The EFI Boot Manager loads EFI applications (including operating system OS first stage loader)
and EFI drivers from an EFI-defined file system or image loading service. Non-volatile RAM
(NVRAM) variables point to the file to be loaded. These variables contain application-specific
data that is passed directly to the EFI application. EFI variables provides system firmware with
a boot menu that points to all the operating systems, even multiple versions of the same operating
systems.
The EFI Boot Manager enables you to control the server booting environment. Depending on
boot option configuration after the server is powered up, the Boot Manager presents you with
different ways to bring up the system. For example, you can boot to the EFI Shell, to an operating
system located on the network or residing on media in the server, or the
EFI Boot Maintenance
menu.
The following options are available in the
EFI Boot Manager
menu
•
Boot from File: Allows you to launch a specific application without adding it as a boot option.
When you select this option, a menu displays devices to choose your boot file from. Selecting
a disk device then displays subdirectories and executable applications on that device. Search
the subdirectories to find the correct file to boot from.If you choose a LAN device to boot
from, you can boot the file from a remote server. The remote server must be set up ahead
of time to recognize
bootp
requests from your server.
You can also launch a specific application without adding it as a boot option. In this case,
the EFI Boot Manager searches the root directories and the
\EFI\TOOLS
directories of all
of the EFI system partitions present in the system for the specified EFI application.
•
Add Boot Entry: Adds a boot entry to the EFI Boot Manager. This works similarly to Boot
freom File, but adds the file to the boot menu as a new entry instead of just booting the file
once. You must specify a name for the boot entry to be added, and you can add ASCII or
UNICODE arguments to the applocation being launched.
•
Remove Boot Entry: Deletes a specific boot option.
•
Change Boot Order: Controls the relative order in which the EFI Boot Manager attempts to
execute boot options. For help on the control key sequences you need for this option, see
the help menu.
•
Manage BootNext Setting: Selects a boot option to use only once (the next boot operation).
•
Set Automatic Boot Timeout: Defines the value in seconds before the system automatically
boots without user intervention. Set this value to zero to disable the timeout feature.
•
Exit: Returns control to the
EFI Boot Manager
menu. This displays the active boot devices,
including a possible integrated shell (if the implementation is so constructed).
For more information, see
“Using the Boot Option Maintenance Menu” (page 243)
.
EFI Commands
Table C-1
lists EFI commands for HP Integrity servers. The equivalent BCH commands found
in PA-RISC based servers are also listed.
Table C-1 EFI Commands
Definition
BCH Command Parameters (PA-RISC)
BCH Command
Equivalent
(PA-RISC)
EFI Shell Command
These commands are found in all other menus
Boot from specified path
[PRI|HAA|ALT|<path>]
Boot
info boot
Display help for specified
command or menu
[<menu>|<command>]
HElp
help <command>
Reset the server (to allow
reconfiguration of complex
RESET
reset
Return to the main menu
MAin
exit (at EFI Shell)
MAin
216
Utilities