607 lines
16 KiB
Groff
607 lines
16 KiB
Groff
.TH MONITOR 8
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.SH NAME
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monitor, edparams \- load and start MINIX 3, modify boot parameters
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.SH SYNOPSIS
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.B /boot
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.br
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.B edparams
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.I device
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.RI [ command " ...]"
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.br
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.B boot.com
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.I virdisk
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.RI [ command " ...]"
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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.de SP
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.if t .sp 0.4
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.if n .sp
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..
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This text describes the Boot Monitor, a boot time interactive program designed
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not only to load and start MINIX 3, its most important task, but to also
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provide an interface to configure MINIX 3 and to boot other operating systems.
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.PP
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The monitor is controlled with an environment that is modeled after the
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Bourne shell. This environment is filled at startup with default values
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that depend on the machine the monitor is running on and the environment
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settings saved into the boot parameters sector (the second sector on a
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device). When the environment is loaded, the monitor executes the function
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named
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.BR main ,
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which by default starts a simple menu.
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.PP
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The environment can be manipulated at boot time from the monitor prompt,
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but may also be edited using
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.B edparams
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on a given device.
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.B Edparams
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simulates the monitor as much as it can, echoing commands it can't execute
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between brackets. It can also be used in Makefiles and scripts by giving
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it commands as arguments.
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.PP
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The DOS version of the monitor, usually named
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.B boot.com
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under DOS, boots MINIX 3 from a "DOS virtual disk".
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.B Boot.com
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is a simple COM program that interprets a DOS
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file as a disk, loads a MINIX 3 kernel from the active partition in the same
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way as the BIOS based monitor, and executes it to start MINIX 3. All the
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monitor commands function in the same way, except for the
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.B boot
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command, it can only load MINIX 3. The monitor grabs as much free memory as
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it can for MINIX 3 to work in, as the
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.B memory
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variable shows. Further details on how to run MINIX 3 under DOS, Windows 95,
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or even Windows NT are written down in
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.BR dosminix (8).
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.SH COMMANDS
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The monitor is best described by the commands you can type to the '>'
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prompt. This is known as the "monitor mode". You can enter this mode by
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hitting the Escape key. These are the monitor commands:
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.PP
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\fIname\fP = [\fBdevice\fP] \fIvalue\fP
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.SP
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.RS
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Set environment variable.
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.br
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Changes the value of
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.I name
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to
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.IR value .
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The optional word
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.B device
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marks
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.I name
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as being subject to device translation. (See the section on devices.) These
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(name, value) pairs are passed to the kernel who uses them to configure
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itself. These variables are passed by default:
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.SP
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.B rootdev
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.RS
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This is the device used as your root device. It is by default set to
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.BR ram,
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which means that the device specified by
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.B ramimagedev
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will be loaded into the RAM disk and used as root. If you change this
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variable then a physical device will be used as root, and the RAM disk will
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be uninitialized and have the size specified by
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.BR ramsize .
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.RE
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.SP
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.B ramimagedev
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.RS
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Describes the device to use to initialize the RAM disk if
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.B rootdev
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is set to
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.BR ram .
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It's by default set to
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.BR bootdev ,
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a special name for the device the monitor booted from.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B ramsize
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.RS
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The size of the RAM disk. If the RAM disk is used for the root file system
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then the root file system is stretched out to
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.B ramsize
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if possible.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B processor
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.RS
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Set by default to
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.BR 86 ,
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.BR 186 ,
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.BR 286 ,
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.BR 386 ,
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.BR 486 ", ..."
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depending on the hardware you have. You can set it to a smaller value to
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test your kernel in a more limited environment.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B bus
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.RS
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The type of system bus, either
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.BR xt ,
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.BR at
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or
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.BR mca .
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This answers basic questions like: "How many interrupt controllers and how
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to initialize?" Or: "Does the keyboard have LEDs?"
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.RE
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.SP
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.B memory
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.RS
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List of memory free for use by MINIX 3. It is a comma separated list of
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.IR base:size
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pairs denoting the byte offsets and sizes of free memory in hexadecimal.
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.B "800:925E0,100000:F00000"
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is a typical example of about 585K starting at 2K, and 15M starting at 1M.
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(The first 2K are BIOS parameters and the 53K under the 640K boundary is
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the monitor itself.) The very last number you can play with if you know
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what you are doing. Either increase it if the monitor has it wrong, or
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decrease it to test if MINIX 3 still runs with less memory then normal.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B video
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.RS
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Describes capabilities of the VDU:
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.BR mda ,
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.BR cga ,
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.B ega
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or
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.BR vga .
