--- name: "boot_hppa" section: "8" platform: "openbsd" package: "man" version: "8.0-current-20261101" release: "OpenBSD 8.0-current (2026-11-01)" platforms: ["openbsd"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/boot_hppa" --- # boot\_hppa(8) hppa system bootstrapping procedures ## NAME **boot\_hppa** – hppa system bootstrapping procedures ## DESCRIPTION ### System starts When powered on, after a panic, or if the system is rebooted via [reboot(8)](/reboot/8.md) or [shutdown(8)](/shutdown/8.md), the hppa firmware (“PDC”) will proceed to its initialization, and will boot an operating system if autoboot is enabled. ### Boot process description System boot blocks are provided as a “LIF” (Logical Interchange Format) archive, either on a disk device, or via the network, using the *bootp* or *rboot* protocols, depending on the PDC version. A small [mkboot(8)](/mkboot/8.md) utility is provided for combining primary boot and a number of images (OS kernels or standalone binaries) into one “LIF” volume suitable for booting. ### PDC concepts If autoboot is enabled, the PDC will attempt to boot from the specified “boot path” value. If no “boot path” has been specified, the PDC will then scan for bootable devices and boot from the first found, after a few seconds allowing the user to interrupt the boot process. If autoboot is disabled, the PDC will enter interactive mode, after an optional device scan. In all cases, it is possible to enter interactive mode by holding the escape key during the selftests, or when prompted to do so to abort the current operation, unless the PDC has been configured in “secure mode”. ### ISL interaction “ISL” stands for “Initial System Loader” and is the [boot(8)](/boot/8.md) program in OpenBSD. On all versions of the PDC except for the 712 and 725 models the “boot” command (see below) will be followed by the question: “Interact with IPL (Y, N, or Cancel)?\>” where a positive answer will invoke an interactive prompt in the [boot(8)](/boot/8.md) program later and negative will thus suppress it. A cancellation will abort the boot process. On the 712 and 725 models firmware an additional “isl” argument should be given to the “boot” command to invoke the [boot(8)](/boot/8.md) interactive prompt. With the default behaviour being a non-interactive boot process. ### Old PDC operation This version is used on the following models: 705, 7x0, 715/33/50/75, 725/50/75, 735, 755. There are two levels of interactive commands in this version. The first level is a short menu: ``` b) Boot from specified device s) Search for bootable device a) Enter Boot Administration mode x) Exit and continue boot sequence Select from menu: ``` which provides the following commands: - **b** boot from a device found during the scan, either with its short “P#” form, or a complete name specification. For example, to boot from the SCSI disk with id 6 off the built-in (first) controller, one would enter **b** *scsi.6.0*. - **s** rescan for bootable devices. - **a** enter the second part of interactive mode. - **x** resume an interrupted boot sequence. The “Boot Administration” mode, recognizable with its *BOOT\_ADMIN\>* prompt, controls the various boot options. The complete list of commands depends on the machine and PDC version. The following list only mentions commands impacting the boot process. - AUTOSELECT Displays or changes the autoboot setting. If autoselect is set to “on”, the PDC will always attempt to boot the first bootable device found in this order: 1. Boot device *path* setting. 2. SCSI devices connected to the built-in SCSI controller, the highest ID numbers being preferred. 3. Network *rboot* server (see also [rbootd(8)](/rbootd/8.md)). 4. Other SCSI devices connected to secondary controllers, the highest ID numbers being preferred. If the *primary* *path* setting defines a bootable device, no device scan will occur. - BOOT Boots off the specified device. It is similar to the **b** command from the short menu above. The “primary” and “alternate” path settings may be booted with **boot** *pri* and **boot** *alt* respectively. - PATH Displays or changes the boot and console devices. The boot device is defined as the “primary” path, and another setting may be stored as the “alternate” path for rescue purposes. For example, to define the primary boot path to the SCSI disk with ID 5 connected to the built-in controller, one would enter **path** **primary** *scsi.5* When invoked without parameters, **path** will list the various path settings. ### Modern PDC operation Machines equipped with 7100LC, 7200 or 7300LC CPU types are usually blessed with a different kind of PDC. There is only one interactive mode, with a *BOOT\_ADMIN\>* prompt, which provides both boot settings and commands. The complete list of commands depends on the machine and PDC version. The following list only mentions commands impacting the boot process. - **auto** **boot** Displays or changes the autoboot setting. If **auto** **boot** is set to “on”, the PDC will always attempt to boot. The booted device chosen will depend on the **auto** **search** setting. - **auto** **search** Displays or changes the device scan setting. If **auto** **search** is set to “on”, the PDC will attempt to boot the first bootable device found in this order: 1. Boot device *path* setting. 2. SCSI devices connected to the built-in SCSI controller, the highest ID numbers being preferred. 3. Network *bootp* server (see also [dhcpd(8)](/dhcpd/8.md)). 4. Other SCSI devices connected to secondary controllers, the highest ID numbers being preferred. If **auto** **search** is set to “off” and the primary boot path points to a bootable device, no device scan will occur. Note that setting **auto** **search** to “on” will force autoboot, regardless of the **auto** **boot** value. - **boot** Boots off the specified device. The “primary” and “alternate” path settings may be booted with **boot** *pri* and **boot** *alt* respectively. - **path** Displays or changes the boot and console devices. The boot device is defined as the “primary” path, and another setting may be stored as the “alternate” path for rescue purposes. For example, to define the primary boot path to the SCSI disk with ID 5 connected to the built-in controller, one would enter **path** **pri** *scsi.5*. When invoked without parameters, **path** will list the various path settings. ### Boot process options The OpenBSD hppa boot loader program is extensively described in a separate document, [boot(8)](/boot/8.md). ### Abnormal system termination If the system crashes, it will enter the kernel debugger, [ddb(4)](/ddb/4.md), if it is configured in the kernel. If the crash occurred during initialization and the debugger is not present or is exited, the kernel will halt the system. If the crash occurred during normal operation and the debugger is not present or is exited, the system will attempt a dump to the configured dump device (which will be automatically recovered with [savecore(8)](/savecore/8.md) during the next multi-user boot cycle), and after the dump is complete (successful or not) the kernel will attempt a reboot. ## FILES - */bsd* default system kernel - */bsd.rd* standalone installation kernel, suitable for disaster recovery - *boot.lif* network bootstrap and kernel combined image - */usr/mdec/cdboot* primary bootstrap for “cd9660” file system - */usr/mdec/xxboot* primary bootstrap for “ffs” file system - */usr/mdec/boot* system bootstrap (usually also installed as */boot*) ## SEE ALSO [ddb(4)](/ddb/4.md), [boot(8)](/boot/8.md), [dhcpd(8)](/dhcpd/8.md), [halt(8)](/halt/8.md), [init(8)](/init/8.md), [installboot(8)](/installboot/8.md), [rbootd(8)](/rbootd/8.md), [reboot(8)](/reboot/8.md), [savecore(8)](/savecore/8.md), [shutdown(8)](/shutdown/8.md)