plan9.ini 20 KB

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  1. .TH PLAN9.INI 8
  2. .SH NAME
  3. plan9.ini \- configuration file for PCs
  4. .SH SYNOPSIS
  5. .I none
  6. .SH DESCRIPTION
  7. When booting Plan 9 on a PC, the DOS program
  8. .IR 9load (8)
  9. first reads a DOS file
  10. containing configuration information from the boot disk.
  11. This file,
  12. .BR plan9.ini ,
  13. looks like a shell script containing lines of the form
  14. .PP
  15. .EX
  16. name=\f2value\fP
  17. .EE
  18. .LP
  19. each of which defines a kernel or device parameter.
  20. .PP
  21. For devices, the generic format of
  22. .I value
  23. is
  24. .PP
  25. .EX
  26. type=TYPE [port=N] [irq=N] [mem=N] [size=N] [dma=N] [ea=N]
  27. .EE
  28. .LP
  29. specifying the controller type,
  30. the base I/O port of the interface, its interrupt
  31. level, the physical starting address of any mapped memory,
  32. the length in bytes of that memory, the DMA channel,
  33. and for Ethernets an override of the physical network address.
  34. Not all elements are relevant to all devices; the relevant values
  35. and their defaults are defined below in the description of each device.
  36. .PP
  37. The file is used by
  38. .B 9load
  39. and the kernel to configure the hardware available.
  40. The information it contains is also passed to the boot
  41. process, and subsequently other programs,
  42. as environment variables
  43. (see
  44. .IR boot (8)).
  45. However, values whose names begin with an asterisk
  46. .B *
  47. are used by the kernel and are not converted into environment variables.
  48. .PP
  49. The following sections describe how variables are used.
  50. .SS \fLetherX=value\fP
  51. This defines an Ethernet interface.
  52. .IR X ,
  53. a unique monotonically increasing number beginning at 0,
  54. identifies an Ethernet card to be probed at system boot.
  55. Probing stops when a card is found or there is no line for
  56. .BR etherX+1 .
  57. After probing as directed by the
  58. .BI ether X
  59. lines, any remaining ethernet cards that can be automatically
  60. detected are added.
  61. Almost all cards can be automatically detected.
  62. For debugging purposes, automatic probing can
  63. be disabled by specifying the line
  64. .BR *noetherprobe= .
  65. This automatic probing is only done by the kernel, not by
  66. .IR 9load (8).
  67. Thus, if you want to load a kernel over the ethernet, you need
  68. to specify an
  69. .B ether0
  70. line so that
  71. .I 9load
  72. can find the ethernet card, even if the kernel would
  73. have automatically detected it.
  74. .PP
  75. Some cards are software configurable and do not require all options.
  76. Unspecified options default to the factory defaults.
  77. .PP
  78. Known types are
  79. .TP
  80. .B ne2000
  81. Not software configurable. 16-bit card.
  82. Defaults are
  83. .EX
  84. port=0x300 irq=2 mem=0x04000 size=0x4000
  85. .EE
  86. The option (no value)
  87. .B nodummyrr
  88. is needed on some (near) clones to turn off a dummy remote read in the driver.
  89. .TP
  90. .B amd79c970
  91. The AMD PCnet PCI Ethernet Adapter (AM79C970).
  92. (This is the ethernet adapter used by VMware.)
  93. Completely configurable, no options need be given.
  94. .TP
  95. .B wd8003
  96. Includes WD8013 and SMC Elite and Elite Ultra cards. There are varying degrees
  97. of software configurability. Cards may be in either 8-bit or 16-bit slots.
  98. Defaults are
  99. .EX
  100. port=0x280 irq=3 mem=0xD0000 size=0x2000
  101. .EE
  102. BUG: On many machines only the 16 bit card works.
  103. .TP
  104. .B elnk3
  105. The 3COM Etherlink III series of cards including the 5x9, 59x, and 905 and 905B.
  106. Completely configurable, no options need be given.
  107. The media may be specified by setting
  108. .B media=
  109. to the value
  110. .BR 10BaseT ,
  111. .BR 10Base2 ,
  112. .BR 100BaseTX ,
  113. .BR 100BaseFX ,
  114. .BR aui ,
  115. and
  116. .BR mii .
