From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Apr 28 23:04:14 2013 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:1900:2254:206a::19:1]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3835E217 for ; Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:04:14 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de) Received: from mx02.qsc.de (mx02.qsc.de [213.148.130.14]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0333719F2 for ; Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:04:13 +0000 (UTC) Received: from r56.edvax.de (port-92-195-26-233.dynamic.qsc.de [92.195.26.233]) by mx02.qsc.de (Postfix) with ESMTP id 156D5276A6; Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:04:05 +0200 (CEST) Received: from r56.edvax.de (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by r56.edvax.de (8.14.5/8.14.5) with SMTP id r3SN4EDJ002705; Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:04:14 +0200 (CEST) (envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:04:14 +0200 From: Polytropon To: Joe Subject: Re: enter single user mode from boot menu Message-Id: <20130429010414.3227b624.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <517DA65E.8050706@a1poweruser.com> References: <517DA65E.8050706@a1poweruser.com> Organization: EDVAX X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.1.1 (GTK+ 2.24.5; i386-portbld-freebsd8.2) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list Reply-To: Polytropon List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:04:14 -0000 On Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:44:46 -0400, Joe wrote: > running 9.1 and can not figure how to get into single user mode or safe > mode from the BOOT menu. > > After hitting the 5 or 6 keys to select those options, what do you do > next to continue? > > Hitting enter key just boots the system without regard to options selected. TO be honest, I don't use the boot menu. Instead I tend to access SUM (single user mode) when neccessary by the respective loader command. To illustrate this approach: The /boot/loader.conf file contains those two line: autoboot_delay="1" beastie_disable="YES" The delay time (in seconds) is the time you have to choose when _not_ going into multi-user mode (default), so increase this value if needed. After the BTX loader has started, keep hammering the space bar. :-) At some point, you'll see the Ok _ prompt. This is where you enter the command boot -s to go into single-user mode. The kernel will load as you would expect, but no further action (rc.d startup) will be taken. Instead you have to confirm the shell (/bin/sh by default) by pressing enter at the When prompted Enter full pathname of shell or RETURN for /bin/sh: prompt; and then you're left at the # _ prompt, which means you're in single user mode. Type "exit" to start into multi-user mode as usual. Of couse, this is what _should_ happen if you select the proper item from the loader menu (key '4'), but as I don't use this, I can't be more specific. It's just a natural assumption. :-) > Can not find usage of boot menu in the handbook. The FreeBSD Handbook only briefly visits this topic: 13.6.2: Single-User Mode http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/handbook/boot-init.html 25.7.6: Drop to Single User Mode http://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/makeworld.html Fortunately, good documentation can be found in the manual pages. I recommend "man 8 boot" and "man 8 loader", which are involved in getting into SUM (loader more than boot regarding your question). -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...