OFWBOOT(8)           NetBSD/macppc System Manager's Manual          OFWBOOT(8)

NAME
     ofwboot, ofwboot.elf, ofwboot.xcf -- Open Firmware boot command

SYNOPSIS
     ofwboot

DESCRIPTION
     Open Firmware is a FORTH-like command interpreter started by the BootROM
     after the power-on self test (POST).  This command interpreter allows the
     user flexibility in choosing how their machine boots an operating system.
     NetBSD uses Open Firmware to initialize many of the devices in a system
     and uses it to load the primary bootloader, ofwboot.

     The information in this man page should only serve as a guideline for
     users.  Apple has made many revisions to Open Firmware, and the earlier
     versions had many problems and inconsistencies.  You may find that a boot
     command that works on one model will not work on another.

     In this man page, only one Open Firmware command will be described, boot,
     because it is used to pass arguments to ofwboot.  The Open Firmware boot
     command takes up to three arguments:

     boot [boot-device [boot-file]] [options]
     boot-device  primary bootloader location
     boot-file    kernel location
     options      flags passed to the kernel (see below)

   boot-device
     The first argument, boot-device, actually designates the primary boot-
     loader location and its name in the form:
           boot-device:[partition-num],[bootloader-filename]
     A typical example, from a PowerBook (FireWire), is
           /pci@f2000000/mac-io@17/ata-4@1f000/@0:9,ofwboot.xcf
     Note that colon (`:') delimits the device to the left, and comma (`,')
     separates the boot loader filename from the first part.  For Open
     Firmware versions before 3, the primary bootloader is installed in parti-
     tion ``zero'', and it is not necessary to specify the bootloader-file-
     name.  For Open Firmware version 3, you must specify the bootloader-file-
     name.

     Open Firmware stores aliases to common devices in NVRAM.  In the example
     above, /pci@f2000000/mac-io@17/ata-4@1f000/@0 is the path on a PowerBook
     (FireWire) to the built-in ATA/100 hard drive.  Use the devalias command
     in Open Firmware to print out a list of common device names on a particu-
     lar model.  The command above could then be simplified to:
           hd:9,ofwboot.xcf

     boot-loader-file-name is usually ofwboot.xcf.  (See also the FILES sec-
     tion for further discussion.)

     If omitted, the Open Firmware variable boot-device is used.

   boot-file
     It may be necessary to specify the boot-file if Open Firmware does not
     know where to find the kernel.  The default is to load the file named
     netbsd on partition ``a'' from the device used to load the primary boot-
     loader.

     For systems with Open Firmware versions less than 3 which are set up
     using sysinst, the boot-file argument is not necessary.  Systems with
     Open Firmware version 3 may need to specify the boot-file.

     The syntax is similar to the boot-device argument:
           [boot-file-device:partition-num/][kernel-name]
     This is a little different, since a kernel-name may be specified without
     listing a boot-file-device and partition-num.  Additionally, a boot-file-
     device and partition-num may need to be specified, while using the
     default kernel-name.

     If no kernel-name is specified, the primary bootloader will try to find
     kernels named either netbsd or netbsd.gz on the boot-device or (if speci-
     fied) boot-file-device.

   options
     Possible options are:
     -a     ask for the boot device
     -s     single-user mode boot
     -d     debug mode
     exit   exit to Open Firmware after processing arguments

ENVIRONMENT
     If set, the following Open Firmware variables will be used to determine
     which boot-device and boot-file Open Firmware should use when booting a
     system.  If the user specifies arguments on the command line, these val-
     ues are overridden.
     boot-device  used as the first argument
     boot-file    used as the second argument
     auto-boot?   setting this variable to false will present the user with an
                  Open Firmware command prompt after power-on reset.  A value
                  of true will automatically boot the system using the vari-
                  ables boot-device and boot-file.  (This is not really
                  related to the boot command, but is included for complete-
                  ness.)
     To restore these variables to their default values, use the set-default
     Open Firmware command: set-default boot-device

FILES
     The three files ofwboot, ofwboot.elf, and ofwboot.xcf are the same pro-
     gram, in different executable formats.

     ofwboot      ofwboot is installed via installboot(8) on systems with Open
                  Firmware versions less than 3.  It is not necessary to spec-
                  ify this file name, as it is stored in a special location on
                  the disk, partition ``zero''.  For example, the following
                  command might be used to boot from a SCSI device with ID 2:
                  0 >boot scsi-int/sd@2:0.