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.RE
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.SP
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.B chrome
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.RS
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Either
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.B color
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or
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.BR mono .
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.RE
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.SP
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.B c0
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.RS
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By default
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.B at
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(AT compatibles),
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.B bios
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(XT or PS/2), or
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.B dosfile
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(running under DOS).
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The
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.B c0
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variable binds a driver to the first controller, i.e. the
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.B /dev/c0*
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devices. The monitor sets
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.B c0
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to a suitable default, so that most machines can find their disk.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B console
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.RS
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If set to a hexadecimal value it makes the monitor set the BIOS video mode to
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this value when MINIX 3 is started.
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This allows the use of video modes with more rows or colums than the
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standard 80x25 mode. You can use any text mode in the 00-FF range, and VESA
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extended modes in the 100-FFF range. Most text modes use a 9x16 font with
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400 scanlines on screen, so you see 400/16 = 25 lines. The text mode can be
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modified by adding special flags to the console setting. Add
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2000 to switch to 480 scan lines, adding 20% more lines to the screen. Add
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4000 to select a 9x14 font, so 28 or 34 lines are shown. Add 8000 instead
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to select an 8x8 font showing 50 or 60 lines. Each setting has drawbacks.
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Using 480 scanlines implies a 60 Hz refresh, so the screen may flicker. The
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8x8 font looks squashed. More letters on screen require more memory, so there
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is less for virtual consoles. Interesting modes to try are 4003 (80x28),
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2003 (80x30), 6003 (80x34), 8003 (80x50), A003 (80x60), 109 (132x25),
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10A (132x43), 10B (132x50), 10C (132x60). The 109 VESA mode is often
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available, and can be modified like mode 3. Use mode 7 instead of 3 for
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monochrome. Which modes and flags work can only be found out by experiment.
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More parameters may follow the mode number that are of interest
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to the console driver, see
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.BR boot (8).
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.RE
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.SP
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.B dosfile-d0
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.RS
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Set by the DOS version of the monitor to the name of the virtual disk, i.e.
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the
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.I virdisk
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argument as shown above. The "dosfile" driver
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will use this as the name of the file to use as a disk.
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.RE
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.SP
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Two variables are only used by the monitor, even though they are passed to the
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kernel too:
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.SP
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.B image
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.RS
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The name of the file containing the kernel image, by default
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.BR minix .
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If it refers to a directory however then the newest file inside the
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directory is chosen to be the kernel image. The names inside
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.B /minix/
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are best set to the MINIX 3 version you are using, which looks good when the
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monitor prints its name. Rules for pretty printing image names:
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.RS
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.SP
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A '/' or '_' is changed to a space.
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.SP
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The first letter is changed from lowercase to uppercase.
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.SP
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An 'r' if followed by a digit changes to " revision ".
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.RE
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.RE
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.SP
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.B label
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.RS
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If set then only processes marked with this label or without a label are
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loaded from the image.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B Installboot \-boot
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will create functions to select images and labels. These functions will set
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.B label
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and
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.B image
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and echo what you selected. The two numbers separated by a colon used as an
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image name tell the starting sector and sector count of the image on disk.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fIname\fP() \fIcommand\fP
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.RS
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Define function.
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.br
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Functions may be used to bundle a set of commands, so that you can easily
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boot MINIX 3 with a different set of parameters then normal. E.g.
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.SP
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.RS
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ram() { rootdev=ram; boot }
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.RE
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.SP
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will allow you to run MINIX 3 with the root device on RAM for a change, if you
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normally use a real device as root. There are three predefined functions,
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.BR leader ,
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with default value an
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.B echo
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command that shows the monitor's startup banner,
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.BR main ,
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with default value
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.BR menu ,
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and
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.BR trailer ,
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with default value a command that clears the screen.
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The monitor executes
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.B leader;main
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at startup to show the banner message and a menu. The
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.B trailer
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function is executed just before MINIX 3 is started. These three functions can
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be redefined as you please.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fIname\fP(\fIkey\fP) \fIcommand\fP
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.RS
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Define kernel selecting function.
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.br
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The menu command uses functions like these to add menu entries to select
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a different kernel from a boot disk.
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.B Installboot \-boot
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produces these functions when the images are labeled. The label
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.B AT
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would give:
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.SP
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.RS
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AT(a) {label=AT;image=42:626;echo AT kernel selected;menu}
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.RE
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.SP
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With the menu option:
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.SP
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.RS
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a Select AT kernel
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.RE
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.SP
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Typing
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.B a
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will then execute the
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.B AT
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function above.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fIname\fP(\fIkey\fP,\fItext\fP) \fIcommand\fP
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.RS
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User defined menu option.
