \fBforce-backup=\fP below.
116 .BI "bios-passes-dl=" <option>
117 The option is indicated as \fIyes\fP, \fIno\fP, or \fIunknown\fP. If not
118 specified, a value of "unknown" is assumed, unless additional information
119 is available to the boot installer. When "no" is specified, it indicates
120 that the BIOS is known not to pass the current boot device code to the boot
121 loader in the DL register. Its only function at this point is experimental,
122 as certain RAID installations may benefit from knowing that the
123 BIOS is 100% reliable. Its use should be considered experimental.
125 This option may be specified on the command line with the '\-Z' switch:
128 .BI "bitmap=" <bitmap-file>
129 Specifies use of a 640x480x16 (VGA BIOS) or 640x480x256 (VGA/VESA BIOS)
130 bitmap file as the background on which a boot
131 menu is displayed. May not be used if 'message=' is specified.
132 Use of this option will select a bitmap-capable boot
133 loader, unless overridden with "install=" (see below).
135 When a bitmap file is specified as a background screen during the boot
136 process, the color selection and layout of the text which overlays the
137 graphic image must be specified in one of two ways.
139 One way is the use of header information in the bitmap image (*.bmp) file:
140 From a text file with all the information about 'bmp-colors', 'bmp-table'
141 and 'bmp-timer' options together with the 'bitmap' option are stored in
142 the special LILO header of the bitmap image file by the
144 command. Another way works without these special header information: All
145 the information about 'bmp-colors', 'bmp-table' and 'bmp-timer' options
146 together with the 'bitmap' option are stored in the configuration file.
147 Any use of the 'bmp-' options within the configuration file overrides
148 the options stored in the bitmap file header. If lilo cannot find any of
149 the 'bmp-' options, then default values are used.
151 .BI "bmp-colors=" <fg>,<bg>,<sh>,<hfg>,<hbg>,<hsh>
152 Specifies the decimal values of the colors to be used for the menu display
153 on a 'bitmap=' background. The list consists of 6 entries, 3 for normal
154 text followed by 3 for highlighted text. The order of each triple is:
155 foreground color, background color, shadow color. If background color is
156 not specified, "transparent" is assumed. If shadow color is not specified,
157 then "none" is assumed. The list entries are separated by commas, with no
161 Option applies to all 'image=' and 'other=' sections.
162 (See COMMON OPTIONS, below.)
164 .BI "bmp-table=" <x>,<y>,<ncol>,<nrow>,<xsep>,<spill>
165 Specifies the location and layout of the menu table. <x>,<y> specify the
166 starting x- and y-position of the upper left corner of the table in
167 character coordinates: x in [1..80], y in [1..30]. <ncol> is the number of
168 columns in the menu (1..5); and <nrow> is the number of rows (entries)
170 If more than one column is specified, then <xsep> is the number of character
171 columns between the leftmost characters in each column: (18..40), and
172 <spill> is the number of entries in one column which must be filled before
173 entries spill into the next column. <spill> must be .le. <nrow>. If pixel
174 addressing is used, instead of character addressing, then any of <x>, <y>,
175 or <xsep> may be specified with a 'p' suffix on the decimal value.
177 .BI "bmp-timer=" <x>,<y>,<fg>,<bg>,<sh>
178 Optional specification of the 'timeout='
179 countdown timer. <x>,<y>
180 specifies the character (or pixel) coordinate of the location of the timer
181 the same as 'bmp-table='
182 above; and the color triple specifies the character color attributes
183 the same as 'bmp-colors=' above, with the exception that the background color
185 be specified. If used to override the timer specification in a bitmap file,
186 then the form 'bmp-timer = none' is acceptable. This will disable the timer
189 .BI "boot=" <boot-device>
190 Sets the name of the device (e.g. hard disk or partition) that contains
191 the boot sector and where the new boot sector should be written to. Notice:
192 The boot-device should be the device with the currently mounted root partition.
194 A raid installation is initiated by specifying a RAID1 device as the boot
195 device; e.g., "boot=/dev/md0".
197 On newer systems you need an unique ID for the boot device. If the boot
198 sector should write to a partition you can use its UUID in the same manner
199 is for the root options.