  117. If you need to force full duplex, because for example the Ethernet switch does not negotiate correctly,
  118. just name the word (no value)
  119. .B fullduplex
  120. or
  121. .BR 100BASE-TXFD .
  122. Similarly, to force 100Mbit operation, specify
  123. .BR force100 .
  124. Port 0x110 is used for the little ISA configuration dance.
  125. .TP
  126. .B 3c589
  127. The 3COM 3C589 series PCMCIA cards, including the
  128. 3C562 and the 589E.
  129. There is no support for the modem on the 3C562.
  130. Completely configurable, no options need be given.
  131. Defaults are
  132. .EX
  133. port=0x240 irq=10
  134. .EE
  135. The media may be specified as
  136. .B media=10BaseT
  137. or
  138. .BR media=10Base2 .
  139. .TP
  140. .B ec2t
  141. The Linksys Combo PCMCIA EthernetCard (EC2T),
  142. EtherFast 10/100 PCMCIA cards (PCMPC100) and integrated controllers (PCM100),
  143. the Netgear FA410TX 10/100 PCMCIA card
  144. and the Accton EtherPair-PCMCIA (EN2216).
  145. Completely configurable, no options need be given.
  146. Defaults are
  147. .EX
  148. port=0x300 irq=9
  149. .EE
  150. These cards are NE2000 clones.
  151. Other NE2000 compatible PCMCIA cards may be tried
  152. with the option
  153. .EX
  154. id=string
  155. .EE
  156. where
  157. .B string
  158. is a unique identifier string contained in the attribute
  159. memory of the card (see
  160. .IR pcmcia (8));
  161. unlike most options in
  162. .BR plan9.ini ,
  163. this string is case-sensitive.
  164. The option
  165. .B dummyrr=[01]
  166. can be used to turn off (0) or on (1) a dummy remote read in the driver
  167. in such cases,
  168. depending on how NE2000 compatible they are.
  169. .TP
  170. .B i82557
  171. Cards using the Intel 8255[789] Fast Ethernet PCI Bus LAN Controller such as the
  172. Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B.
  173. Completely configurable, no options need be given.
  174. If you need to force the media, specify
  175. one of the options (no value)
  176. .BR 10BASE-T ,
  177. .BR 10BASE-2 ,
  178. .BR 10BASE-5 ,
  179. .BR 100BASE-TX ,
  180. .BR 10BASE-TFD ,
  181. .BR 100BASE-TXFD ,
  182. .BR 100BASE-T4 ,
  183. .BR 100BASE-FX ,
  184. or
  185. .BR 100BASE-FXFD .
  186. .TP
  187. .B 2114x
  188. Cards using the Digital Equipment (now Intel) 2114x PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter Controller,
  189. for example the Netgear FA310.
  190. Completely configurable, no options need be given.
  191. Media can be specified the same was as for the
  192. .BR i82557 .
  193. Some cards using the
  194. .B PNIC
  195. and
  196. .B PNIC2
  197. near-clone chips may also work.
  198. .\" .TP
  199. .\" .B ga620
  200. .\" Netgear GA620 and GA620T Gigabit Ethernet cards,
  201. .\" and other cards using the Alteon Acenic chip such as the
  202. .\" Alteon Acenic fiber and copper cards,
  203. .\" the DEC DEGPA-SA and the SGI Acenic.
  204. .\" Completely configurable.
  205. .TP
  206. .B wavelan
  207. Lucent Wavelan (Orinoco) IEEE 802.11b
  208. and compatible PCMCIA cards.
  209. Compatible cards include the Dell TrueMobile 1150
  210. and the Linksys Instant Wireless Network PC Card.
  211. Port and IRQ defaults are 0x180 and 3 respectively.
  212. These cards take a number of unique options to aid in
  213. identifying the card correctly on the 802.11b network.
