|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | Command Line Options for Linux/m68k | 
|  | =================================== | 
|  |  | 
|  | Last Update: 2 May 1999 | 
|  | Linux/m68k version: 2.2.6 | 
|  | Author: [email protected] (Roman Hodek) | 
|  | Update: [email protected] (Jes Sorensen) and [email protected] (Chris Lawrence) | 
|  |  | 
|  | 0) Introduction | 
|  | =============== | 
|  |  | 
|  | Often I've been asked which command line options the Linux/m68k | 
|  | kernel understands, or how the exact syntax for the ... option is, or | 
|  | ... about the option ... . I hope, this document supplies all the | 
|  | answers... | 
|  |  | 
|  | Note that some options might be outdated, their descriptions being | 
|  | incomplete or missing. Please update the information and send in the | 
|  | patches. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 1) Overview of the Kernel's Option Processing | 
|  | ============================================= | 
|  |  | 
|  | The kernel knows three kinds of options on its command line: | 
|  |  | 
|  | 1) kernel options | 
|  | 2) environment settings | 
|  | 3) arguments for init | 
|  |  | 
|  | To which of these classes an argument belongs is determined as | 
|  | follows: If the option is known to the kernel itself, i.e. if the name | 
|  | (the part before the '=') or, in some cases, the whole argument string | 
|  | is known to the kernel, it belongs to class 1. Otherwise, if the | 
|  | argument contains an '=', it is of class 2, and the definition is put | 
|  | into init's environment. All other arguments are passed to init as | 
|  | command line options. | 
|  |  | 
|  | This document describes the valid kernel options for Linux/m68k in | 
|  | the version mentioned at the start of this file. Later revisions may | 
|  | add new such options, and some may be missing in older versions. | 
|  |  | 
|  | In general, the value (the part after the '=') of an option is a | 
|  | list of values separated by commas. The interpretation of these values | 
|  | is up to the driver that "owns" the option. This association of | 
|  | options with drivers is also the reason that some are further | 
|  | subdivided. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2) General Kernel Options | 
|  | ========================= | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2.1) root= | 
|  | ---------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: root=/dev/<device> | 
|  | or: root=<hex_number> | 
|  |  | 
|  | This tells the kernel which device it should mount as the root | 
|  | filesystem. The device must be a block device with a valid filesystem | 
|  | on it. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The first syntax gives the device by name. These names are converted | 
|  | into a major/minor number internally in the kernel in an unusual way. | 
|  | Normally, this "conversion" is done by the device files in /dev, but | 
|  | this isn't possible here, because the root filesystem (with /dev) | 
|  | isn't mounted yet... So the kernel parses the name itself, with some | 
|  | hardcoded name to number mappings. The name must always be a | 
|  | combination of two or three letters, followed by a decimal number. | 
|  | Valid names are: | 
|  |  | 
|  | /dev/ram: -> 0x0100 (initial ramdisk) | 
|  | /dev/hda: -> 0x0300 (first IDE disk) | 
|  | /dev/hdb: -> 0x0340 (second IDE disk) | 
|  | /dev/sda: -> 0x0800 (first SCSI disk) | 
|  | /dev/sdb: -> 0x0810 (second SCSI disk) | 
|  | /dev/sdc: -> 0x0820 (third SCSI disk) | 
|  | /dev/sdd: -> 0x0830 (forth SCSI disk) | 
|  | /dev/sde: -> 0x0840 (fifth SCSI disk) | 
|  | /dev/fd : -> 0x0200 (floppy disk) | 
|  | /dev/xda: -> 0x0c00 (first XT disk, unused in Linux/m68k) | 
|  | /dev/xdb: -> 0x0c40 (second XT disk, unused in Linux/m68k) | 
|  |  | 
|  | The name must be followed by a decimal number, that stands for the | 
|  | partition number. Internally, the value of the number is just | 
|  | added to the device number mentioned in the table above. The | 
|  | exceptions are /dev/ram and /dev/fd, where /dev/ram refers to an | 
|  | initial ramdisk loaded by your bootstrap program (please consult the | 
|  | instructions for your bootstrap program to find out how to load an | 
|  | initial ramdisk). As of kernel version 2.0.18 you must specify | 
|  | /dev/ram as the root device if you want to boot from an initial | 
|  | ramdisk. For the floppy devices, /dev/fd, the number stands for the | 
|  | floppy drive number (there are no partitions on floppy disks). I.e., | 
|  | /dev/fd0 stands for the first drive, /dev/fd1 for the second, and so | 
|  | on. Since the number is just added, you can also force the disk format | 
|  | by adding a number greater than 3. If you look into your /dev | 
|  | directory, use can see the /dev/fd0D720 has major 2 and minor 16. You | 
|  | can specify this device for the root FS by writing "root=/dev/fd16" on | 
|  | the kernel command line. | 
|  |  | 
|  | [Strange and maybe uninteresting stuff ON] | 
|  |  | 
|  | This unusual translation of device names has some strange | 
|  | consequences: If, for example, you have a symbolic link from /dev/fd | 