201 If your boot device is a hard disk you need a special ID, which is supported
202 by udev. You find the right ID in the directory /dev/disks/by-id, i. e.:
205 boot = /dev/disk/by-id/ata-SAMSUNG_SV1604N_S01FJ10X999999
209 Defines boot-time changes to partition type numbers (`hiding').
225 The above excerpt from a configuration file specifies that all default
227 are removed ("reset"), and the change-rules for three partition types
228 are specified. Without the \fIreset\fP, the three types specified would
229 have been added to the existing default change-rules. Normally, the default
230 rules are sufficient. The strings which define the partition types
233 section (see below), with the suffixes "_normal" or "_hidden" appended.
234 See section "Partition type change rules" of user.pdf for more details.
237 Tries to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into a single
238 read request. This drastically reduces load time and keeps the map file
239 smaller. Using `compact' is especially recommended when booting
240 using a map file on a floppy disk.
242 .BI "default=" <name>
243 Uses the specified image as the default boot image. If `default' is omitted,
244 the image appearing first in the configuration file is used. See also,
249 Specifies the number of tenths of a second the boot loader should
250 wait before automatically booting a locked command line,
251 a command line pre-stored by
252 "lilo \-R", or the default `image=' or `other='.
253 When `delay' is non-zero, the boot loader will wait for an interrupt for the
254 specified interval. If an interrupt is received, or
255 is already waiting, the \fBboot:\fP
256 prompt will be be issued, and no automatic boot will take place. The setting
257 of CAPS LOCK or SCROLL LOCK, or any of the
258 keys ALT, CTRL, or SHIFT, when held down, are taken as interrupts.
260 This action is modified by specifying `prompt' (see below).
262 .BI "disk=" <device-name>
263 Defines non-standard parameters for the specified disk.
264 See section "Disk geometry" of user.pdf for details.
265 For versions of LILO prior to 22.5, the `bios=' parameter
266 is quite useful for specifying how the BIOS has assigned
267 device codes to your disks.
279 would say that your SCSI disk is the first BIOS disk (0x80),
280 that your (primary master) IDE disk is the second BIOS disk (0x81),
281 and that your second SCSI disk (perhaps a USB device) receives no
282 device code, and is therefore inaccessible at boot time.
284 NOTE: Use of the 'bios=' option is largely obsolete beginning
285 with LILO version 22.5, as the boot loader now identifies disks
286 by 32-bit Volume-ID, and defers BIOS device code determination
289 Other options include the specification of disk geometry; e.g.,
298 probably only useful for floppy disks and loopback devices,
299 because for hard disks the
301 disk addressing option ignores disk geometry.
303 Developers who have implemented a disk driver for a new block storage
304 device will have to indicate to LILO the maximum number of partitions
305 on the device. This is in addition to making all of the necessary
306 entries for the device in the "/dev" directory (with 'mknod'). The
307 maximum number of partitions must be one of 63 (like an IDE disk),
308 31 (uncommon), 15 (like SCSI disks -- most common value), or 7
309 (like one array controller). An example specification would be:
316 In cases where there is no
317 kernel partition information available, such as on loopback devices,
318 the 'disk=' specification may include paritition start information;
323 bios=0x80 # use this BIOS code
324 max-partitions=7 # declare partitionable
325 paritition=/dev/loop1
326 start=63 # offset from sector 0
327 paritition=/dev/loop2
328 start=102400 # offset from sector 0
332 .BI "disktab=" <disktab-file>
333 Specifies the name of the disk parameter table.
334 The map installer looks for
336 if `disktab' is omitted. The use of disktabs is discouraged.
338 .BI "el-torito-bootable-CD"
339 Flag second stage loader to terminate disk emulation when booting
340 from an El Torito Bootable CD. This option is used by the
341 \fBmkrescue\fP utility when the "\-\-iso" switch is specified.
344 This allows lilo to adjust 3D addresses in partition tables. Each
345 partition entry contains a 3D (cylinder/head/sector) and a linear
346 address of the first and the last sector of the partition. If a
347 partition is not track-aligned and if certain other operating systems
348 (e.g. PC/MS-DOS) are using the same disk, they may change the
349 3D address. lilo can store its boot sector only on partitions where
350 both address types correspond. lilo re-adjusts incorrect 3D start
351 addresses if `fix-table' is set.