  214. The network may be
  215. .I "ad hoc"
  216. or
  217. .I managed
  218. (i.e. use an access point):
  219. .EX
  220. mode=[adhoc, managed]
  221. .EE
  222. and defaults to
  223. .IR managed .
  224. The 802.11b network to attach to
  225. .RI ( managed
  226. mode)
  227. or identify as
  228. .RI ( "ad hoc"
  229. mode),
  230. is specified by
  231. .EX
  232. essid=string
  233. .EE
  234. and defaults to a null string.
  235. The card station name is given by
  236. .EX
  237. station=string
  238. .EE
  239. and defaults to
  240. .IR "Plan 9 STA" .
  241. The channel to use is given by
  242. .EX
  243. channel=number
  244. .EE
  245. where
  246. .I number
  247. lies in the range 1 to 16 inclusive;
  248. the channel is normally negotiated automatically.
  249. If the card is capable of encryption,
  250. the following options may be used:
  251. .EX
  252. crypt=[off, on]
  253. .EE
  254. and defaults to
  255. .IR on .
  256. .EX
  257. key\fIN\fP=string
  258. .EE
  259. sets the encryption key
  260. .I n
  261. (where
  262. .I n
  263. is in the range 1 to 4 inclusive) to
  264. .IR string ;
  265. this will also set the transmit key to
  266. .I n
  267. (see below).
  268. .EX
  269. txkey=number
  270. .EE
  271. sets the transmit key to use to be
  272. .I number
  273. in the range 1 to 4 inclusive.
  274. If it is desired to exclude or include unencrypted packets
  275. .EX
  276. clear=[off, on]
  277. .EE
  278. configures reception and defaults to inclusion.
  279. The defaults are intended to match the common case of
  280. a managed network with encryption and a typical entry would
  281. only require, for example
  282. .EX
  283. essid=left-armpit key2=fishcalledraawaru
  284. .EE
  285. if the port and IRQ defaults are used.
  286. These options may be set after boot by writing to the device's
  287. .I ctl
  288. file using a space as the separator between option and value, e.g.
  289. .EX
  290. echo 'key2 fishcalledraawaru' > /net/ether0/0/ctl
  291. .EE
  292. .TP
  293. .B wavelanpci
  294. PCI ethernet adapters that use the same Wavelan
  295. programming interface.
  296. Currently the only tested cards are those based on the
  297. Intersil Prism 2.5 chipset.
  298. .TP
  299. .B 83815
  300. National Semiconductor DP83815-based adapters, notably
  301. the Netgear FA311, Netgear FA312, and various SiS built-in
  302. controllers such as the SiS900.
  303. On the SiS controllers, the ethernet address is not detected properly;
  304. specify it with an
  305. .B ea=
  306. attribute.
  307. .\" .TP
  308. .\" .B 83820
  309. .\" National Semiconductor DP83820-based gigabit ethernet adapters, notably
  310. .\" the D-Link DGE-500T.
  311. .TP
  312. .B rtl8139
  313. The Realtek 8139.
  314. .TP
  315. .B 82543gc
  316. The Intel RS-82543GC gigabit ethernet controller,
  317. as found on the Intel PRO/1000[FT] server adapter.
  318. The older non-[FT] cards based on the 82542 (LSI L2A1157)
  319. chip are not supported, although support would probably be
  320. easy to add.
  321. .TP
  322. .B smc91cxx
  323. SMC 91cXX chip-based PCMCIA adapters, notably the SMC EtherEZ card.
  324. .TP
  325. .B sink
  326. A
  327. .B /dev/null
  328. for ethernet packets \(em the interface discards sent
  329. packets and never receives any.
  330. This is used to provide a test bed for
  331. some experimental ethernet bridging software.
  332. .SS \fLusbX=type=uhci port=xxx irq=xxx\fP
  333. This specifies the settings for a USB UHCI controller.
  334. Like the ethernet controllers, USB controllers are autodetected
  335. after scanning for the ones listed in
  336. .IR plan9.ini .
  337. Thus, most systems will not need a
  338. .B usbX
  339. line.
