INSTALLBOOT(8)

NAME
installboot - make a device bootable

SYNOPSIS
installboot -i(mage) image [label:]kernel mm fs ... init
installboot -(e)x(tract) image
installboot -d(evice) device bootblock boot [[label:]image ...]
installboot -b(oot) device bootblock boot [label:]image ...
installboot -m(aster) [fix] device masterboot

DESCRIPTION
Installboot may be used to make a device bootable by constructing a kernel image and installing bootstrap code into the boot block of a Minix file system. To understand how this can be done one first has to know what happens when a PC is booted.

When the power is turned on the typical PC will try to read the first sector from the first floppy disk or from the first hard disk into memory and execute it. The code obtained from the hard disk (from the so-called master boot sector) will immediately replace itself by the code found in the first sector of the active partition. Thus the PC is now executing the bootstrap code found in the first sector of /dev/fd0, /dev/hd1, /dev/hd2, /dev/hd3, or /dev/hd4. The bootstrap will locate the operating system on the device it itself was loaded from, load it, and execute it.

To make a Minix file system /dev/fd0 mounted on /mnt bootable, enter the following:
    cp /usr/mdec/boot /mnt/boot installboot -i /mnt/minix kernel mm fs init installboot -d /dev/fd0 /usr/mdec/bootblock boot

The "boot" program in the example is named the "boot monitor". It is loaded by the bootblock code placed in the boot sector of /dev/fd0 and it will take care of loading the kernel image "minix" from the root directory of the file system. See monitor(8) for a description of the boot monitor. Note that boot is a name in the file system on /dev/fd0 in this example, the same file as /mnt/boot. Making /mnt/minix is normally not necessary, there is usually a kernel image in the tools directory.

OPTIONS
-i(mage) image [label:]kernel mm fs ... init
    The -image option (or the -i shorthand) combines the executable files needed to run Minix in one file. Only the names and a few zero bytes are inserted into the image. The name is for identification and the zeros are used to pad separate pieces to sector boundaries for fast loading. An executable may be prefixed by a label. The monitor may be instructed to load processes by label. So more than one kernel process may be included in the image, each with a different winchester driver for instance. So if you have compiled two different kernels with an AT or XT driver then
        installboot -i image AT:at_kernel XT:xt_kernel mm fs init
    will make an image with two different labeled kernels and one unlabeled set of the other binaries.

-(e)x(tract) image
    Extract the binaries from image under the names stored in the image. (The name includes the optional label.)

-d(evice) device bootblock boot [[label:]image ...]
    Installs bootblock in the boot sector of device together with the disk addresses to boot. These disk addresses are needed to load boot from the file system at boot time. The argument boot is first searched in the file system on device. If it is not found then it is read as a normal file and added at the end of the file system. The file system should be smaller than the device it is on to allow this. Any extra images are also added to the end as described under -boot. (Make sure you understand all this.) The device need not be mounted when installboot is run, nor does it matter if it is. Installboot needs to be run again if boot is rewritten, because it will then occupy a new place on the disk. Old boot parameters are kept if there are no images added.

-b(oot) device bootblock boot [label:]image ...
    This option fills a blank floppy in device with boot code and kernel images. This "boot disk" does not have a root file system, only the boot monitor and Minix kernels. The boot parameters sector is filled with code that enables menu options for selecting an image. After loading an image, the monitor will ask you to insert a root file system diskette before starting Minix. The labels used on the images should match those on the executables used inside the image. You can put a comma separated list of labels on an image for each label used within the image. For the image created earlier one would create a boot floppy like this:
        installboot -b /dev/fd0 bootblock boot AT,XT:image
    If a label-list is omitted on an image, then that image will be selected by default. (Like in the normal one image, no labels case.) Note that -device and -boot together allow you to make a boot floppy with or without a root file system. With the boot code in the file system, attached to the end of it, or after the boot block. And with one or more kernel images in the file system or at the end of the device. Somewhat confusing.

-m(aster) [fix] device masterboot
    This option installs the masterboot program into the boot sector of the given device. If another device is given instead of masterboot then its bootstrap code is copied to device. The master bootstrap on a hard disk boots the active partition on that disk at boot time. The MS-DOS fdisk command normally puts a master bootstrap on the hard disk. Minix has two bootstraps that can be used as a master bootstrap. A fairly normal one named masterboot that works as follows:
        If the ALT key is held down while booting then '/dev/hd?' appears and you are expected to type a number key (0 - 9) to select the device to boot. If fix (a small number) is given then the bootstrap is locked into booting the /dev/hdfix disk or primary partition. This is needed if 'boot *hdN' is used from the monitor to boot an O.S. that needs the active flag set. If installed on a Minix floppy then it will try to boot the next floppy or the first hard disk. Ideal for floppies with just data on it, they will no longer obstruct the boot process if left in the drive. Also a very useful trick to boot from floppy drive 1. If installed on a hard disk then the active partition is selected and booted as usual, unless none of the partitions is marked active, then it will boot the next disk. The latter is useful if you want to boot an operating system from the second disk by default.
    The second bootstrap is named extboot. It has only one function, to boot the logical partition named by fix. Fix is not optional for extboot and must be a number-letter pair, like 2c for /dev/hd2c. Extboot or masterboot with a fix key need not be installed in the hard disk master bootstrap per se if you don't want to mess with the DOS master bootstrap, or if you want keep the active flag functioning. An extended partition or a non-root Minix partition are better candidates. It seems logical to put extboot in the extended partition boot block. A backup copy of the current master bootstrap (including the partition table) can be made with:
        dd if=device of=backup-file count=1
    A simple 'cat backup-file > device' will put it back. You can also use fdisk /mbr under MS-DOS 5.0 (or newer) to restore the master bootstrap.

FILES

/usr/mdec/bootblock
    Minix bootstrap for the Minix root device. To be placed in the boot sector.

/usr/mdec/boot
    Minix Boot Monitor. Can usually be found in the root directory of a bootable device.

/usr/mdec/masterboot
    Master bootstrap. Can be placed in the first sector of a disk to select the active partition. In a Minix primary partition it selects the active subpartition.

/usr/mdec/extboot
    Extended partition bootstrap.

SEE ALSO
part(8), monitor(8).

DIAGNOSTICS
Boot doesn't fit on device
    If there is no space on the device to add the boot code. This usually means that there is no boot code in the file system you use installboot -device on.

Image doesn't fit on device
    If the device is too small for all the images you try to put on it.

BUGS
It has four more options than the SunOS installboot program it is modeled after.

The bootblock code has been crunched to such ugliness that you can use it to scare little kids out of your garden.

AUTHOR
Kees J. Bot (kjb@cs.vu.nl)