353 WARNING: This does not guarantee that other operating systems may
354 not attempt to reset the address later. It is also possible that this
355 change has other, unexpected side-effects. The correct fix is to
356 re-partition the drive with a program that does align partitions to
357 tracks. Also, with some disks (e.g. some large EIDE disks with address
358 translation enabled), under some circumstances, it may even be
359 unavoidable to have conflicting partition table entries.
361 .BI "force-backup=" <backup-file>
362 Operation is identical to \fBbackup=\fP above, except an existing backup
363 file is unconditionally overwritten if it exists.
366 Force disk addressing which is compatible with older versions of LILO.
367 Geometric addressing uses cylinder/head/sector addresses, and is limited to
368 disk cylinders up to 1023. If inaccessible cylinders are referenced,
369 diagnostics will be issued at boot-install time, rather than boot-time.
370 With a newer BIOS, use of 'lba32' is recommended.
373 tells lilo to ignore corrupt partition tables.
375 .BI "install=" <user-interface>
376 Selects the user interface which will be seen at boot time. One of the
377 following three options may be specified: \fBtext\fP, \fBmenu\fP, or
378 \fBbmp\fP. The traditional LILO interface is `text'; but `menu' is now the
379 default, unless the configuration file contains the `bitmap='
380 specification. The \fItext\fP interface is strictly a command-line
381 interface as though the console were a dumb terminal. The \fImenu\fP
382 interface is a text-based screen of the boot choices, with the option to
383 enter additional command line parameters. And the \fIbmp\fP interface is a
384 menu presented against a graphic screen, specified as a 640x480 BitMaP file
385 of 16 or 256 colors. (See the 'lilo \-E' switch for editing options).
387 (Prior to LILO version 22.3, `install=' specified the user interface as
388 a file in the `/boot' directory.)
391 Normally any initial ramdisk (initrd) loaded with a kernel is loaded as
392 high in memory as possible, but never above 15Mb. This is due to a BIOS
393 limitation on older systems. On newer systems, this option enables using
394 memory above 15Mb (up to a kernel imposed limit, around 768Mb) for
395 passing the initrd to the kernel. The presence of this option merely
396 indicates that your system does not have the old BIOS limitation.
398 This switch (or its absence) is not passed to the kernel, and does not
399 in any way affect the
400 amount of physical memory which it will use. (See the
401 kernel documentation for the kernel command line parameter
402 "mem=" for limiting the memory used by the kernel.)
405 Generate 32-bit Logical Block Addresses instead of cylinder/head/sector
406 addresses. If the BIOS supports packet addressing, then packet calls will be
407 used to access the disk. This allows booting from any partition on disks
408 with more than 1024 cylinders.
409 If the BIOS does not support packet addressing, then 'lba32' addresses are
410 translated to cylinder/head/sector ('geometric'), just as for 'linear'.
412 references are retained in C:H:S form. Use of 'lba32' is recommended on
413 all post-1998 systems. Beginning with LILO version 22, 'lba32' is the
414 default disk addressing scheme.
417 Generate 24-bit linear sector addresses instead of cylinder/head/sector
418 (geometric) addresses. Linear addresses are translated at run time to
419 geometric addresses, and are limited to cylinders <= 1023. When using
420 `linear' with large disks,
422 may generate references to inaccessible disk cylinders. 'lba32' avoids
423 many of these pitfalls with its use of packet addressing, but requires a
424 recent BIOS (post-1998). The 'linear' option is considered obsolete,
425 and its use is strongly discouraged.
428 Enables automatic recording of boot command lines as the defaults
429 for the following boots. This way, lilo "locks" on a choice until it is
433 The per-image password option `mandatory' (see below) applies to all images.
435 .BI "map=" <map-file>
436 Specifies the location of the map file. If `map' is omitted, the file
440 On machines with a pre-1998 BIOS, the EDD bios extensions which are required
441 to support "lba32" disk sector addressing may not be present. In this case,
442 the boot-loader will fall back automatically to "geometric" addressing; this
443 fall back situation, or the specific use of "geometric" or "linear"
444 addressing, will require the map file to be located within the first 1024
445 cylinders of the disk drive. This BIOS limitation is not present on
446 post-1998 systems, most of which support the newer EDD disk BIOS calls.
