bootadm

bootadm– manage bootability of GRUB-enabled operating system

The bootadm command manages the boot archive and, with x86 boot environments, the GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) menu.

The set-menu subcommand allows you to switch the auto-boot timeout and default boot entry in the GRUB menu.

The list-menu subcommand displays the location of the GRUB menu and the current GRUB menu entries. While the typical location of the GRUB menu is /boot/grub/menu.lst, depending on the install method used the active GRUB menu might be located somewhere else. Use the list-menu subcommand to locate the active GRUB menu. For example, if a system was installed using Live Upgrade, the GRUB menu might not be located in the current boot environment. See the EXAMPLES section for typical output from the list-menu option.

Note that OpenBoot PROM (OBP)-based machines, such as SPARC systems, do not use GRUB and have no boot menu manageable by bootadm.

The bootadm command has the following subcommands:

set-menu

Maintain the GRUB menu. The current GRUB menu is boot/grub/menu.lst, relative to root. Do not depend on this location, because it is subject to change. Applies to x86 platforms only.

list-menu

Lists the location of the active GRUB menu, as well as the current GRUB menu entries. This includes the autoboot-timeout, the default entry number, and the title of each entry. Applies to x86 platforms only.

key=value

Possible values are:

default=entrynum

The item number (for example, 0, 1, or 2) in the GRUB menu designating the operating system to boot when the timer expires.

timeout=seconds

The number of seconds before the operating system designated by the default item number is booted. If the value is –1, auto boot is disabled.

Examples

Example 1 Updating the Current Boot Archive

The following command lists the installed operating system instances in a GRUB menu:

# bootadm list-menu

default=0

timeout=10

(0) Solaris10

(1) Solaris10 Failsafe

(2) Linux

Example 2 Switching Default Boot Entry

The following command refers to the menu displayed in the previous example. The user selects Linux (item 2).

# bootadm set-menu default=2