|  | to /dev/fd0D720 as an abbreviation for floppy driver #0 in DD format, | 
|  | you cannot use this name for specifying the root device, because the | 
|  | kernel cannot see this symlink before mounting the root FS and it | 
|  | isn't in the table above. If you use it, the root device will not be | 
|  | set at all, without an error message. Another example: You cannot use a | 
|  | partition on e.g. the sixth SCSI disk as the root filesystem, if you | 
|  | want to specify it by name. This is, because only the devices up to | 
|  | /dev/sde are in the table above, but not /dev/sdf. Although, you can | 
|  | use the sixth SCSI disk for the root FS, but you have to specify the | 
|  | device by number... (see below). Or, even more strange, you can use the | 
|  | fact that there is no range checking of the partition number, and your | 
|  | knowledge that each disk uses 16 minors, and write "root=/dev/sde17" | 
|  | (for /dev/sdf1). | 
|  |  | 
|  | [Strange and maybe uninteresting stuff OFF] | 
|  |  | 
|  | If the device containing your root partition isn't in the table | 
|  | above, you can also specify it by major and minor numbers. These are | 
|  | written in hex, with no prefix and no separator between. E.g., if you | 
|  | have a CD with contents appropriate as a root filesystem in the first | 
|  | SCSI CD-ROM drive, you boot from it by "root=0b00". Here, hex "0b" = | 
|  | decimal 11 is the major of SCSI CD-ROMs, and the minor 0 stands for | 
|  | the first of these. You can find out all valid major numbers by | 
|  | looking into include/linux/major.h. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2.2) ro, rw | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: ro | 
|  | or: rw | 
|  |  | 
|  | These two options tell the kernel whether it should mount the root | 
|  | filesystem read-only or read-write. The default is read-only, except | 
|  | for ramdisks, which default to read-write. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2.3) debug | 
|  | ---------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: debug | 
|  |  | 
|  | This raises the kernel log level to 10 (the default is 7). This is the | 
|  | same level as set by the "dmesg" command, just that the maximum level | 
|  | selectable by dmesg is 8. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2.4) debug= | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: debug=<device> | 
|  |  | 
|  | This option causes certain kernel messages be printed to the selected | 
|  | debugging device. This can aid debugging the kernel, since the | 
|  | messages can be captured and analyzed on some other machine. Which | 
|  | devices are possible depends on the machine type. There are no checks | 
|  | for the validity of the device name. If the device isn't implemented, | 
|  | nothing happens. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Messages logged this way are in general stack dumps after kernel | 
|  | memory faults or bad kernel traps, and kernel panics. To be exact: all | 
|  | messages of level 0 (panic messages) and all messages printed while | 
|  | the log level is 8 or more (their level doesn't matter). Before stack | 
|  | dumps, the kernel sets the log level to 10 automatically. A level of | 
|  | at least 8 can also be set by the "debug" command line option (see | 
|  | 2.3) and at run time with "dmesg -n 8". | 
|  |  | 
|  | Devices possible for Amiga: | 
|  |  | 
|  | - "ser": built-in serial port; parameters: 9600bps, 8N1 | 
|  | - "mem": Save the messages to a reserved area in chip mem. After | 
|  | rebooting, they can be read under AmigaOS with the tool | 
|  | 'dmesg'. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Devices possible for Atari: | 
|  |  | 
|  | - "ser1": ST-MFP serial port ("Modem1"); parameters: 9600bps, 8N1 | 
|  | - "ser2": SCC channel B serial port ("Modem2"); parameters: 9600bps, 8N1 | 
|  | - "ser" : default serial port | 
|  | This is "ser2" for a Falcon, and "ser1" for any other machine | 
|  | - "midi": The MIDI port; parameters: 31250bps, 8N1 | 
|  | - "par" : parallel port | 
|  | The printing routine for this implements a timeout for the | 
|  | case there's no printer connected (else the kernel would | 
|  | lock up). The timeout is not exact, but usually a few | 
|  | seconds. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2.6) ramdisk_size= | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: ramdisk_size=<size> | 
|  |  | 
|  | This option instructs the kernel to set up a ramdisk of the given | 
|  | size in KBytes. Do not use this option if the ramdisk contents are | 
|  | passed by bootstrap! In this case, the size is selected automatically | 
|  | and should not be overwritten. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The only application is for root filesystems on floppy disks, that | 
|  | should be loaded into memory. To do that, select the corresponding | 
|  | size of the disk as ramdisk size, and set the root device to the disk | 
|  | drive (with "root="). | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 2.7) swap= | 
|  | 2.8) buff= | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | I can't find any sign of these options in 2.2.6. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 3) General Device Options (Amiga and Atari) | 