448 .BI "menu-title=" <title-string>
449 Specifies the title line (up to 37 characters) for the boot menu. This
450 title replaces the default "LILO Boot Menu" title string. If
452 is not installed as the boot loader (see
454 option), then this line has no effect.
456 .BI "menu-scheme=" <color-scheme>
457 The default color scheme of the boot menu may be overridden on VGA displays
458 using this option. (The color scheme of MDA displays is fixed.)
461 string is of the form:
464 <text>:<highlight>:<border>:<title>
467 where each entry is two characters which specify a
468 foreground color and a background color. Only the first entry is
469 required. The default highlight is the reverse of the text color; and the
470 default border and title colors are the text color.
471 Colors are specified using the characters \fBkbgcrmyw\fP, for blac\fBK\fP,
472 \fBB\fPlue, \fBG\fPreen, \fBC\fPyan, \fBR\fPed,
473 \fBM\fPagenta, \fBY\fPellow, and \fBW\fPhite: upper case for
474 intense (fg only), lower case for dim.
475 Legal color-scheme strings would be
478 menu-scheme=Wm intense white on magenta
479 menu-scheme=wr:bw:wr:Yr the LILO default
480 menu-scheme=Yk:kw bright yellow on black
485 is not installed as the boot loader, then this line has no effect.
487 .BI "message=" <message-file>
488 specifies a file containing a message that is displayed before
489 the boot prompt. No message is displayed while waiting
490 for a shifting key after printing "LILO ". In the message, the FF
491 character ([Ctrl L]) clears the local screen. This is undesirable when
492 the \fImenu\fP boot loader is installed.
493 The size of the message
494 file is limited to 65535 bytes. The map file has to be rebuilt if the
495 message file is changed or moved. 'message=' and 'bitmap=' are mutually
500 Disables pre-loading of the internal device cache. May be needed for
501 Linux distributions which use non-standard device naming conventions;
502 e.g., when the first IDE disk is not `/dev/hda'.
504 .BI "nokbdefault=" <name>
506 The named descriptor is taken to be the default boot image
507 if no IBM-PC keyboard is
508 present. If no serial interface ("serial=") is in use, then any "prompt"
509 keyword and "timeout" value are bypassed, and default booting occurs as
510 specified by "delay=".
511 The keyboard detection codes cannot detect the presence or absence of
512 a newer USB keyboard.
515 Disables the automatic marking of disk volumes which are components of
516 RAID arrays as \fBinaccessible\fP. This allows the user to edit the \fBdisk=\fP
517 / \fBinaccessible\fP declarations into the configuration file himself. Without
518 such declarations, duplicate Volume IDs will be overwritten, leading to
519 confusing situations at boot-time, and possible failure to boot. The use
520 of this keyword is generally not necessary.
523 Disables warnings about possible future dangers.
526 The per-image option `optional' (see below) applies to all images.
528 .BI "password=" <password>
529 The per-image option `password=...' (see below) applies to all images. This
530 option may prevent unattended booting, if the default image is `password='
531 protected at the default level `mandatory', which is a level higher than
535 Automatic booting (see `delay' above) will not take place unless a locked or
536 pre-stored ("lilo \-R") command line is present. Instead, the boot
537 loader will issue the
539 prompt and wait for user input before proceeding (see
542 Unattended default image reboots are impossible if `prompt' is set
543 and `timeout' is not, or the default image is password protected at a higher
544 level than `restricted'.
546 .BI "raid-extra-boot=" <option>
547 This option only has meaning for RAID1 installations.
548 The <option> may be specified as \fInone\fP, \fIauto\fP, \fImbr\fP,
550 or a comma-separated list of devices; e.g., "/dev/hda,/dev/hdc6". Starting
551 with LILO version 22.0, the boot record is normally written to the first
552 sector of the RAID1 partition. On PARALLEL raid sets, no other boot records
554 default action is \fIauto\fP, meaning, automatically generate auxiliary boot
555 records as needed on SKEWED raid sets. \fInone\fP means
556 suppress generation of all auxiliary boot records.
557 \fImbr-only\fP suppresses generation of a boot record on the raid device,
558 and forces compatibility with versions of LILO earlier than version 22.0
559 by writing boot records to all Master Boot Records (MBRs) of all disks which
560 have partitions in the raid set. \fImbr\fP is like \fImbr-only\fP except the
561 boot record on the RAID partition is not suppressed.