  340. Also like the ethernet controllers, USB autoprobing can be
  341. disabled by specifying the line
  342. .BR *nousbprobe= .
  343. .SS \fLscsiX=value\fP
  344. This defines a SCSI interface which cannot be automatically detected
  345. by the kernel.
  346. .PP
  347. Known types are
  348. .TP
  349. .B aha1542
  350. The Adaptec 154x series of controllers (and clones).
  351. Almost completely configurable, only the
  352. .EX
  353. port=0x300
  354. .EE
  355. option need be given.
  356. .PP
  357. NCR/Symbios/LSI Logic 53c8xx-based adapters
  358. and Mylex MultiMaster (Buslogic BT-*) adapters are
  359. automatically detected and need no entries.
  360. .PP
  361. By default, the NCR 53c8xx driver searches for up to 32 controllers.
  362. This can be changed by setting the variable
  363. .BR *maxsd53c8xx .
  364. .PP
  365. By default the Mylex driver resets SCSI cards by using
  366. both the hard reset and SCSI bus reset flags in the driver interface.
  367. If a variable
  368. .BR *noscsireset
  369. is defined, the SCSI bus reset flag is omitted.
  370. .SS Uarts
  371. Plan 9 automatically configures COM1 and COM2, if found,
  372. as
  373. .B eia0
  374. (port 0x3F8, IRQ4)
  375. and
  376. .B eia1
  377. (port 0x2F8, IRQ3)
  378. respectively.
  379. These devices can be disabled by adding a line:
  380. .EX
  381. eia\fIX\fP=disabled
  382. .EE
  383. This is typically done in order to reuse the IRQ for
  384. another device.
  385. .PP
  386. Plan 9 used to support various serial concentrators,
  387. including the TTC 8 serial line card and various models
  388. in the Star Gate Avanstar series of intelligent serial boards.
  389. These are no longer supported; the much simpler
  390. Perle PCI-Fast4, PCI-Fast8, and PCI-Fast16 controllers
  391. have taken their places.
  392. These latter cards are automatically detected
  393. and need no configuration lines.
  394. .PP
  395. The line
  396. .B serial=type=com
  397. can be used to specify settings for a PCMCIA modem.
  398. .SS \fLmouseport=value\fP
  399. This specifies where the mouse is attached.
  400. .I Value
  401. can be
  402. .TP
  403. .B ps2
  404. the PS2 mouse/keyboard port. The BIOS setup procedure
  405. should be used to configure the machine appropriately.
  406. .TP
  407. .B ps2intellimouse
  408. an Intellimouse on the PS2 port.
  409. .TP
  410. .B 0
  411. for COM1 (currently not supported)
  412. .TP
  413. .B 1
  414. for COM2 (currently not supported)
  415. .SS \fLmodemport=value\fP
  416. Picks the UART line to call out on.
  417. This is used when connecting to a file server over
  418. an async line.
  419. .I Value
  420. is the number of the port.
  421. .SS \fLpccard0=disabled\fP
  422. Disable probing for and automatic configuration of PC card controllers.
  423. .SS \fLpcmciaX=type=XXX irq=value\fP
  424. If the default IRQ for the
  425. PCMCIA
  426. is correct, this entry can be omitted. The value of
  427. .B type
  428. is ignored.
  429. .SS \fLpcmcia0=disabled\fP
  430. Disable probing for and automatic configuration of PCMCIA controllers.
  431. .SS \fLconsole=value params\fP
  432. This is used to specify the console device.
  433. The default
  434. value is
  435. .BR cga ;
  436. a number
  437. .B 0
  438. or
  439. .B 1
  440. specifies
  441. .I COM1
  442. or
  443. .I COM2
  444. respectively.
  445. A serial console is initially configured with the
  446. .IR uart (3)
  447. configuration string
  448. .B b9600
  449. .B l8
  450. .B pn
  451. .BR s1 ,
  452. specifying 9600 baud,
  453. 8 bit bytes, no parity, and one stop bit.