     ofwboot.xcf  ofwboot.xcf is in XCOFF format.  This file is used on all
                  Open Firmware 3 systems, and on Open Firmware systems prior
                  to 3 when the bootloader is not installed in partition
                  ``zero'', such as from an ISO-9660 format CD-ROM.

     ofwboot.elf  ofwboot.elf is in elf(5) format and only functions on sys-
                  tems with Open Firmware version 3.  To avoid confusion, all
                  users should be using ofwboot.xcf, as ofwboot.elf offers no
                  additional functionality.  It is only included for histori-
                  cal reasons.

     boot.fs      This 1.44 MB disk image contains everything necessary to
                  boot and install NetBSD.  It includes the partition ``zero''
                  bootloader (ofwboot), an INSTALL kernel (with limited device
                  drivers), and the sysinst utility in a RAM disk.  Since Open
                  Firmware does not care what media files are loaded from,
                  only whether they are supported and in the correct format,
                  this disk image may be placed on media other than floppy
                  disks, such as hard drives or Zip disks.  Use dd(1) on Unix,
                  or DiskCopy on MacOS 9.1 or later, or suntar on any MacOS
                  version to copy this image onto the media.

     netbsd       production kernel, using the GENERIC set of devices which
                  supports almost all hardware available for this platform.

     netbsd_GENERIC_MD.gz
                  GENERIC kernel (the same as netbsd), with RAM disk and
                  sysinst included.

     macppccd.iso
                  bootable CDROM image for all supported systems.  Usually
                  located at
                  ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/iso/{RELEASE}/macppccd.iso

EXAMPLES
     Boot an Open Firmware 3 system, with netbsd installed on partition ``a'':

     0 > boot hd:,ofwboot.xcf

     Boot into single user mode:

     0 > boot hd:,ofwboot.xcf netbsd -s

     Boot from bootable CDROM with Open Firmware 3 or higher:

     0 > boot cd:,\ofwboot.xcf netbsd.macppc

     Boot from bootable CDROM (internal SCSI, id=3) of NetBSD 1.5 release with
     Open Firmware versions prior to 3:

     0 > boot scsi/sd@3:0,OFWBOOT.XCF NETBSD.MACPPC

     Boot from floppy disk:

     0 > boot fd:0

     Boot from network, with bootps, bootptab(5), tftpd(8), and nfsd(8) server
     available:

     0 > boot enet:0

     Boot from network, but use internal root partition of second drive:

     0 > boot enet:0 ultra1:0

     Boot MacOS, looking for the first available bootable disk:

     0 > boot hd:,\\:tbxi

     Boot MacOS X residing on partition 10:

     0 > boot hd:10,\\:tbxi

ERRORS
     DEFAULT CATCH!, code=FF00300 at %SRR0: FF80AD38 %SRR1: 00001070
     Could be ``device not found'' or I/O errors on the device.  The numbers
     are just for example.

     Can't LOAD from this device
     Open Firmware found the device, but it is not supported by load.

     0 > boot yy:0/netbsd
     RESETing to change Configuration!
     yy:0 doesn't exist, so Open Firmware ignores the string and uses the
     default parameters to boot MacOS; the MacOS boot routine then clears some
     of the Open Firmware variables.

     0 > boot ata/ata-disk@0:9 specified partition is not bootable
      ok
     As it says.

     0 > boot ata/ata-disk@0:0
     >> NetBSD/macppc OpenFirmware Boot, Revision 1.3
     >> (root@nazuha, Fri Jun  8 22:21:55 JST 2001)
     no active package3337696/
     and hangs: See the real-base part in the FAQ.

SEE ALSO
     installboot(8)

     INSTALL.html
     http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/macppc/faq.html
     http://www.NetBSD.org/docs/network/netboot/

STANDARDS
     IEEE Std 1275-1994 (``Open Firmware'')

BUGS
     ofwboot can only boot from devices recognized by Open Firmware.

     Early PowerMacintosh systems (particularly the 7500) seem to have prob-
     lems with netbooting.  Adding an arp entry at the tftp server with
           arp -s booting-host-name its-ethernet-address
     may resolve this problem (see arp(8)).

     0 > boot CLAIM failed
      ok
     Once boot failed, successive boots may not be possible.  You need to type
     reset-all or power-cycle to initialize Open Firmware.

NetBSD 5.0_STABLE               August 18, 2001              NetBSD 5.0_STABLE