562 Use of an explicit list of devices, forces writing of auxiliary boot records
563 only on those devices enumerated, in addition to the boot record on the RAID1
564 device. Since the version 22 RAID1 codes will never automatically write a boot
565 record on the MBR of device 0x80, if such a boot record is desired, this is
566 one way to have it written. Use of \fImbr\fP is the other way to force
567 writing to the MBR of device 0x80.
570 The per-image password option `restricted' (see below) applies to all images.
572 .BI "serial=" <parameters>
573 enables control from a serial line. The specified serial port is
574 initialized and the boot loader is accepting input from it and from
575 the PC's keyboard. Sending a break on the serial line corresponds to
576 pressing a shift key on the console in order to get the boot loader's
578 All boot images should be password-protected if the serial access is
579 less secure than access to the console, e.g. if the line is connected
580 to a modem. The parameter string has the following syntax:
583 <port>[,<bps>[<parity>[<bits>]]]
586 <port>: the number of the serial port, zero-based. 0 corresponds to
587 COM1 alias /dev/ttyS0, etc. All four ports can be used (if present).
589 <bps>: the baud rate of the serial port. The following baud rates are
590 supported: 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400(default), 4800, 9600, plus the
591 extended rates 19200, 38400, and 57600(56000). 115200 is allowed, but may
592 not work with all COMx port hardware.
594 <parity>: the parity used on the serial line. The boot loader ignores input
595 parity and strips the 8th bit. The following (upper or lower case)
596 characters are used to describe the parity: "n" for no parity, "e"
597 for even parity and "o" for odd parity.
599 <bits>: the number of bits in a character. Only 7 and 8 bits are
600 supported. Default is 8 if parity is "none", 7 if parity is "even"
603 If `serial' is set, the value of `delay' is automatically raised to 20.
605 Example: "serial=0,2400n8" initializes COM1 with the default parameters.
608 This option specifies that boot images or 'other's are to be selected and
609 launched with a single keystroke. Selection is based upon the first
610 character of each name, which must be unique. This option should not be
611 used with the menu or bitmap user interface ("install=").
613 .BI "static-BIOS-codes"
614 Causes the operation of the boot installer and boot loader to bypass the
615 use of Volume-ID information, and to revert to a mode of operation of
616 versions of LILO from 22.4 backward. With Volume-ID booting (22.5 and later),
618 of disks are determined at boot time, not install time; hence they may
619 be switched around, either by adding or removing disk(s) from the hardware
620 configuration, or by using a BIOS menu to select the boot device.
623 this option, BIOS codes of disks MUST be correctly specified at install
624 time; either guessed correctly by LILO (which often fails on
625 mixed IDE/SCSI systems), or explicitly specified with 'disk=/dev/XXX
626 bios=0xYY' statements. The use of this option precludes
627 any activity which may switch around the BIOS codes assigned to particular
628 disk devices, as noted above.
630 In general, this option should
631 never be used, except as a bug workaround.
633 .BI "suppress-boot-time-BIOS-data"
634 This global option suppresses the boot-time real mode collection of BIOS data
635 on systems which hang on certain BIOS calls. It is equivalent to using the
636 boot-time switch 'nobd'.
638 This option defeats the disk volume recognition and BIOS device code
639 detection features of LILO on systems with more than one disk. Thus the use
640 of this option will produce a strong cautionary message,
641 which cannot be suppressed.
643 .BI "timeout=" <tsecs>
644 sets a timeout (in tenths of a second) for keyboard input at the
646 prompt. "timeout" only has meaning if "prompt" is mentioned.
647 If no key is pressed for the specified time, the default image is
648 automatically booted. The default timeout is infinite.
651 (22.6) Alters the operation of the "timeout" parameter in a manner which
653 noisy serial lines. Each typed (or noise) character restarts the "timeout"
654 timer and a timeout will always boot the default descriptor, even if noise
655 characters have appeared on the input line.
657 .BI "verbose=" <number>
658 Turns on lots of progress reporting. Higher numbers give more verbose
659 output. If \-v is additionally specified on the lilo command line,
660 the level is increased accordingly. The maximum verbosity level is 5.
662 .BI "vmdefault=" <name>
663 The named boot image is used as the default boot if booting in "virtual"
664 mode with a virtual monitor, such as VMware(tm). Thus a real mode boot and
665 a virtual mode boot can be made to have different default boot images.