  454. If
  455. .I params
  456. is given, it will be used to further
  457. configure the uart.
  458. Notice that there is no
  459. .B =
  460. sign in the
  461. .I params
  462. syntax.
  463. For example,
  464. .EX
  465. console=0 b19200 po
  466. .EE
  467. would use COM1 at 19,200 baud
  468. with odd parity.
  469. .SS \fLbootfile=value\fP
  470. This is used to direct the actions of
  471. .IR 9load (8)
  472. by naming the device and file from which to load the kernel.
  473. .SS \fLrootdir=dir\fP
  474. .SS \fLrootspec=spec\fP
  475. These are used by
  476. .IR 9load (8)
  477. to identify the directory
  478. .I dir
  479. to make the root directory for the kernel, and the
  480. file system specifier
  481. .I spec
  482. (see
  483. .B mount
  484. in
  485. .IR bind (2))
  486. on which it can be found.
  487. These are usually used to test variant file systems for distributions, etc.
  488. .SS \fLbootargs=value\fP
  489. The value of this variable is passed to
  490. .IR boot (8)
  491. by the kernel as the name of the root file system.
  492. For example, if the system is to run from a local
  493. .IR kfs (4)
  494. partition, the definition might read
  495. .BR bootargs=local!#S/sdC0/fs .
  496. .SS \fLcfs=value\fP
  497. This gives the name of the file holding the disk partition
  498. for the cache file system,
  499. .IR cfs (4).
  500. Extending the
  501. .B bootargs
  502. example, one would write
  503. .BR cfs=#S/sdC0/cache .
  504. .SS \fLbootdisk=value\fP
  505. This deprecated variable was used to specify the disk used by
  506. the cache file system and other disk-resident services.
  507. It is superseded by
  508. .B bootargs
  509. and
  510. .BR cfs .
  511. .SS \fLpartition=value\fP
  512. This defines the partition table
  513. .IR 9load (8)
  514. will examine to find disk partitioning information.
  515. By default, a partition table in a Plan 9 partition
  516. is consulted; if no such table is found, an old-Plan 9
  517. partition table on the next-to-last or last sector
  518. of the disk is consulted.
  519. A value of
  520. .B new
  521. consults only the first table,
  522. .B old
  523. only the second.
  524. .SS \fL*maxmem=value\fP
  525. This defines the maximum physical address that the system will scan when sizing memory.
  526. By default the operating system will scan up to 768 megabytes, but setting
  527. .B *maxmem
  528. will limit the scan.
  529. If the system has more than 768 megabytes, you must set
  530. .B *maxmem
  531. for the kernel to find it.
  532. .B *maxmem
  533. must be less than 1.75 gigabytes.
  534. .SS \fL*kernelpercent=value\fP
  535. This defines what percentage of available memory is reserved for the kernel allocation pool.
  536. The remainder is left for user processes. The default
  537. .I value
  538. is
  539. .B 30
  540. on CPU servers,
  541. .B 60
  542. on terminals with less than 16MB of memory,
  543. and
  544. .B 40
  545. on terminals with memories of 16MB or more.
  546. Terminals use more kernel memory because
  547. .IR draw (3)
  548. maintains its graphic images in kernel memory.
  549. This deprecated option is rarely necessary in newer kernels.
  550. .SS \fL*nomce=value\fP
  551. If machine check exceptions are supported by the processor,
  552. then they are enabled by default.
  553. Setting this variable to
  554. .B 1
  555. causes them to be disabled even when available.
  556. .SS \fL*nomp=\fP
  557. A multiprocessor machine will enable all processors by default.
  558. Setting
  559. .B *nomp
  560. restricts the kernel to starting only one processor and using the
  561. traditional interrupt controller.
  562. .SS \fL*ncpu=value\fP
  563. Setting
  564. .B *ncpu
  565. restricts the kernel to starting at most
  566. .I value
  567. processors.
  568. .SS \fL*pcimaxbno=value\fP
  569. This puts a limit on the maximum bus number probed
  570. on a PCI bus (default 255).