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.br
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This variant may be used to make any menu entry you like:
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.SP
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.RS
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dos(d,Boot MS-DOS) boot d0p0
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.RE
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.SP
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.I Text
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may be anything, even parentheses if they match.
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.RE
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.SP
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.I name
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.RS
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Call function.
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.br
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If
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.I name
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is a user defined function then its value is expanded and executed in place of
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.IR name .
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Try a recursive one like 'rec() {rec;xx}' one day. You can see the monitor
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run out of space with nice messages about using
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.BR chmem (1)
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to increase it's heap.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBboot\fP [\fB\-\fP\fIopts\fP]
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.br
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\fBboot\fP \fIdevice\fP
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.RS
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Boot MINIX 3 or another O.S.
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.br
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Without an argument,
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.B boot
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will load and execute the MINIX 3 image named by the
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.B image
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variable. With options the variable
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.B bootopts
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is first set to
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.BI \- opts
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before MINIX 3 is started, and unset when Minix returns. With a
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.I device
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argument,
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.B boot
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loads the boot sector of
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.I device
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into memory and jumps to it, starting another operating system. You would
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normally use partitions on the first hard disk for this command (d0p[0\-3]),
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using d0 will also work (choosing the active partition). One can also boot
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devices on the second hard disk (d1, d1p[0\-3]) if the bootstrap writer did
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not hardwire the disk number to disk 0.
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.br
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Some Operating Systems can only be booted from the active partition, if
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you use a '*', e.g.
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.BR "boot *d0p2" ,
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then partition 2 is first made active. You'll then need to use
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.SP
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.RS
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.BI "installboot \-m /dev/c0d0 /usr/mdec/jumpboot" " keys"
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.RE
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.SP
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with
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.I keys
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chosen so that MINIX 3 is booted at startup. (See
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.BR installboot (8).)
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBctty\fP \fIn\fP
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.RS
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Copies output to and takes input from serial line
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.I n
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(0-3) at 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity.
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This allows you to control a MINIX 3 system remotely through an RS-232
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connection.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBdelay\fP [\fImsec\fP]
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.RS
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Delay (500 msec default).
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.br
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Fast booting speed was one of the objectives when this program was created,
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so a hard disk boot usually takes only a fraction of a second. If you need
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some time (to hit Escape, or stare at the numbers) you can use
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.B delay
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to make the monitor pause for a specified number of milliseconds.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBecho\fP \fIword\fP ...
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.RS
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Print these words.
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.br
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Used to display messages, like the startup banner. Echo normally prints
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the words with spaces in between and a newline at the end. Echo understands
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special '\e' escape sequences as follows:
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.RS
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.SP
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\e (At the end) Don't print a newline.
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.br
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\en Print a newline.
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.br
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\ev Print the monitor's version numbers.
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.br
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\ec Clear the screen.
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.br
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\ew Wait until a RETURN is typed
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.br
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\e\e Print a backslash.
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.RE
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBls\fP [\fIdirectory\fP]
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.RS
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List contents of a directory.
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.br
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Useful when looking for kernel images.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B menu
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.RS
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Menu driven startup.
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.br
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This command allows you to execute functions defined with a
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.IR key .
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If no menu functions have been defined then
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.B menu
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will use this one hidden built-in function:
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.SP
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.RS
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*(=,Start Minix) boot
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.SP
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.RE
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Kernel selecting functions only add new options to this set, but if you
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define a two argument function yourself then the above one is no longer
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shown, allowing you to customize the menu completely. Your first
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function definition should therefore be one that starts MINIX 3.
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.SP
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Menu entries are shown in the same order as
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.B set
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shows them. If you don't like the order then you have to unset the
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functions and retype them in the proper order.
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.SP
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If you type a key then a scheduled trap is killed and the appropriate menu
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function is executed. If you need more time to choose then hit the
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spacebar. A key not on the menu also kills a trap, but does nothing more.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B save
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.RS
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Save environment.
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.br
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This will save all the environment variables and functions with nondefault
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values to the parameter sector (the second sector on the boot device), so
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they are automatically set the next time you boot the monitor.
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.RE
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.SP
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.B set
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.RS
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Show environment.
