loader.conf not working

I don't think my loader.conf file is getting used by the boot process.

The problem manifested when I could not start X. After poking around I discovered that the problem was because the nvidia driver was not loaded. So I checked the loader.conf file and nvidia_load="YES" is still there.

So I kldloaded nvidia and was able to start X. Then I realized I had no connectivity. So after a while of poking around, I discovered that the error messages related to the wpi0 adapter were because legal.intel_wpi.license_ack=1 was not getting recognized even though it is in the loader.conf file.

My system loads wpifw through the kernel.

Finally, autoboot_delay has no effect on my autoboot delay. It stays at 10 seconds no matter what I set autoboot_delay to...

I can't find any error specifically saying there was a problem processing loader.conf.

Anyone have any ideas why my loader.conf file seems to be disregarded?

John
 
No typos in /boot/loader.conf (like unbalanced quotes)? I'm assuming you didn't edit or nuke /boot/loader.rc or edit /boot/defaults/loader.conf?
 
I just rechecked loader.conf for typos. It has only four lines;

Code:
autoboot_delay="2"
nvidia_load="YES"
legal.intel_wpi.license_ack=1
kern.hz=100


I did not edit loader.rc and /boot/defaults/loader.conf appears unchanged...
 
Changed loader.conf to;
Code:
autoboot_delay="2"
nvidia_load="YES"
legal.intel_wpi.license_ack="1"
kern.hz="100"

The behavior is unchanged;
autoboot delay is still 10 seconds, the nvidia driver does not load and, when the kernel attempts to load the wpifw firmware image, it complains that legal.intel_wpi.license_ack=1 is not in /boot/loader.conf.

It's like its not even trying to use the file...
 
Can you try moving these four lines into a new file, /boot/loader.conf.local and use an empty or commented-out /boot/loader.conf?

I'm assuming that % grep ^loader_conf_files /boot/defaults/loader.conf gives you
Code:
loader_conf_files="/boot/device.hints /boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf.local"

You don't have a nice typo like /boot/loader_conf or /boot/l0ader.conf, I hope? ;)
 
I deleted the file and recreated an empty one with the same permissions;

Code:
-rw-r--r--

The behavior appears exactly as before...
 
As a test, try (for this one time!) to edit /boot/defaults/loader.conf (make a backup of it and put it back later), setting autoboot_delay="2" there (don't forget to uncomment the result).
 
I backed up /boot/defaults/loader.conf...
And I modified it by uncommenting the autoboot_delay line and changing it to "2" rahter than "10". It was commented out in /boot/defaults/loader.conf...

This time when I rebooted, the autoboot_delay of "2" in the /boot/defaults/loader.conf file was respected...
 
This gives the correct result?

% grep ^loader_conf_files /boot/defaults/loader.conf
Code:
loader_conf_files="/boot/device.hints /boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf.local"
 
Ok. I new this was going to end up being my fault somehow...
It turns out that while I was attempting to get my USB headset working, I added a hint to the device.hints file. After having no luck, I removed the hint which was the last line in the file. I must have captured the very last quote on the line above it. That is what halted the proper processing sequence.

I should have backed it up and restored it instead and this problem would have been avoided.

Thank you Dutch for you patient help... :stud

Before the FreeBSD boot process and after the BIOS, there is a bootstrap process. Output is written to the console very quickly and is then erased and replaced with the boot menu. That bootstrap output very clearly showed the problem but I didn't see it until I used a PAUSE during the bootstrap process.

For future reference, where is that bootstrap output logged?
 
Right, my next suggestion would have been to boot with verbose logging turned on. The boot sequence can usually be viewed using # dmesg -a and in /var/run/dmesg.boot.
 
loader.conf typos

DutchDaemon said:
No typos in /boot/loader.conf (like unbalanced quotes)? I'm assuming you didn't edit or nuke /boot/loader.rc or edit /boot/defaults/loader.conf?

Dutch,

Just wanted to thank you for this post. It helped me.

I've had a problem with my loader.conf not working as well, for several weeks now, and I couldn't figure out the problem.

After reading your post, I went through loader.conf, and found that I had a missing comment "#" tag, and that screwed up the reading of the rest of my file.

Thanks Dutch
 
Loading /boot/defaults/loader.conf

I tried restoring beastie from the default by copying that to loader.conf under boot and now can't load kernel. It is only on a VM, thankfully...
 
You are posting in a thread that ended 1.5 years ago.

The file in defaults is just that, default settings. Don't change it, and don't copy it. /boot/loader.conf is where you change settings that override the defaults. /boot/loader.conf may not even exist on freshly-installed systems. Delete it.
 
Back
Top