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10. Configuring the Bootloader

• Making your Choice
• Default: Installing elilo
• Rebooting the System

10.a. Making your Choice

Introduction

Now that your kernel is configured and compiled and the necessary system configuration files are filled in correctly, it is time to install a program that will fire up your kernel when you start the system. Such a program is called a bootloader.

But before we install the bootloader, we inform you how to configure framebuffer (assuming you want it of course). With framebuffer you can run the Linux command line with (limited) graphical features (such as using the nice bootsplash image Gentoo provides).

Optional: Framebuffer

If you have configured your kernel with framebuffer support (or you used genkernel default kernel configuration), you can activate it by adding a a video statement to your bootloader configuration file.

First of all, you need to know your framebuffer device. You should have used uvesafb as the VESA driver.

The video statement controls framebuffer display options. It needs to be given the framebuffer driver followed by the control statements you wish to enable. All variables are listed in /usr/src/linux/Documentation/fb/uvesafb.txt. The most-used options are:

The result could be something like video=uvesafb:mtrr:3,ywrap,1024x768-32@85. Write this setting down; you will need it shortly.

Now, you should install the elilo bootloader.

10.b. Default: Installing elilo

On the IA64 platform, the boot loader is called elilo. You may need to emerge it on your machine first.

# emerge elilo

You can find the configuration file at /etc/elilo.conf and a sample file in the typical docs dir /usr/share/doc/elilo-<ver>/. Here is another sample configuration:

boot=/dev/sda1
delay=30
timeout=50
default=Gentoo
append="console=ttyS0,9600"
prompt

image=/vmlinuz
	label=Gentoo
	root=/dev/sda2
	read-only

image=/vmlinuz.old
	label=Gentoo.old
	root=/dev/sda2
	read-only

The boot line tells elilo the location of the boot partition (in this case, /dev/sda1). The delay line sets the number of 10^th of seconds before automatically booting the default when in non-interactive mode. The timeout line is just like the delay line but for interactive mode. The default line sets the default kernel entry (which is defined below). The append line adds extra options to the kernel command line. The prompt sets the default elilo behavior to interactive.

The sections that start with image define different bootable images. Each image has a nice label, a root filesystem, and will only mount the root filesystem read-only.

If, while building the Linux kernel, you opted to include an initramfs to boot from, then you will need to change the configuration by referring to this initramfs file and telling the initramfs where your real root device is at:

image=/vmlinuz
	label=Gentoo
	initrd=/initramfs-genkernel-ia64-3.3.8-gentoo
	append = "initrd=initramfs-genkernel-ia64-3.3.8-gentoo real_root=/dev/sda2 console=ttyS0,9600"
	read-only

When configuration is done, just run elilo --efiboot. The --efiboot option adds a menu entry for Gentoo Linux to the EFI Boot Manager.

# elilo --efiboot

Now continue with Rebooting the System.

10.c. Rebooting the System

Exit the chrooted environment and unmount all mounted partitions. Then type in that one magical command you have been waiting for: reboot.

# exit
cdimage ~# cd
cdimage ~# umount -l /mnt/gentoo/dev{/pts,/shm,}
cdimage ~# umount -l /mnt/gentoo{/boot,/sys,/proc,}
cdimage ~# reboot

Of course, don't forget to remove the bootable CD, otherwise the CD will be booted again instead of your new Gentoo system.

When you reboot you should see a new Gentoo Linux menu option in the EFI Boot Manager which will boot Gentoo.

Once rebooted in your Gentoo installation, finish up with Finalizing your Gentoo Installation.

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