669 Additionally, the kernel configuration parameters
670 .BR append ", " ramdisk ", " read-only ", " read-write ", " root
673 can be set in the global options section. They are used as defaults
674 if they aren't specified in the configuration sections of the
675 respective kernel images.
677 .SH "PER-IMAGE SECTION"
678 A per-image section starts with either a line
681 \fBimage=\fP\fI<pathname>\fP
684 to indicate a file or device containing the boot image of a Linux
688 \fBother=\fP\fI<device>\fP
691 to indicate an arbitrary system to boot.
694 In the former case, if an \fBimage\fP line specifies booting
695 from a device, then one has to indicate the range of sectors to be mapped
699 \fBrange=\fP\fI<start>-<end>\fP
700 \fBrange=\fP\fI<start>+<nsec>\fP
701 \fBrange=\fP\fI<sector>\fP
704 In the third case, 'nsec=1' is assumed.
706 .SH "KERNEL OPTIONS (image=)"
707 If the booted image is a Linux kernel, then one may pass
708 command line parameters to this kernel.
710 .BI "addappend=" <string>
711 The kernel parameters of this string are concatenated to the
715 The string of addappend must be enclosed within double quotes.
716 Usually, the previous
718 will set parameters common to all kernels by appearing in the global
719 section of the configuration file and
721 will be used to add local parameter(s) to an individual image.
722 The addappend option may be used only once per "image=" section.
724 If the string is a very long line, this line can be divided
725 in more lines using "\\" as last character of a line, e.g.
728 addappend="noapic acpi=off pci=usepirqmask \\
729 pnpbios=off pnpacpi=off noisapnp"
732 .BI "append=" <string>
733 Appends the options specified to the parameter line passed to the kernel.
734 This is typically used to specify hardware parameters that can't be
735 entirely auto-detected or for which probing may be dangerous. Multiple
736 kernel parameters are separated by a blank space, and the string must be
737 enclosed in double quotes. A local append= appearing withing an image=
738 section overrides any
739 global append= appearing in the global section of the configuration file.
740 The append option may be used only once per "image="
741 section. To concatenate parameter strings, use "addappend=". Example:
744 append="mem=96M hd=576,64,32 console=ttyS1,9600"
747 If the string is a very long line, this line can be divided in more lines
748 using "\\" as last character of a line. See example of addappend option.
751 Specifies the initial ramdisk image to be loaded with the kernel. The
752 image will contain modules needed at boot time, such as network and scsi
753 drivers. See man pages for \fImkinitrd(8)\fP.
755 .BI "literal=" <string>
756 Like `append', but removes all other options (e.g. setting of the root
757 device). 'literal' overrides all 'append' and 'addappend' options.
758 Because vital options can be removed unintentionally with `literal',
759 this option cannot be set in the global options section.
761 .BI "ramdisk=" <size>
762 This specifies the size (e.g., "4096k") of the optional RAM disk. A value of
763 zero indicates that no RAM disk should be created. If this variable is
764 omitted, the RAM disk size configured into the boot image is used.
767 This specifies that the root file system should be mounted read-only.
768 It may be specified as a global option.
769 Typically, the system startup procedure re-mounts the root
770 file system read-write later (e.g. after fsck'ing it).
773 This specifies that the root file system should be mounted read-write.
774 It may be specified as a global option.
776 .BI "root=" <root-device>
777 This specifies the device that should be mounted as root.
778 It may be specified as a global option.
781 is used, the root device is set to the device on which the root file
782 system is currently mounted. If the root has been changed with \-r ,
783 the respective device is used. If the variable `root' is omitted,
784 the root device setting contained in the running kernel image is used.
785 Warning: This can induce to an unbootable system!
787 The root filesystem may also be specified by a
791 directive, as in '/etc/fstab'. In this case, the argument to
793 must be enclosed in quotation marks, to avoid a syntax error on the second
798 root="UUID=5472fd8e-9089-4256-bcaa-ceab4f01a439"
801 Note: The command line
803 parameter passed to the kernel will be: 'root=LABEL=MyDisk'; i.e., without
804 the quotation marks. If the
806 parameter is passed from the boot time
808 prompt, no quotes are used. The quotes are only there to satisfy the
809 requirements of the boot-installer parser, which treats an equal sign as
810 an operator. The kernel command line parser is very much simpler, and
811 must not see any quotation marks. Simply stated, only use the quotation
816 This specifies the VGA text mode that should be selected when
818 It may be specified as a global option.
819 The following values are recognized (case is ignored):
822 select normal 80x25 text mode.