|  | =========================================== | 
|  |  | 
|  | 3.1) ether= | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: ether=[<irq>[,<base_addr>[,<mem_start>[,<mem_end>]]]],<dev-name> | 
|  |  | 
|  | <dev-name> is the name of a net driver, as specified in | 
|  | drivers/net/Space.c in the Linux source. Most prominent are eth0, ... | 
|  | eth3, sl0, ... sl3, ppp0, ..., ppp3, dummy, and lo. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The non-ethernet drivers (sl, ppp, dummy, lo) obviously ignore the | 
|  | settings by this options. Also, the existing ethernet drivers for | 
|  | Linux/m68k (ariadne, a2065, hydra) don't use them because Zorro boards | 
|  | are really Plug-'n-Play, so the "ether=" option is useless altogether | 
|  | for Linux/m68k. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 3.2) hd= | 
|  | -------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: hd=<cylinders>,<heads>,<sectors> | 
|  |  | 
|  | This option sets the disk geometry of an IDE disk. The first hd= | 
|  | option is for the first IDE disk, the second for the second one. | 
|  | (I.e., you can give this option twice.) In most cases, you won't have | 
|  | to use this option, since the kernel can obtain the geometry data | 
|  | itself. It exists just for the case that this fails for one of your | 
|  | disks. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 3.3) max_scsi_luns= | 
|  | ------------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: max_scsi_luns=<n> | 
|  |  | 
|  | Sets the maximum number of LUNs (logical units) of SCSI devices to | 
|  | be scanned. Valid values for <n> are between 1 and 8. Default is 8 if | 
|  | "Probe all LUNs on each SCSI device" was selected during the kernel | 
|  | configuration, else 1. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 3.4) st= | 
|  | -------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: st=<buffer_size>,[<write_thres>,[<max_buffers>]] | 
|  |  | 
|  | Sets several parameters of the SCSI tape driver. <buffer_size> is | 
|  | the number of 512-byte buffers reserved for tape operations for each | 
|  | device. <write_thres> sets the number of blocks which must be filled | 
|  | to start an actual write operation to the tape. Maximum value is the | 
|  | total number of buffers. <max_buffer> limits the total number of | 
|  | buffers allocated for all tape devices. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 3.5) dmasound= | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: dmasound=[<buffers>,<buffer-size>[,<catch-radius>]] | 
|  |  | 
|  | This option controls some configurations of the Linux/m68k DMA sound | 
|  | driver (Amiga and Atari): <buffers> is the number of buffers you want | 
|  | to use (minimum 4, default 4), <buffer-size> is the size of each | 
|  | buffer in kilobytes (minimum 4, default 32) and <catch-radius> says | 
|  | how much percent of error will be tolerated when setting a frequency | 
|  | (maximum 10, default 0). For example with 3% you can play 8000Hz | 
|  | AU-Files on the Falcon with its hardware frequency of 8195Hz and thus | 
|  | don't need to expand the sound. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4) Options for Atari Only | 
|  | ========================= | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1) video= | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: video=<fbname>:<sub-options...> | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <fbname> parameter specifies the name of the frame buffer, | 
|  | eg. most atari users will want to specify `atafb' here. The | 
|  | <sub-options> is a comma-separated list of the sub-options listed | 
|  | below. | 
|  |  | 
|  | NB: Please notice that this option was renamed from `atavideo' to | 
|  | `video' during the development of the 1.3.x kernels, thus you | 
|  | might need to update your boot-scripts if upgrading to 2.x from | 
|  | an 1.2.x kernel. | 
|  |  | 
|  | NBB: The behavior of video= was changed in 2.1.57 so the recommended | 
|  | option is to specify the name of the frame buffer. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.1) Video Mode | 
|  | ----------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | This sub-option may be any of the predefined video modes, as listed | 
|  | in atari/atafb.c in the Linux/m68k source tree. The kernel will | 
|  | activate the given video mode at boot time and make it the default | 
|  | mode, if the hardware allows. Currently defined names are: | 
|  |  | 
|  | - stlow           : 320x200x4 | 
|  | - stmid, default5 : 640x200x2 | 
|  | - sthigh, default4: 640x400x1 | 
|  | - ttlow           : 320x480x8, TT only | 
|  | - ttmid, default1 : 640x480x4, TT only | 
|  | - tthigh, default2: 1280x960x1, TT only | 
|  | - vga2            : 640x480x1, Falcon only | 
|  | - vga4            : 640x480x2, Falcon only | 
|  | - vga16, default3 : 640x480x4, Falcon only | 
|  | - vga256          : 640x480x8, Falcon only | 
|  | - falh2           : 896x608x1, Falcon only | 
|  | - falh16          : 896x608x4, Falcon only | 
|  |  | 
|  | If no video mode is given on the command line, the kernel tries the | 
