Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: Installation Guide for x86, Itanium™, AMD64, and Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel® EM64T)
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# 4.28. Itanium Systems — Booting Your Machine and Post-Installation Setup

This section describes how to boot your Itanium into Red Hat Enterprise Linux and how to set your EFI console variables so that Red Hat Enterprise Linux is automatically booted when the machine is powered on.

After you reboot your system at the end of the installation program, type the following command to boot into Red Hat Enterprise Linux:

    elilo

After you type `elilo`, the default kernel listed in the `/boot/efi/elilo.conf` configuration file is loaded. (The first kernel listed in the file is the default.)

If you want to load a different kernel, type the label name of the kernel from the file `/boot/efi/elilo.conf` after the `elilo` command. For example, to load the kernel named `linux`, type:

    elilo linux

If you do not know the names of the installed kernels, you can view the `/boot/efi/elilo.conf` file in EFI with the following instructions:

1. At the `Shell>` prompt, change devices to the system partition (mounted as `/boot/efi` in Linux). For example, if `fs0` is the system boot partition, type `fs0:` at the EFI Shell prompt.

2. Type `ls` at the `fs0:\>` to make sure you are in the correct partition.

3. Then type:

       Shell>type elilo.conf

   This command displays the contents of the configuration file. Each stanza contains a line beginning with `label` followed by a label name for that kernel. The label name is what you type after `elilo` to boot the different kernels.

## 4.28.1. Post-Installation Boot Loader Options

In addition to specifying a kernel to load, you can also enter other boot options such as `single` for single user mode or `mem=1024M` to force Red Hat Enterprise Linux to use 1024 MB of memory. To pass options to the boot loader, enter the following at the EFI Shell prompt (replace `linux` with the label name of the kernel you want to boot and `option` with the boot options you want to pass to the kernel):

    elilo linux option

## 4.28.2. Booting Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automatically

After installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux you can type `elilo` and any boot options at the EFI Shell prompt each time you wish to boot your Itanium system. However, if you wish to configure your system to boot into Red Hat Enterprise Linux automatically, you need to configure the EFI Boot Manager.

To configure the EFI Boot Manager (may vary slightly depending on your hardware):

1. Boot the Itanium system and choose Boot option maintenance menu from the EFI Boot Manager menu.

2. Choose Add a Boot Option from the Main Menu.

3. Select the system partition that is mounted as `/boot/efi/` in Linux.

4. Select the `elilo.efi` file.

5. At the `Enter New Description:` prompt, type `Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4`, or any name that you want to appear on the EFI Boot Manager menu.

6. At the `Enter Boot Option Data Type:` prompt, enter `N` for No Boot Option if you do not want to pass options to the ELILO boot loader. This option works for most cases. If you want to pass options to the boot loader, you can configure it in the `/boot/efi/elilo.conf` configuration file instead.

7. Answer `Yes` to the `Save changes to NVRAM` prompt. This returns you to the EFI Boot Maintenance Manager menu.

8. Next, you want to make the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 menu item the default. A list of boot options appears. Move the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 menu item up to the top of the list by selecting it with the arrow keys and pressing the <KEYCAP >[u]</KEYCAP > key to move it up the list. You can move items down the list by selecting it and pressing the <KEYCAP >[d]</KEYCAP > key. After changing the boot order, choose Save changes to NVRAM. Choose Exit to return to the Main Menu.

9. Optionally, you can change to boot timeout value by choosing Set Auto Boot TimeOut => Set Timeout Value from the Main Menu.

10. Return to the EFI Boot Manager by selecting Exit.

### 4.28.2.1. Using a Startup Script

It is recommended that you configure the ELILO Boot Manager to boot Red Hat Enterprise Linux automatically. However, if you require additional commands to be executed before starting the ELILO boot loader, you can create a startup script named `startup.nsh`. The last command should be `elilo` to boot into Linux.

The `startup.nsh` script should be in the `/boot/efi` partition (`/boot/efi/startup.nsh`) and contain the following text:

    echo -off
    your set of commands
    elilo

If you want to pass options to the boot loader (refer to Section 4.28.1 Post-Installation Boot Loader Options) add them after `elilo`.

You can either create this file after booting into Red Hat Enterprise Linux or use the editor built into the EFI shell. To use the EFI shell, at the `Shell>` prompt, change devices to the system partition (mounted as `/boot/efi` in Linux). For example, if `fs0` is the system boot partition, type `fs0:` at the EFI Shell prompt. Type `ls` to make sure you are in the correct partition. Then type `edit startup.nsh`. Type the contents of the file and save it.

The next time the system boots, EFI detects the `startup.nsh` file and use it to boot the system. To stop EFI from loading the file, type <KEYCAP >[Ctrl]</KEYCAP >-<KEYCAP >[c]</KEYCAP >. This aborts the process, and returns you to the EFI shell prompt.

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