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.br
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Show the current values of the environment variables and functions. Default
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values are shown between parentheses to distinguish them from values that
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were explicitly set.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBtrap\fP \fImsec\fP \fIfunction\fP
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.RS
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Schedule function.
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.br
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Schedules a function to be executed after
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.I msec
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milliseconds. Only the monitor mode cannot be interrupted, a scheduled trap
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is killed when the prompt is printed. Example:
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.SP
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.RS
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main() {trap 10000 boot; menu}
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.RE
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.SP
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This gives you 10 seconds to choose a menu option before MINIX 3 is booted.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBunset\fP \fIname\fP ...
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.RS
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Unset environment variables.
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.br
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Removes the named variables and functions from the environment, and sets
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special variables back to their default values. This is also the only way
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to remove the "device name translation" property from a variable.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBexit\fP
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.RS
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Exit the monitor.
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.br
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Reboot the machine, exit to MINIX 3 or exit to DOS as appropriate.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fBoff\fP
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.RS
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Turn the PC off.
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.br
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If the PC supports power management then turn it off, otherwise
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print some error messages and do nothing.
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.RE
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.SP
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\fB{\fP \fIcommand\fP; ... \fB}\fP
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.RS
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Bundle commands.
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.br
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Treat a number of commands as a single command. Used for function
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definitions when a function body must contain more than one command.
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.RE
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.SH DEVICES
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The MINIX 3 kernel can't do anything with device names, so they have to be
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translated to device numbers before they are passed to the kernel. This
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number is found under the st_rdev field (see
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.BR stat (2))
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of the file on the boot file system. The monitor will look for the device
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file with the working directory set to '/dev'. If it can't find the device
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name then it will translate names like 'ram', 'fd1', 'c0d1p0', 'c1d0p2s0',
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and even the obsolete 'hd2a' to what it itself thinks the numbers should be.
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.PP
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The special name
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.B bootdev
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is translated to the name of the device booted from, like 'fd0',
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or 'c0d0p1s0', and then searched for in /dev.
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.B Bootdev
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can only be translated to a device for the first controller, and only if
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|
the disks on that controller are numbered without "gaps". (The master
|
|
device on the second IDE channel is always d2 on MINIX 3. The BIOS will
|
|
call it disk 0, 1, or 2 depending on the number of disks on the first
|
|
IDE channel.)
|
|
.SP
|
|
Controller numbers are meaningless to the BIOS, so everything is assumed to
|
|
be attached to controller 0. You can omit
|
|
.B c0
|
|
for device names, and it is best to always omit
|
|
.B c0
|
|
for the
|
|
.B boot
|
|
command, and to always use the full name for variables passed to MINIX 3.
|
|
.SH EXTENSIONS
|
|
A few extensions have been made to this program for kernel hackers. They
|
|
may be triggered by setting bits in the flags word in the kernel startup
|
|
code (the mpx file.) The flag bits are:
|
|
.TP 10
|
|
0x0001
|
|
Call kernel in 386 mode.
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0002
|
|
Do not make space for the bss areas of processes other than the kernel.
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0004
|
|
Use the stack size set by
|
|
.BR chmem (1).
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0008
|
|
Load MM, FS, etc. into extended memory.
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0010
|
|
No need to patch process sizes into the kernel.
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0020
|
|
The kernel can return to the monitor on halt or reboot.
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0040
|
|
Offer generic BIOS support instead of just INT 13 (disk I/O).
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0080
|
|
Pass memory lists for free and used memory (processes).
|
|
.TP
|
|
0x0100
|
|
Kernel returns monitor code on shutdown in boot parameters array.
|
|
.SH "SEE ALSO"
|
|
.BR controller (4),
|
|
.BR installboot (8),
|
|
.BR usage (8),
|
|
.BR boot (8),
|
|
.BR dosminix (8).
|
|
.SH BUGS
|
|
The
|
|
.B delay
|
|
command will hang forever on the original IBM PC (not the XT!). Not that it
|
|
matters, as everything takes forever on that box.
|
|
.PP
|
|
By redefining
|
|
.B leader
|
|
one can easily hide the identity of this program.
|
|
.SH ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
|
|
Earl Chew, for the inspiration his ShoeLace package provided, unless he wants
|
|
to file a "look and feel" suit against me, then I will say I modeled it after
|
|
the Sun ROM boot monitor, which is also true.
|
|
.SH AUTHOR
|
|
Kees J. Bot (kjb@cs.vu.nl)
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|
.\"
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|
.\" $PchId: monitor.8,v 1.11 2002/02/27 19:36:34 philip Exp $
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