|  | modes names "default<n>" in turn, until one is possible with the | 
|  | hardware in use. | 
|  |  | 
|  | A video mode setting doesn't make sense, if the external driver is | 
|  | activated by a "external:" sub-option. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.2) inverse | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Invert the display. This affects both, text (consoles) and graphics | 
|  | (X) display. Usually, the background is chosen to be black. With this | 
|  | option, you can make the background white. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.3) font | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: font:<fontname> | 
|  |  | 
|  | Specify the font to use in text modes. Currently you can choose only | 
|  | between `VGA8x8', `VGA8x16' and `PEARL8x8'. `VGA8x8' is default, if the | 
|  | vertical size of the display is less than 400 pixel rows. Otherwise, the | 
|  | `VGA8x16' font is the default. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.4) hwscroll_ | 
|  | ---------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: hwscroll_<n> | 
|  |  | 
|  | The number of additional lines of video memory to reserve for | 
|  | speeding up the scrolling ("hardware scrolling"). Hardware scrolling | 
|  | is possible only if the kernel can set the video base address in steps | 
|  | fine enough. This is true for STE, MegaSTE, TT, and Falcon. It is not | 
|  | possible with plain STs and graphics cards (The former because the | 
|  | base address must be on a 256 byte boundary there, the latter because | 
|  | the kernel doesn't know how to set the base address at all.) | 
|  |  | 
|  | By default, <n> is set to the number of visible text lines on the | 
|  | display. Thus, the amount of video memory is doubled, compared to no | 
|  | hardware scrolling. You can turn off the hardware scrolling altogether | 
|  | by setting <n> to 0. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.5) internal: | 
|  | ---------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: internal:<xres>;<yres>[;<xres_max>;<yres_max>;<offset>] | 
|  |  | 
|  | This option specifies the capabilities of some extended internal video | 
|  | hardware, like e.g. OverScan. <xres> and <yres> give the (extended) | 
|  | dimensions of the screen. | 
|  |  | 
|  | If your OverScan needs a black border, you have to write the last | 
|  | three arguments of the "internal:". <xres_max> is the maximum line | 
|  | length the hardware allows, <yres_max> the maximum number of lines. | 
|  | <offset> is the offset of the visible part of the screen memory to its | 
|  | physical start, in bytes. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Often, extended interval video hardware has to be activated somehow. | 
|  | For this, see the "sw_*" options below. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.6) external: | 
|  | ---------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: | 
|  | external:<xres>;<yres>;<depth>;<org>;<scrmem>[;<scrlen>[;<vgabase>\ | 
|  | [;<colw>[;<coltype>[;<xres_virtual>]]]]] | 
|  |  | 
|  | [I had to break this line...] | 
|  |  | 
|  | This is probably the most complicated parameter... It specifies that | 
|  | you have some external video hardware (a graphics board), and how to | 
|  | use it under Linux/m68k. The kernel cannot know more about the hardware | 
|  | than you tell it here! The kernel also is unable to set or change any | 
|  | video modes, since it doesn't know about any board internal. So, you | 
|  | have to switch to that video mode before you start Linux, and cannot | 
|  | switch to another mode once Linux has started. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The first 3 parameters of this sub-option should be obvious: <xres>, | 
|  | <yres> and <depth> give the dimensions of the screen and the number of | 
|  | planes (depth). The depth is the logarithm to base 2 of the number | 
|  | of colors possible. (Or, the other way round: The number of colors is | 
|  | 2^depth). | 
|  |  | 
|  | You have to tell the kernel furthermore how the video memory is | 
|  | organized. This is done by a letter as <org> parameter: | 
|  |  | 
|  | 'n': "normal planes", i.e. one whole plane after another | 
|  | 'i': "interleaved planes", i.e. 16 bit of the first plane, than 16 bit | 
|  | of the next, and so on... This mode is used only with the | 
|  | built-in Atari video modes, I think there is no card that | 
|  | supports this mode. | 
|  | 'p': "packed pixels", i.e. <depth> consecutive bits stand for all | 
|  | planes of one pixel; this is the most common mode for 8 planes | 
|  | (256 colors) on graphic cards | 
|  | 't': "true color" (more or less packed pixels, but without a color | 
|  | lookup table); usually depth is 24 | 
|  |  | 
|  | For monochrome modes (i.e., <depth> is 1), the <org> letter has a | 
|  | different meaning: | 
|  |  | 
|  | 'n': normal colors, i.e. 0=white, 1=black | 
|  | 'i': inverted colors, i.e. 0=black, 1=white | 
|  |  | 
|  | The next important information about the video hardware is the base | 
|  | address of the video memory. That is given in the <scrmem> parameter, | 