824 .BR extended " (or " ext ):
825 select 80x50 text mode.
828 stop and ask for user input (at boot time).
830 <number>: use the corresponding text mode (can specify the number in decimal
831 or in hex with the usual '0x' convention). A list of available modes
832 can be obtained by booting with
834 and pressing [Enter].
836 If this variable is omitted, the VGA mode setting contained in the
837 kernel image is used. (And that is set at compile time using the
838 SVGA_MODE variable in the kernel Makefile, and can later be changed with
839 the rdev(8) program.)
841 .SH "ALTERNATE SYSTEM (other=)"
843 Used to load systems other than Linux. The `other = <device>' specifies
844 the boot sector of an alternate system contained on a device or disk
845 partition; e.g., DOS on, say, `/dev/hda2', or a floppy on `/dev/fd0'.
846 In the case of booting another system there are these options:
848 .BI "loader=" <chain-loader>
849 This specifies the chain loader that should be used. It may also be
850 specified as a global option.
853 is used. This chain loader passes partition and drive information in the
854 boot sector it loads only to DOS on FAT12 or FAT16, Windows on FAT16 or
859 .BI "table=" <device>
860 This specifies the device that contains the partition table.
861 The boot loader will pass default partition information to the booted
862 operating system if this variable is omitted. (Some operating systems
863 have other means to determine from which partition they have been booted.
864 E.g., MS-DOS usually stores the geometry of the boot disk or partition
866 Note that /sbin/lilo must be re-run if a partition table mapped referenced
867 with `table' is modified.
870 This keyword starts a section which describes how primary partition IDs are
871 changed, and how primary partitions are activated and deactivated. If
873 is omitted, change rules are generated as though the
875 keyword were specified. The keyword
877 alone, without any rules following, will suppress automatic change-rules.
894 specifies that when primary partition /dev/hda2 is booted, automatic
895 change-rules will be in effect; plus, partition 1, a DOS12 partition, will
896 be set hidden, and deactivated. In addition, partition 2, will be set
897 normal, and activated. Activation sets the boot-flag in the partition
900 keyword may conflict with default change rules, so the
902 lines above may be redundant.
904 .BI "boot-as=" "<bios>"
905 This option (LILO version 22.5.1) indicates the BIOS device code which must
906 be assigned to the specified drive in order for the "other=" operating
907 system to boot. If the chain loader detects that another BIOS device code
908 is assigned to this disk, then it will dynamically swap the assigned device
909 code with the specified device code.
911 This option is easier to specify than "map-drive=" and more general than
912 "master-boot" in that any device code may be specified. Unlike
913 "map-drive=", the determination whether to swap device codes is made at boot
914 time, not install time. This is advantageous on systems where the BIOS
915 presents a boot menu of devices, and will map disks to devices in different
916 ways, depending upon the BIOS boot selection.
918 This option may be specified as a global option, in which case it applies to
919 all "other=" sections unless overridden with a specific "master-boot" option.
920 If one of "boot-as=" or "master-boot" is specified as a global option, it is
921 better to specify "master-boot" as the global option, as it will not
922 interfere with floppy disk BIOS device codes; "boot-as=" is then used as a
923 local option to override "master-boot" as necessary.
926 This flag (LILO version 22.5) indicates a DOS/Windows or other
927 system which will only boot from BIOS device 0x80, the "C:" drive, or BIOS
928 device 0, the A: drive. When this
929 flag is specified, if this drive is not assigned device code 0x80 or 0 by the
930 BIOS, then the chain loader will dynamically swap the device code actually
931 assigned with device code 0x80 or 0 to make this drive appear
932 to be the first hard or floppy drive, "C:" or "A:".
934 This flag is easier to use than "map-drive=" (see below), and is preferred,
935 if simple forcing of device code 0x80 is all that is required. It is also
936 more general, in that the necessity to swap BIOS device codes is determined
937 dynamically at boot-time, not at boot install-time, as with "map-drive=".
