mkboot(1M)

NAME

mkboot, rmboot − install, update, or remove boot programs from a disk device

SYNOPSIS

/etc/mkboot [−b boot_file_path] [−c] [−f] [−h] [−s series] [−u] [−v] device
/etc/rmboot device

DESCRIPTION

mkboot is used to install or update boot programs on the specified device file. mkboot recognizes the following options:

−b boot_file_path If this option is given, boot programs in the pathname specified by boot_file_path are installed on the given device.

−c If this option is specified, mkboot checks the available space on the device. If the boot programs can fit in the available space, mkboot exits with a zero status. If the boot programs are too large to fit in the available space, mkboot exits with a status code of 1. If the verbose option is selected along with this option, a message is also displayed to the standard output.

−f This option should only be used when the system is in the single user state. Specifying this option modifies the LIF contents to reflect the information contained in the boot_file_path on the named device. This option is provided as a means for forcing the information contained in boot_file_path to be placed on the specified device without regard to the current swapping status. Its intended use is to allow the boot area to grow without having to boot the system twice (see the −h option). This could be a dangerous operation because swap space that is already allocated and possibly in use will be overwritten by the new boot program information. A message is also displayed to the standard output stating that the operator should immediately reboot the system to avoid system corruption and to reflect new information on the running system.

−h Specifying this option shrinks the available space allocated to swap in the LIF header by the amount required to allow the installation of the new boot programs specified by boot_file_path. After the LIF header has been modified, reboot the system to reflect the new swap space on the running system. At this point, the new boot programs can be installed and the system rebooted again to reflect the new boot programs on the running system. This is the safe method for accomplishing the capability of the −f option.

−s series If this option is specified, boot programs for the given series are installed on the given device. series must be 300, 700, or 800. Note that in this context, Series 400 is treated as being identical to Series 300, and Series 600 is treated as identical to Series 800. If 700 is specified, mkboot installs boot programs from the /usr/lib/uxbootlf.700 file. If 800 is specified, mkboot installs boot programs from the /usr/lib/uxbootlf file. If 300 is specified, mkboot installs boot programs from /etc/boot. If this option is not specified, mkboot defaults to the series of the current machine.

−u This option is meaningful only for Series 700 boot programs. If −u is specified, mkboot uses the information contained in the LIF header to identify the location of swap area, boot area, and raw I/O so that installation of the boot programs does not violate any user data. Normally, the LIF header information is overwritten on each invocation of mkboot. This option is provided to allow modification of boot programs on a Series 700 disk that is also actively supporting swap and/or raw I/O.

−v If this option is specified, mkboot displays its actions including the amount of swap space available on the specified device.

device Install the boot programs on the given device special file. The specified device can identify either a character-special or block-special device. However, because of the operations performed on the specified device file, mkboot requires that both be present. mkboot attempts to determine whether a device is character- or block-special by examining the corresponding specified path name. For this reason, the complete path name must be supplied. If mkboot is unable to determine the corresponding device file, a message is written to the display, and mkboot exits.

rmboot first determines whether the given device identifies a Series 300 or Series 700 disk. If so, it removes the boot programs from the boot area. If device identifies a series 800 disk, no action is taken.

AUTHOR

mkboot and rmboot were developed by HP.

WARNINGS

In order for mkboot to determine the layout of the disk, a file system must reside on the device being modified.

Since the boot area is taken from swap space on the series 700, mkboot cannot increase the amount of space allocated to boot programs on a disk where swap and/or raw I/O are currently enabled.

FILES

/usr/lib/uxbootlf file containing series 800 boot programs

/usr/lib/uxbootlf.700 file containing series 700 boot programs

/etc/boot file containing series 300 boot programs

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