|  | as a hexadecimal number with a "0x" prefix. You have to find out this | 
|  | address in the documentation of your hardware. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The next parameter, <scrlen>, tells the kernel about the size of the | 
|  | video memory. If it's missing, the size is calculated from <xres>, | 
|  | <yres>, and <depth>. For now, it is not useful to write a value here. | 
|  | It would be used only for hardware scrolling (which isn't possible | 
|  | with the external driver, because the kernel cannot set the video base | 
|  | address), or for virtual resolutions under X (which the X server | 
|  | doesn't support yet). So, it's currently best to leave this field | 
|  | empty, either by ending the "external:" after the video address or by | 
|  | writing two consecutive semicolons, if you want to give a <vgabase> | 
|  | (it is allowed to leave this parameter empty). | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <vgabase> parameter is optional. If it is not given, the kernel | 
|  | cannot read or write any color registers of the video hardware, and | 
|  | thus you have to set appropriate colors before you start Linux. But if | 
|  | your card is somehow VGA compatible, you can tell the kernel the base | 
|  | address of the VGA register set, so it can change the color lookup | 
|  | table. You have to look up this address in your board's documentation. | 
|  | To avoid misunderstandings: <vgabase> is the _base_ address, i.e. a 4k | 
|  | aligned address. For read/writing the color registers, the kernel | 
|  | uses the addresses vgabase+0x3c7...vgabase+0x3c9. The <vgabase> | 
|  | parameter is written in hexadecimal with a "0x" prefix, just as | 
|  | <scrmem>. | 
|  |  | 
|  | <colw> is meaningful only if <vgabase> is specified. It tells the | 
|  | kernel how wide each of the color register is, i.e. the number of bits | 
|  | per single color (red/green/blue). Default is 6, another quite usual | 
|  | value is 8. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Also <coltype> is used together with <vgabase>. It tells the kernel | 
|  | about the color register model of your gfx board. Currently, the types | 
|  | "vga" (which is also the default) and "mv300" (SANG MV300) are | 
|  | implemented. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Parameter <xres_virtual> is required for ProMST or ET4000 cards where | 
|  | the physical linelength differs from the visible length. With ProMST, | 
|  | xres_virtual must be set to 2048. For ET4000, xres_virtual depends on the | 
|  | initialisation of the video-card. | 
|  | If you're missing a corresponding yres_virtual: the external part is legacy, | 
|  | therefore we don't support hardware-dependent functions like hardware-scroll, | 
|  | panning or blanking. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.7) eclock: | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | The external pixel clock attached to the Falcon VIDEL shifter. This | 
|  | currently works only with the ScreenWonder! | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.8) monitorcap: | 
|  | ------------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: monitorcap:<vmin>;<vmax>;<hmin>;<hmax> | 
|  |  | 
|  | This describes the capabilities of a multisync monitor. Don't use it | 
|  | with a fixed-frequency monitor! For now, only the Falcon frame buffer | 
|  | uses the settings of "monitorcap:". | 
|  |  | 
|  | <vmin> and <vmax> are the minimum and maximum, resp., vertical frequencies | 
|  | your monitor can work with, in Hz. <hmin> and <hmax> are the same for | 
|  | the horizontal frequency, in kHz. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The defaults are 58;62;31;32 (VGA compatible). | 
|  |  | 
|  | The defaults for TV/SC1224/SC1435 cover both PAL and NTSC standards. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.1.9) keep | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  |  | 
|  | If this option is given, the framebuffer device doesn't do any video | 
|  | mode calculations and settings on its own. The only Atari fb device | 
|  | that does this currently is the Falcon. | 
|  |  | 
|  | What you reach with this: Settings for unknown video extensions | 
|  | aren't overridden by the driver, so you can still use the mode found | 
|  | when booting, when the driver doesn't know to set this mode itself. | 
|  | But this also means, that you can't switch video modes anymore... | 
|  |  | 
|  | An example where you may want to use "keep" is the ScreenBlaster for | 
|  | the Falcon. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.2) atamouse= | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: atamouse=<x-threshold>,[<y-threshold>] | 
|  |  | 
|  | With this option, you can set the mouse movement reporting threshold. | 
|  | This is the number of pixels of mouse movement that have to accumulate | 
|  | before the IKBD sends a new mouse packet to the kernel. Higher values | 
|  | reduce the mouse interrupt load and thus reduce the chance of keyboard | 
|  | overruns. Lower values give a slightly faster mouse responses and | 
|  | slightly better mouse tracking. | 
|  |  | 
|  | You can set the threshold in x and y separately, but usually this is | 