  571. For example, a
  572. .I value
  573. of 1 should suffice on a 'standard' motherboard with an AGP slot.
  574. This, and
  575. .B *pcimaxdno
  576. below are rarely used and only on troublesome or suspect hardware.
  577. .SS \fL*pcimaxdno=value\fP
  578. This puts a limit on the maximum device number probed
  579. on a PCI bus (default 31).
  580. .SS \fL*nopcirouting=\fP
  581. Disable pci routing during boot. May solve interrupt routing
  582. problems on certain machines.
  583. .\" .SS \fL*nobios=\fP
  584. .\" what does this do? something with pci
  585. .SS \fLioexclude=value\fP
  586. Specifies a list of ranges I/O ports to exclude from use by drivers.
  587. Ranges are inclusive on both ends and separated by commas.
  588. For example:
  589. .EX
  590. ioexclude=0x330-0x337,0x430-0x43F
  591. .EE
  592. .SS \fLapm0=\fP
  593. This enables the ``advanced power management'' interface
  594. as described in
  595. .IR apm (3)
  596. and
  597. .IR apm (8).
  598. The main feature of the interface is the ability to watch
  599. battery life (see
  600. .IR stats (8)).
  601. It is not on by default because it causes problems on some laptops.
  602. .SS \fLmonitor=value\fP
  603. .SS \fLvgasize=value\fP
  604. These are used not by the kernel but by
  605. .I termrc
  606. (see
  607. .IR cpurc (8))
  608. when starting
  609. .IR vga (8).
  610. .SS \fL*dpms=value\fP
  611. This is used to specify the screen blanking behavior of the MGA4xx
  612. video driver.
  613. Values are
  614. .BR standby ,
  615. .BR suspend ,
  616. and
  617. .BR off .
  618. The first two specify differing levels of power saving;
  619. the third turns the monitor off completely.
  620. .SS \fLnvr=value\fP
  621. This is used by a file server kernel to locate a file holding information
  622. to configure the file system.
  623. The file cannot live on a SCSI disk.
  624. The default is
  625. .B fd!0!plan9.nvr
  626. (sic),
  627. unless
  628. .B bootfile
  629. is set, in which case it is
  630. .B plan9.nvr
  631. on the same disk as
  632. .BR bootfile .
  633. The syntax is either
  634. .BI fd! unit ! name
  635. or
  636. .BI hd! unit ! name
  637. where
  638. .I unit
  639. is the numeric unit id.
  640. This variant syntax is a vestige of the file server kernel's origins.
  641. .SS \fLaudioX=value\fP
  642. This defines a sound interface.
  643. .PP
  644. Known types are
  645. .TP
  646. .B sb16
  647. Sound Blaster 16.
  648. .TP
  649. .B ess1688
  650. A Sound Blaster clone.
  651. .PP
  652. The DMA channel may be any of 5, 6, or 7.
  653. The defaults are
  654. .EX
  655. port=0x220 irq=7 dma=5
  656. .EE
  657. .SS \fLfs=a.b.c.d\fP
  658. .SS \fLauth=a.b.c.d\fP
  659. These specify the IP address of the file and authentication server
  660. to use when mounting a network-provided root file system.
  661. They are used only if the addresses cannot be determined via DHCP.
  662. .SH Multiple Configurations
  663. .PP
  664. A
  665. .B plan9.ini
  666. file may contain multiple configurations,
  667. each within a block beginning with a line
  668. .EX
  669. [tag]
  670. .EE
  671. A special block with the tag
  672. .B menu
  673. gives a list of blocks from which the user may
  674. interactively select the contents of
  675. .BR plan9.ini .
  676. There may also be multiple blocks with the tag
  677. .B common
  678. which will be included in all selections;
  679. if any lines appear in
  680. .B plan9.ini
  681. before the first block,
  682. they are treated as a
  683. .B common
  684. block.
  685. .LP
  686. Within the
  687. .B menu
  688. block the following configuration lines are allowed:
  689. .SS \fLmenuitem=tag[, description]
  690. The block identified by
  691. .B tag
  692. will appear in the presented menu.
