SPARC: Using the Boot PROM

System administrators typically use the PROM level to boot a system. Occasionally, however, you might need to change the way the system boots. For example, you might want to reset which device to boot from or run hardware diagnostics before you bring the system to a multiuser level.

You need to change the default boot device to add a new drive to the system either permanently or temporarily, to change the network boot strategy, or if you want to temporarily boot a standalone system from the network.

For a complete list of PROM commands, see monitor(1M) or eeprom(1M).

SPARC: How to Find the PROM Revision for a System

Display a system's PROM revision level with the banner command.

ok banner
Sun Ultra 5/10 UPA/PCI (UltraSPARC-IIi 333MHz), No Keyboard
OpenBoot 3.15, 128 MB memory installed, Serial #number.
Ethernet address number, Host ID: number.

Hardware configuration information, including the revision number of the PROM, is displayed. In this example, the PROM revision number is 3.15.

SPARC: How to Change the Default Boot Device

1. Become superuser.

2. Bring the system to run level 0.

   # init 0

   The ok PROM prompt is displayed.

   For more information, see init(1M).

3. Change the value of the boot-device parameter.

   ok setenv boot-device device[n]

   boot-device	Identifies the parameter for setting the device from which to boot.
   device[n]	Identifies the boot-device value such as a disk or the network. The n can be specified as the disk number.

   Use the probe-scsi-all command if you need help with identifying the disk number.

4. Verify that the default boot device change.

   ok printenv boot-device

5. Save the new boot-device value.

   ok reset

   The new boot-device value is written to the PROM.

SPARC: Examples—Changing the Default Boot Device

In this example, the default boot device is set to disk.

# init 0
# 
INIT: New run level: 0
.
.
.
The system is down.
syncing file systems... done
Program terminated
ok setenv boot-device disk
boot-device =         disk
ok printenv boot-device
boot-device           disk                    disk
ok reset
Sun Ultra 5/10 UPA/PCI (UltraSPARC-IIi 333MHz), No Keyboard
OpenBoot 3.15, 128 MB memory installed, Serial #number.
Ethernet address number, Host ID: number.

Boot device: disk  File and args:
SunOS Release 5.9 Version 64-bit
.
.
.
pluto console login:

In this example, the default boot device is set to the network.

# init 0
# 
INIT: New run level: 0
.
.
.
The system is down.
syncing file systems... done
Program terminated
ok setenv boot-device net
boot-device =         net
ok printenv boot-device
boot-device           net                    disk
ok reset
Sun Ultra 5/10 UPA/PCI (UltraSPARC-IIi 333MHz), No Keyboard
OpenBoot 3.15, 128 MB memory installed, Serial #number.
Ethernet address number, Host ID: number.



Boot device: net  File and args:
.
.
.
pluto console login:

SPARC: How to Reset the System

Run the reset command from the ok prompt.

ok reset

This self-test program, which runs diagnostic tests on the hardware, is executed and the system is rebooted.