|  | of little practical use. If there's just one number in the option, it | 
|  | is used for both dimensions. The default value is 2 for both | 
|  | thresholds. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.3) ataflop= | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: ataflop=<drive type>[,<trackbuffering>[,<steprateA>[,<steprateB>]]] | 
|  |  | 
|  | The drive type may be 0, 1, or 2, for DD, HD, and ED, resp. This | 
|  | setting affects how many buffers are reserved and which formats are | 
|  | probed (see also below). The default is 1 (HD). Only one drive type | 
|  | can be selected. If you have two disk drives, select the "better" | 
|  | type. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The second parameter <trackbuffer> tells the kernel whether to use | 
|  | track buffering (1) or not (0). The default is machine-dependent: | 
|  | no for the Medusa and yes for all others. | 
|  |  | 
|  | With the two following parameters, you can change the default | 
|  | steprate used for drive A and B, resp. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.4) atascsi= | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: atascsi=<can_queue>[,<cmd_per_lun>[,<scat-gat>[,<host-id>[,<tagged>]]]] | 
|  |  | 
|  | This option sets some parameters for the Atari native SCSI driver. | 
|  | Generally, any number of arguments can be omitted from the end. And | 
|  | for each of the numbers, a negative value means "use default". The | 
|  | defaults depend on whether TT-style or Falcon-style SCSI is used. | 
|  | Below, defaults are noted as n/m, where the first value refers to | 
|  | TT-SCSI and the latter to Falcon-SCSI. If an illegal value is given | 
|  | for one parameter, an error message is printed and that one setting is | 
|  | ignored (others aren't affected). | 
|  |  | 
|  | <can_queue>: | 
|  | This is the maximum number of SCSI commands queued internally to the | 
|  | Atari SCSI driver. A value of 1 effectively turns off the driver | 
|  | internal multitasking (if it causes problems). Legal values are >= | 
|  | 1. <can_queue> can be as high as you like, but values greater than | 
|  | <cmd_per_lun> times the number of SCSI targets (LUNs) you have | 
|  | don't make sense. Default: 16/8. | 
|  |  | 
|  | <cmd_per_lun>: | 
|  | Maximum number of SCSI commands issued to the driver for one | 
|  | logical unit (LUN, usually one SCSI target). Legal values start | 
|  | from 1. If tagged queuing (see below) is not used, values greater | 
|  | than 2 don't make sense, but waste memory. Otherwise, the maximum | 
|  | is the number of command tags available to the driver (currently | 
|  | 32). Default: 8/1. (Note: Values > 1 seem to cause problems on a | 
|  | Falcon, cause not yet known.) | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <cmd_per_lun> value at a great part determines the amount of | 
|  | memory SCSI reserves for itself. The formula is rather | 
|  | complicated, but I can give you some hints: | 
|  | no scatter-gather  : cmd_per_lun * 232 bytes | 
|  | full scatter-gather: cmd_per_lun * approx. 17 Kbytes | 
|  |  | 
|  | <scat-gat>: | 
|  | Size of the scatter-gather table, i.e. the number of requests | 
|  | consecutive on the disk that can be merged into one SCSI command. | 
|  | Legal values are between 0 and 255. Default: 255/0. Note: This | 
|  | value is forced to 0 on a Falcon, since scatter-gather isn't | 
|  | possible with the ST-DMA. Not using scatter-gather hurts | 
|  | performance significantly. | 
|  |  | 
|  | <host-id>: | 
|  | The SCSI ID to be used by the initiator (your Atari). This is | 
|  | usually 7, the highest possible ID. Every ID on the SCSI bus must | 
|  | be unique. Default: determined at run time: If the NV-RAM checksum | 
|  | is valid, and bit 7 in byte 30 of the NV-RAM is set, the lower 3 | 
|  | bits of this byte are used as the host ID. (This method is defined | 
|  | by Atari and also used by some TOS HD drivers.) If the above | 
|  | isn't given, the default ID is 7. (both, TT and Falcon). | 
|  |  | 
|  | <tagged>: | 
|  | 0 means turn off tagged queuing support, all other values > 0 mean | 
|  | use tagged queuing for targets that support it. Default: currently | 
|  | off, but this may change when tagged queuing handling has been | 
|  | proved to be reliable. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Tagged queuing means that more than one command can be issued to | 
|  | one LUN, and the SCSI device itself orders the requests so they | 
|  | can be performed in optimal order. Not all SCSI devices support | 
|  | tagged queuing (:-(). | 
|  |  | 
|  | 4.5 switches= | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: switches=<list of switches> | 
|  |  | 
|  | With this option you can switch some hardware lines that are often | 
|  | used to enable/disable certain hardware extensions. Examples are | 
|  | OverScan, overclocking, ... | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <list of switches> is a comma-separated list of the following | 
|  | items: | 
|  |  | 
|  | ikbd: set RTS of the keyboard ACIA high | 
|  | midi: set RTS of the MIDI ACIA high | 