  693. The menu entry will consist of the
  694. .B tag
  695. unless the optional
  696. .B description
  697. is given.
  698. .SS \fLmenudefault=tag[, timeout]
  699. Identifies a default block to be given in the
  700. menu selection prompt.
  701. If the optional
  702. .B timeout
  703. is given (in seconds),
  704. the default block will be selected if there is no user
  705. input within the timeout period.
  706. .SS \fLmenuconsole=value[, baud]
  707. Selects a serial console upon which to present the menu
  708. as no
  709. .B console
  710. or
  711. .B baud
  712. configuration information will have been processed yet
  713. (the
  714. .B plan9.ini
  715. contents are still to be decided...).
  716. .LP
  717. In response to the menu being printed,
  718. the user is prompted to select a menu item from the list.
  719. If the numeric response is followed by a
  720. .BR p ,
  721. the selected configuration is printed and the menu presented
  722. again.
  723. .LP
  724. The line
  725. .EX
  726. menuitem=tag
  727. .EE
  728. is prefixed to the selected configuration as an aid to
  729. user-level initialization scripts.
  730. .SH EXAMPLES
  731. .PP
  732. A representative
  733. .BR plan9.ini :
  734. .IP
  735. .EX
  736. % cat /n/c:/plan9.ini
  737. ether0=type=3C509
  738. mouseport=ps2
  739. modemport=1
  740. serial0=type=generic port=0x3E8 irq=5
  741. monitor=445x
  742. vgasize=1600x1200x8
  743. %
  744. .EE
  745. .PP
  746. Minimum CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to use
  747. COM2 as a console:
  748. .IP
  749. .EX
  750. % cat /n/c:/config.sys
  751. SHELL=COMMAND.COM COM2 /P
  752. % cat /n/c:/autoexec.bat
  753. @ECHO OFF
  754. PROMPT $p$g
  755. PATH C:\eDOS;C:\eBIN
  756. mode com2:96,n,8,1,p
  757. SET TEMP=C:\eTMP
  758. %
  759. .EE
  760. .PP
  761. Simple
  762. .B plan9.ini
  763. with multiple configurations:
  764. .IP
  765. .EX
  766. [menu]
  767. menuitem=vga, Plan 9 with VGA
  768. menuitem=novga, Plan 9 no automatic VGA
  769. menudefault=vga
  770. [vga]
  771. monitor=multisync135
  772. vgasize=1024x768x8
  773. [novga]
  774. [common]
  775. ether0=type=i82557
  776. audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1
  777. .EE
  778. .PP
  779. With this, the following menu will be presented on boot:
  780. .IP
  781. .EX
  782. Plan 9 Startup Menu:
  783. ====================
  784. 1. Plan 9 with VGA
  785. 2. Plan 9 no automatic VGA
  786. Selection[default==1]:
  787. .EE
  788. .PP
  789. Selecting item 1 generates the following
  790. .B plan9.ini
  791. to be used by the remainder of the bootstrap process:
  792. .IP
  793. .EX
  794. menuitem=vga
  795. monitor=multisync135
  796. vgasize=1024x768x8
  797. ether0=type=i82557
  798. audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1
  799. .EE
  800. .PP
  801. and selecting item 2:
  802. .IP
  803. .EX
  804. menuitem=novga
  805. ether0=type=i82557
  806. audio0=type=sb16 port=0x220 irq=5 dma=1
  807. .EE
  808. .SH "SEE ALSO"
  809. .IR 9load (8),
  810. .IR booting (8),
  811. .IR boot (8)
  812. .SH BUGS
  813. Being able to set the console device to other than a
  814. display is marginally useful on file servers; MS-DOS
  815. and the programs which run under it are so tightly bound
  816. to the display that it is necessary to have a display if any
  817. setup or reconfiguration programs need to be run.
  818. Also, the delay before any messages appear at boot time
  819. is disconcerting, as any error messages from the BIOS
  820. are lost.
  821. .PP
  822. This idea is at best an interesting experiment that needs another iteration.