| KLOADER(4) | Device Drivers Manual | KLOADER(4) | 
kloader —
options KLOADER
options
  KLOADER_KERNEL_PATH="\"/netbsd\""
kloader is the in-kernel bootloader for platforms
  that do not have a proper firmware.
Some platforms supported by NetBSD do not
    have a firmware that can boot the NetBSD kernel.
    Examples are game consoles (dreamcast and playstation2 ports), and handhelds
    (hpcarm, hpcmips, and hpcsh ports). On such platforms the bootloader is
    usually a host program that runs under the native OS. This means that
    rebooting NetBSD is a lengthy process of booting
    into the native OS first, launching the bootloader program, and finally
    booting NetBSD again. This problem is addressed by
    kloader, which allows the currently running kernel
    to serve as a bootloader for the kernel being booted, thus avoiding the
    burden of booting into the native OS first.
When kloader is configured into the
    kernel, a call to reboot(2)
    causes the kloader to load the new kernel into
    memory, and arrange for control to be passed to the new kernel — just
    like a standalone bootloader does. The new kernel then boots in the ordinary
    manner.
kloader first appeared in NetBSD
  1.6.
kloader ignores howto and
  bootstr arguments passed to the
  reboot(2) system call, and
  reboots the system with the previous boot settings.
kloader doesn't support booting compressed
    kernels.
The hpcarm port doesn't support kloader
    yet.
| April 3, 2004 | NetBSD 10.0 |