The MINIX boot monitor has been replaced for version 3.2.0 with NetBSD boot monitor.
The MINIX 3 Boot Monitor
This page describes the MINIX 3 boot monitor.
To get a summary of what the boot monitor can do, while in it, you can type:
help
Alternatively, you can read the monitor(8) manpage and the boot(8) manpage.
Commonly Used Boot Monitor Commands and Options
A rundown of oft-used boot monitor commands and options:
ctty 0
Used for serial debugging; parameter selects serial port.
cttybaud=
Sets serial baud rate. 115200 is recommended.
menu
Shows the Menu.
ls
Lists the files present on the root device.
image=
E.g. /boot/image/3.2.0r1; Sets the image that will be booted.
kernel=
E.g. /boot/kernel or /boot/kernel/3.2.0r2; Sets the multi-boot compliant kernel that will be booted.
boot
Boots the image; boot -s will stop before running optional services.
save
Saves the currently set options.
set
Shows the currently set options.
no_apic=
<zero> to turn APIC on, <non-zero> to turn it off. There is also apic_timer_x=<n>. acpi=yes is required with no_apic=0
no_smp=
<zero> to turn SMP on, <non-zero> to turn it off.
pci_debug=1
Enable PCI driver debug prints.
watchdog=
<non-zero> to turn on the NMI watchdog (kernel lock up detection; also requires no_apic=0 and acpi=yes).
mb=1
Switch to multi-boot protocol; currently required to bootstrap ELF kernels.
Some less used options:
acpi=yes
Use the ACPI driver.
ahci=yes
Use the AHCI driver instead of the "at_wini" IDE driver (experimental!). Many other ahci= options are available to help debugging; see the code.
ata_no_dma=1
Disable DMA.
ata_pci_debug=1
Enable PCI-related debugging info in at_wini driver. Some other ata= options are available to help debugging; see the code.
atapi_dma=1
Enable ATAPI DMA.
bios_wini=yes
Use the BIOS driver instead of the "at_wini" IDE driver.
bios_remap_first=1
Force the boot drive to be remapped as d7; this allows a machine booted from an inserted media (like a faked disk image from CD booting or a USB thumb drive) to retain its normal drive assignation.
console=8003
Enable 50 lines for the text-mode console.
debug_fkeys=1
Enable pressing F1..F10 keys to show information about the system on the console.
disable=<daemon>
Prevent one daemon (optional service) to start; useful when debugging, or if some piece of hardware has problems; disable=inet will prevent the INET network stack to start.
hz=60
Set the system heart beat.
label=<label>
Allows the binding of several configurations in a single image.
memory=<range>
Describe the installed memory in the computer; useful to override incorrect or faulty detection or to fake a memory-starved machine.
oxpcie= <hexport>
document me!
rootdev=<device>
document me! Also bootdev, ramimagedev, and ramsize, described in the monitor(8) manpage.
rs_verbose=1
Enable debugging of Resurrection Server.
skip_boot_config=1
Prevents the service edit operation on the booting processes (??? document me better!)
sticky_alt=1
Changes the behaviour of the Alt key to match Unix practice (Meta key).
verbose=1
Enable debugging while loading and starting kernel; verbose=2 is much more verbose.
vm_sanitychecklevel=<n>
Enable debugging of VM Server.
Some obsolete options, carried over from MINIX 2; information about them will be found in old manual pages.
bus=at or bus=mca
Mainly determine the kind of PIC to use.
processor=586
Force the detection of a given CPU family.
video=vga or video=ega
No noticeable effects are expected.
XXXETH<n>= <hardware-dependent> and XXXETH<n>_EA= <MAC address>
Allows the setup of non-PnP hardwares, mainly the network cards; all this has been mostly obsoleted by PCI. The actual names of the variables depend on the driver.
Use Cases
Testing SATA
no_apic=0 ahci=yes acpi=yes