mkboot(1M)

If the -a option is specified, mkboot creates an autoexecute file AUTO on device, if none exists. mkboot deposits auto_file_string in that file. If this string contains spaces, it must be quoted so that it is a single parameter.

If this option is given, boot programs in the pathname specified by boot_file_path are installed on the given device.

If this option is specified, mkboot checks if the available space on device is sufficient for the boot programs. If the -i option is also specified, mkboot checks if each included_lif_file is present in the boot programs. If the -p option is specified, it checks if each preserved_lif_file is present on the device. If all these checks succeed, mkboot exits with a status code of 0. If any of these checks fail, mkboot exits with a status code of 1. If the verbose option is also selected, a message is also displayed on the standard output.

Use Itanium-based system EFI layout. This option causes mkboot to copy EFI utilities from /usr/lib/efi to the EFI partition on the disk; see idisk(1M) and efi(4). This option is applicable only on Itanium-based machines; it may not be used on PA-RISC. (Use the -s option to specify a non-default source for EFI files.)

This option forces the information contained in the boot programs to be placed on the specified device without regard to the current swapping status. Its intended use is to allow the boot area to grow without having to boot the system twice (see -h option).

This option should only be used when the system is in the single user state.

This could be a dangerous operation because swap space that is already allocated and possibly in use will be overwritten by the new boot program information. A message is also displayed to the standard output stating that the operator should immediately reboot the system to avoid system corruption and to reflect new information on the running system.

A safer method for reapportioning space is to use the -h option.

This option is valid only if device has the Whole Disk layout.

Specifying this option shrinks the available space allocated to swap in the LIF header by the amount required to allow the installation of the new boot programs specified by boot_file_path.

After the LIF header has been modified, reboot the system to reflect the new swap space on the running system. At this point, the new boot programs can be installed and the system rebooted again to reflect the new boot programs on the running system. This is the safe method for accomplishing the capability of the -f option.

This option is valid only if device has the Whole Disk layout.

If this option is specified, mkboot treats device to be a Hard Partition layout disk. This option cannot be used along with the -l and -W options.

If the -i option is specified one or more times, mkboot copies each included_lif_file and ignores any other LIF files in the boot programs. The sole exceptions to this rule are the files ISL and HPUX, which are copied without regard to the -i options. If included_lif_file is also specified with the -p option, the -i option is ignored. If the -i option is used with LABEL as its argument and the file LABEL does not exist in the boot programs, and device is an LVM layout disk or the -l option is used, mkboot creates a minimal LABEL file on device which will permit the system to boot on device, possibly without swap or dump.

If the device is a disk with VxVM layout and the -l option is used, the LABEL file created by mkboot is not sufficient to permit the system to boot. To create a LABEL file for the VxVM layout, you must use the vxvmboot command after mkboot has been executed.

If this option is used, mkboot treats device as a volume layout disk, regardless of whether or not it is currently set up as one. This option cannot be used along with the -H and -W options. Use the -l option for any volume manager, including the VERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM) as well as LVM.

If the -p option is specified one or more times, mkboot keeps each specified preserved_lif_file intact on device. If preserved_lif_file also appears as an argument to the -i option, that -i option is ignored. This option is typically used with the autoexecute file, AUTO, and with the LVM file, LABEL.

If LABEL is specified as an argument to the -p option and LABEL does not exist on the device, and if the layout is LVM, mkboot creates a minimal LABEL file. In general, if preserved_lif_file is not on the device, mkboot fails. An exception to this condition is if the preserved_lif_file is LABEL and the layout is not LVM, in which case the LABEL file is ignored.

Fetch the EFI files to be copied from efi_file_path instead of from the default location /usr/lib/efi. The -s option is valid only with the -e option, which specifies the Itanium-based ssytem EFI layout.

If -u is specified, mkboot uses the information contained in the LIF header to identify the location of the swap area, boot area, and raw I/O so that installation of the boot programs does not violate any user data.

Normally, the LIF header information is overwritten on each invocation of mkboot. This option is typically used with the -W option, to modify boot programs on a disk that is actively supporting swap and/or raw I/O.

If this option is specified, mkboot displays its actions, including the amount of swap space available on the specified device.

If this option is specified, mkboot treats device as a disk having the Whole Disk layout. This option cannot be used along with the -l and -H options. This option will also fail on a disk having large-file enabled HFS filesystem.

Install the boot programs on the given device special file. The specified device can identify either a character-special or block-special device. However, mkboot requires that both the block and character device special files be present. mkboot attempts to determine whether device is character or block special by examining the specified path name. For this reason, the complete path name must be supplied. If mkboot is unable to determine the corresponding device file, a message is written to the display, and mkboot exits.

file containing default PA-RISC boot programs

file containing default Itanium-based system (EFI) boot programs

initial system loader

HP-UX bootstrap and installation utility

defines default/automatic boot behavior (see hpux(1M))

used by LVM

diagnostics tool

diagnostics tool