From 3a96085b999220c4da0c5ef7d1f7ba26b9ddfb98 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Waldemar Brodkorb Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2017 18:47:16 +0100 Subject: dec-multia: make netboot possible, add aboot bootloader --- package/aboot/src/README | 169 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 169 insertions(+) create mode 100644 package/aboot/src/README (limited to 'package/aboot/src/README') diff --git a/package/aboot/src/README b/package/aboot/src/README new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b5d3f0a2c --- /dev/null +++ b/package/aboot/src/README @@ -0,0 +1,169 @@ +This is release 0.9 of aboot, the Linux/Alpha loader for SRM. + +Aboot is based on the standard Linux/Alpha bootloader, with extensions +by David Mosberger and Michael Schwingen (prompt for arguments, kernel +argument mapping using /etc/aboot.conf file). It is currently maintained +by Will Woods. + +For more information about aboot and SRM, see the SRM Firmware HOWTO, in +doc/faq/srm.html, or at http://www.alphalinux.org/faq/srm.html + +Good luck and enjoy... + +-Will Woods Oct 25, 2001 + +--- + +New with version 0.9: + + - new and (hopefully) improved man pages + - Crash when booting from a path containing a long filename on isofs fixed + - listing directories on isofs works + - symlinks on isofs work + - Failure to boot when kernel was past the 2GB boundary on ext2 fs fixed + - cylinder-counting bug in sdisklabel fixed + +[Note: there was no (official) version 0.8.] + +New with version 0.7: + + - aboot now supports an initial ramdisk, which can be loaded from an + arbitrary file on any supported filesystem. To use this, pass an + 'initrd=/path/to/file' argument in the boot flags, or use the 'i' + command from the interactive menu. + + - a.out support has been removed. + + - (as of 0.7a) "raw" booting no longer is - you must use an + uncompressed ELF kernel. + + - Many bugs in the ISO filesystem code have been found and fixed. + + - swriteboot incorporates the functionality of abootconf. + +New with version 0.6: + + - The various patches from the Red Hat, Debian, and SuSE packages + have been merged back in. + + - ext2 partitions with >1024 byte block sizes and sparse superblocks + are now (hopefully) supported. (from Red Hat?) + + - aboot can now follow symbolic links on ext2 filesystems. + + - aboot no longer passes the bootdevice= and bootfile= flags to the + kernel, as the code for guessing the boot device was completely + broken, and these options are not used at all by current kernels. + + - aboot is now built as an ELF image (since that's what the current + toolchain supports), and code to strip it accordingly has been + added (from Richard Henderson) + + - isomarkboot now has an option to specify the root filesystem image + to be loaded (from Debian) + + - swriteboot tries to preserve the boot partition setting from a + previous aboot installation. + +New with version 0.5: + + - IMPORTANT: e2writeboot now expects a _raw_ file, not an ECOFF + object file. So be sure to write aboot using the command: + + e2writeboot /dev/fd0 bootlx + + This change has been made so e2writeboot and s2writeboot are more + consistent. It also makes it easier to support multiple object + file formats. + + - The location the partition containing /etc/aboot.conf can now be + specified on the commandline: -fl 3:0 selects the aboot.conf line + 0 on partition 3. + + - Booting of ELF object files is now supported. In the process of + adding ELF suport, the build tool has been rewritten from scratch + (it's now a lot simpler despite supporting two object file + formats). + + - Booting from an ext2fs partition that starts at an offset >= 2GB + now works. + + - If the kernel load fails, aboot now drops into interactive mode + instead of + + - swriteboot now supports an option to force installation of aboot even + if there is an overlap between the aboot image and some partition. E.g., + if partition 1 and 3 start at sector 0 (as is commonly the case for disks + partitioned under OSF/1), you can specify: + + swriteboot -f1 -f3 /dev/sdc bootlx + + WARNING: Using -f will obviously destroy any filesystem that may be + present on the specified partition. Use at your own risk. + + - NOTE: I'd like to remove sdisklabel in future distributions (minlabel + should be all you need). Let me know if you feel strongly about this + (one way or the other). + +New with version 0.4: + + - abootconf allows to set (or query) the number of the partition that + aboot will use to lookup /etc/aboot.conf. + - support for net boot added (thanks to Dave Larson ) + - iso9660 filesystem support added (based on Dave Rusling's MILO sources) + +New with version 0.31: + + - e2writeboot is now included in the distribution. + - started with writing man pages for e2writeboot and swriteboot; pretty + cryptic, I believe, but heck, it's the best there is! :-) + +New with version 0.3: + + - The commandline prompt changed to "aboot>". + + - The contents of /etc/aboot.conf can be displayed with a commandline + argument consisting of a single 'h'. After displaying the configuration + file, aboot will prompt for a commandline just like for the 'i' option. + + - At the "aboot>" prompt, the user can enter a single 'h' to display + the configuration file. Entering an empty line or a line consisting + of a single 'i' will keep the user in the "aboot>" prompt loop. + + - Booting of raw (headerless) kernels is now supported again. A raw + boot is requested by specifying a filename consisting of a single + '-' character only. Booting ECOFF kernels off a disk without filesystem + is now supported via partition number 0 (in aboot-0.2, this was incorrectly + called a "raw boot"). For example, to boot a compressed ECOFF file, + one could specify the filename "0/-" (filename "-" on the zeroth + partition). You can use the swriteboot command to write the kernel + for a filesystem-less boot. + + - Booting from floppy disks now works again. + +New with version 0.2: + + - If the kernel commandline consists of a single 'i', aboot prompts for + kernel file and commandline arguments (useful on machines such as + the Jensen, where the SRM limits commandline arguments to 1 argument). + + - If the kernel commandline consists of a single digit, aboot looks up + the default configuration with that number in the file /etc/aboot.conf + on a compile-time defined partition of the bootdrive, and uses the + parameters given there as commandline arguments for the kernel (useful + where the SRM limits default commandline arguments to 8 characters, + and does not support setting a default filename). + + - If the kernel filename consists of a single '-' or is empty, aboot + will perform a raw boot. This involves loading a kernel starting at + the disk sector after the aboot code (currently, 162). This kernel + must be a header-less ("raw") binary without any ECOFF header. + +New with version 0.1: + + - Compressed kernels (using gzip) are supported (faster loading, less + disk usage). + + - You can load the kernel from an UFS or EXT2 filesystem on any partition + of the boot disk. + -- cgit v1.2.3