|  | snd6: set bit 6 of the PSG port A | 
|  | snd7: set bit 6 of the PSG port A | 
|  |  | 
|  | It doesn't make sense to mention a switch more than once (no | 
|  | difference to only once), but you can give as many switches as you | 
|  | want to enable different features. The switch lines are set as early | 
|  | as possible during kernel initialization (even before determining the | 
|  | present hardware.) | 
|  |  | 
|  | All of the items can also be prefixed with "ov_", i.e. "ov_ikbd", | 
|  | "ov_midi", ... These options are meant for switching on an OverScan | 
|  | video extension. The difference to the bare option is that the | 
|  | switch-on is done after video initialization, and somehow synchronized | 
|  | to the HBLANK. A speciality is that ov_ikbd and ov_midi are switched | 
|  | off before rebooting, so that OverScan is disabled and TOS boots | 
|  | correctly. | 
|  |  | 
|  | If you give an option both, with and without the "ov_" prefix, the | 
|  | earlier initialization ("ov_"-less) takes precedence. But the | 
|  | switching-off on reset still happens in this case. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5) Options for Amiga Only: | 
|  | ========================== | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.1) video= | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: video=<fbname>:<sub-options...> | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <fbname> parameter specifies the name of the frame buffer, valid | 
|  | options are `amifb', `cyber', 'virge', `retz3' and `clgen', provided | 
|  | that the respective frame buffer devices have been compiled into the | 
|  | kernel (or compiled as loadable modules). The behavior of the <fbname> | 
|  | option was changed in 2.1.57 so it is now recommended to specify this | 
|  | option. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <sub-options> is a comma-separated list of the sub-options listed | 
|  | below. This option is organized similar to the Atari version of the | 
|  | "video"-option (4.1), but knows fewer sub-options. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.1.1) video mode | 
|  | ----------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Again, similar to the video mode for the Atari (see 4.1.1). Predefined | 
|  | modes depend on the used frame buffer device. | 
|  |  | 
|  | OCS, ECS and AGA machines all use the color frame buffer. The following | 
|  | predefined video modes are available: | 
|  |  | 
|  | NTSC modes: | 
|  | - ntsc            : 640x200, 15 kHz, 60 Hz | 
|  | - ntsc-lace       : 640x400, 15 kHz, 60 Hz interlaced | 
|  | PAL modes: | 
|  | - pal             : 640x256, 15 kHz, 50 Hz | 
|  | - pal-lace        : 640x512, 15 kHz, 50 Hz interlaced | 
|  | ECS modes: | 
|  | - multiscan       : 640x480, 29 kHz, 57 Hz | 
|  | - multiscan-lace  : 640x960, 29 kHz, 57 Hz interlaced | 
|  | - euro36          : 640x200, 15 kHz, 72 Hz | 
|  | - euro36-lace     : 640x400, 15 kHz, 72 Hz interlaced | 
|  | - euro72          : 640x400, 29 kHz, 68 Hz | 
|  | - euro72-lace     : 640x800, 29 kHz, 68 Hz interlaced | 
|  | - super72         : 800x300, 23 kHz, 70 Hz | 
|  | - super72-lace    : 800x600, 23 kHz, 70 Hz interlaced | 
|  | - dblntsc-ff      : 640x400, 27 kHz, 57 Hz | 
|  | - dblntsc-lace    : 640x800, 27 kHz, 57 Hz interlaced | 
|  | - dblpal-ff       : 640x512, 27 kHz, 47 Hz | 
|  | - dblpal-lace     : 640x1024, 27 kHz, 47 Hz interlaced | 
|  | - dblntsc         : 640x200, 27 kHz, 57 Hz doublescan | 
|  | - dblpal          : 640x256, 27 kHz, 47 Hz doublescan | 
|  | VGA modes: | 
|  | - vga             : 640x480, 31 kHz, 60 Hz | 
|  | - vga70           : 640x400, 31 kHz, 70 Hz | 
|  |  | 
|  | Please notice that the ECS and VGA modes require either an ECS or AGA | 
|  | chipset, and that these modes are limited to 2-bit color for the ECS | 
|  | chipset and 8-bit color for the AGA chipset. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.1.2) depth | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: depth:<nr. of bit-planes> | 
|  |  | 
|  | Specify the number of bit-planes for the selected video-mode. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.1.3) inverse | 
|  | -------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Use inverted display (black on white). Functionally the same as the | 
|  | "inverse" sub-option for the Atari. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.1.4) font | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: font:<fontname> | 
|  |  | 
|  | Specify the font to use in text modes. Functionally the same as the | 
|  | "font" sub-option for the Atari, except that `PEARL8x8' is used instead | 
|  | of `VGA8x8' if the vertical size of the display is less than 400 pixel | 
|  | rows. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.1.5) monitorcap: | 
|  | ------------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: monitorcap:<vmin>;<vmax>;<hmin>;<hmax> | 
|  |  | 
|  | This describes the capabilities of a multisync monitor. For now, only | 
|  | the color frame buffer uses the settings of "monitorcap:". | 
|  |  | 
|  | <vmin> and <vmax> are the minimum and maximum, resp., vertical frequencies | 