938 It is slightly more powerful than "boot-as=", in that the device code which
939 is assigned, 0 or 0x80, is determined dynamically.
941 This option may be specified as a global option, in which case it applies to
942 all "other=" sections unless overridden with a specific "boot-as=" option.
944 .BI "map-drive=" <num>
945 Maps BIOS calls for the specified drive to the device code specified on the
946 next line as \fBto=\fP<num>. This mapping is useful for booting operating
947 systems, such as DOS, from the second hard drive. The following, swaps the
957 This option is largely
958 rendered obsolete by "boot-as=", introduced with LILO version 22.5.
961 Do not access the boot sector at map creation time. This disables
962 some sanity checks, including a partition table check. If the boot
963 sector is on a fixed-format floppy disk device, using UNSAFE avoids the
964 need to put a readable disk into the drive when running the map
965 installer. If the boot sector is on a hard drive, the BIOS device code
966 of the drive will have to be specified explicitly with "disk=/dev/XXXX
967 bios=0x8X inaccessible" in the configuration file.
968 `unsafe' and `table' (explicit or implicit) are mutually incompatible.
970 .SH "COMMON DESCRIPTOR OPTIONS (image= & other=)"
973 .BR image= " and " other=
974 cases, the following options apply.
977 No password is required to boot this image. Used to indicate that the global
978 password does not apply to this `image=' or `other='. See 'password=' below.
981 The boot loader uses the main file name (without its path)
982 of each image specification to identify that image.
983 A different name can be used by setting the variable `label'.
986 A second name for the same entry can be used by specifying an alias.
989 The bitmap graphic (install=bmp) is retained when control is passed to the
990 loaded kernel image, or other= bootloader; i.e., the screen is not
991 blanked to alphanumeric mode before starting the kernel. This feature is
992 considered EXPERIMENTAL, for those users working with startup splash
995 .BI "fallback=" <command-line>
996 Specifies a string that is stored as the default
997 command line if the current image is booted. This is useful when
998 experimenting with kernels which may crash before allowing interaction
999 with the system. If using the
1001 option, the next reboot (e.g.
1002 triggered by a manual reset or by a watchdog timer) will load a
1003 different (supposedly stable) kernel. The command line stored by the fallback
1004 mechanism is cleared by removing or changing the default command line
1007 option, which should be a part of the boot startup scripts.
1013 Omit the image if it is not available at map creation time.
1014 It may be specified as a global option.
1015 This is useful to specify test kernels that are not always present.
1017 .BI "password=" <password>
1018 Protect the `image=' or `other=' with a password (or passphrase).
1019 It may be specified as a global option.
1020 The interpretation of the `password=' setting is modified by the words
1021 `mandatory', `restricted', and `bypass' (see below).
1023 The password may be specified in the config-file (less secure) or entered
1024 at the time the boot loader is installed. To request interactive entry of
1025 the password, it should be specified: \fBpassword=""\fP.
1026 Passwords entered interactively are not required to be entered again if the
1027 boot installer is re-run. They are cached, in hashed form, in a companion
1028 file to the config-file, default name: \fB/etc/lilo.conf.crc\fP. If the
1029 config-file is updated, a warning message
1030 will be issued telling you to re-run \fIlilo \-p\fP to force re-creation of the
1031 password cache file.
1034 A password is required to boot this image. This is the default. May be used
1035 on a single `image=' or `other=' to override a different global setting.
1039 The specified descriptor is not bootable if the IBM-PC keyboard is not present.
1040 This option is really only useful if the "serial=" boot terminal is in use.
1041 With no keyboard (and no serial terminal) attached, selecting a boot descriptor
1042 other than the default is impossible.
1048 A password is only required to boot the image if kernel parameters
1049 are specified on the command line (e.g. 'single'). May be used
1050 on a single `image=' or `other=' to override a different global setting.
1053 If booting under a virtual monitor such as VMware(tm), the image with this
1054 label will cause a cautionary warning to be issued at boot time, and user
1055 intervention will be required to continue or to abort the boot process.
1058 If booting under a virtual monitor, the image with this label will not be
1059 displayed as a boot option. The image is only bootable in real mode. See
1066 lilo(8), mkinitrd(8), mknod(1), mkrescue(8), rdev(8).
projects / rrq / maintain_lilo.git / blob