In interactive mode, the boot loader will present a prompt, allowing input of these commands:
boot [device:] [filename] [-1234abcdmqsvxz]
The default
device will be set to the disk that the boot loader was loaded from. To boot from an alternate disk, the full name of the device should be given at the prompt.
device is of the form
xd [
N[x]] where
xd is the device from which to boot,
N is the unit number, and
x is the partition letter.
The following list of supported devices may vary from installation to installation:
The default
filename is
netbsd; if the boot loader fails to successfully open that image, it then tries
netbsd.gz (expected to be a kernel image compressed by gzip), followed by
netbsd.old,
netbsd.old.gz,
onetbsd, and finally
onetbsd.gz. Alternate system images can be loaded by just specifying the name of the image.
Options are:
-1
Sets the machine-dependent flag RB_MD1 in boothowto.
-2
Sets the machine-dependent flag RB_MD2 in boothowto.
-3
Sets the machine-dependent flag RB_MD3 in boothowto.
-4
Sets the machine-dependent flag RB_MD4 in boothowto.
-a
Sets the
RB_ASKNAME flag in
boothowto. This causes the kernel to prompt for the root file system device, the system crash dump device, and the path to
init(8).
-b
Sets the RB_HALT flag in boothowto. This causes subsequent reboot attempts to halt instead of rebooting.
-c
Sets the
RB_USERCONF flag in
boothowto. This causes the kernel to enter the
userconf(4) device configuration manager as soon as possible during the boot.
userconf(4) allows devices to be enabled or disabled, and allows device locators (such as hardware addresses or bus numbers) to be modified before the kernel attempts to attach the devices.
-d
Sets the
RB_KDB flag in
boothowto. Requests the kernel to enter debug mode, in which it waits for a connection from a kernel debugger; see
ddb(4).
-m
Sets the RB_MINIROOT flag in boothowto. Informs the kernel that a mini-root file system is present in memory.
-q
Sets the AB_QUIET flag in boothowto. Boot the system in quiet mode.
-s
Sets the RB_SINGLE flag in boothowto. Boot the system in single-user mode.
-v
Sets the AB_VERBOSE flag in boothowto. Boot the system in verbose mode.
-x
Sets the AB_DEBUG flag in boothowto. Boot the system with debug messages enabled.
-z
Sets the AB_SILENT flag in boothowto. Boot the system in silent mode.
consdev dev
Immediately switch the console to the specified device
dev and reprint the banner.
dev must be one of
pc,
com0,
com1,
com2,
com3,
com0kbd,
com1kbd,
com2kbd,
com3kbd, or
auto. See
Console Selection Policy in
boot_console(8).
dev [device]
Set the default drive and partition for subsequent filesystem operations. Without an argument, print the current setting. device is of the form specified in boot.
help
Print an overview about commands and arguments.
ls [path]
Print a directory listing of path, containing inode number, filename, and file type. path can contain a device specification.
In an emergency, the bootstrap methods described in the
NetBSD installation notes for the specific architecture can be used.