|  | your monitor can work with, in Hz. <hmin> and <hmax> are the same for | 
|  | the horizontal frequency, in kHz. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The defaults are 50;90;15;38 (Generic Amiga multisync monitor). | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.2) fd_def_df0= | 
|  | ---------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: fd_def_df0=<value> | 
|  |  | 
|  | Sets the df0 value for "silent" floppy drives. The value should be in | 
|  | hexadecimal with "0x" prefix. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3) wd33c93= | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: wd33c93=<sub-options...> | 
|  |  | 
|  | These options affect the A590/A2091, A3000 and GVP Series II SCSI | 
|  | controllers. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The <sub-options> is a comma-separated list of the sub-options listed | 
|  | below. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.1) nosync | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: nosync:bitmask | 
|  |  | 
|  | bitmask is a byte where the 1st 7 bits correspond with the 7 | 
|  | possible SCSI devices. Set a bit to prevent sync negotiation on that | 
|  | device. To maintain backwards compatibility, a command-line such as | 
|  | "wd33c93=255" will be automatically translated to | 
|  | "wd33c93=nosync:0xff". The default is to disable sync negotiation for | 
|  | all devices, eg. nosync:0xff. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.2) period | 
|  | ------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: period:ns | 
|  |  | 
|  | `ns' is the minimum # of nanoseconds in a SCSI data transfer | 
|  | period. Default is 500; acceptable values are 250 - 1000. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.3) disconnect | 
|  | ----------------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: disconnect:x | 
|  |  | 
|  | Specify x = 0 to never allow disconnects, 2 to always allow them. | 
|  | x = 1 does 'adaptive' disconnects, which is the default and generally | 
|  | the best choice. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.4) debug | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: debug:x | 
|  |  | 
|  | If `DEBUGGING_ON' is defined, x is a bit mask that causes various | 
|  | types of debug output to printed - see the DB_xxx defines in | 
|  | wd33c93.h. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.5) clock | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: clock:x | 
|  |  | 
|  | x = clock input in MHz for WD33c93 chip. Normal values would be from | 
|  | 8 through 20. The default value depends on your hostadapter(s), | 
|  | default for the A3000 internal controller is 14, for the A2091 it's 8 | 
|  | and for the GVP hostadapters it's either 8 or 14, depending on the | 
|  | hostadapter and the SCSI-clock jumper present on some GVP | 
|  | hostadapters. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.6) next | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | No argument. Used to separate blocks of keywords when there's more | 
|  | than one wd33c93-based host adapter in the system. | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.3.7) nodma | 
|  | ------------ | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: nodma:x | 
|  |  | 
|  | If x is 1 (or if the option is just written as "nodma"), the WD33c93 | 
|  | controller will not use DMA (= direct memory access) to access the | 
|  | Amiga's memory.  This is useful for some systems (like A3000's and | 
|  | A4000's with the A3640 accelerator, revision 3.0) that have problems | 
|  | using DMA to chip memory.  The default is 0, i.e. to use DMA if | 
|  | possible. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | 5.4) gvp11= | 
|  | ----------- | 
|  |  | 
|  | Syntax: gvp11=<addr-mask> | 
|  |  | 
|  | The earlier versions of the GVP driver did not handle DMA | 
|  | address-mask settings correctly which made it necessary for some | 
|  | people to use this option, in order to get their GVP controller | 
|  | running under Linux. These problems have hopefully been solved and the | 
|  | use of this option is now highly unrecommended! | 
|  |  | 
|  | Incorrect use can lead to unpredictable behavior, so please only use | 
|  | this option if you *know* what you are doing and have a reason to do | 
|  | so. In any case if you experience problems and need to use this | 
|  | option, please inform us about it by mailing to the Linux/68k kernel | 
|  | mailing list. | 
|  |  | 
|  | The address mask set by this option specifies which addresses are | 
|  | valid for DMA with the GVP Series II SCSI controller. An address is | 
|  | valid, if no bits are set except the bits that are set in the mask, | 
|  | too. | 
|  |  | 
|  | Some versions of the GVP can only DMA into a 24 bit address range, | 
|  | some can address a 25 bit address range while others can use the whole | 
|  | 32 bit address range for DMA. The correct setting depends on your | 
|  | controller and should be autodetected by the driver. An example is the | 
|  | 24 bit region which is specified by a mask of 0x00fffffe. | 
|  |  | 
|  |  | 
|  | /* Local Variables: */ | 
|  | /* mode: text       */ | 
|  | /* End:             */ |