1MKINITRD(8) System Manager's Manual MKINITRD(8)
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6 mkinitrd - creates initial ramdisk images for preloading modules
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9 mkinitrd [--version] [-v] [-f]
10 [--preload=module] [--omit-scsi-modules]
11 [--omit-raid-modules] [--omit-lvm-modules]
12 [--with=module] [--image-version]
13 [--fstab=fstab] [--nocompress]
14 [--builtin=module] [--nopivot]
15 image kernel-version
16
19 mkinitrd creates an initial image used by the kernel for preloading the
20 block device modules (such as IDE, SCSI or RAID) which are needed to
21 access the root filesystem. mkinitrd automatically loads filesystem
22 modules (such as ext3 and jbd), IDE modules, all scsi_hostadapter
23 entries in /etc/modprobe.conf, and raid modules if the system's root
24 partition is on raid, which makes it simple to build and use kernels
25 using modular device drivers.
26 Any module options specified in /etc/modprobe.conf are passed to the
28 modules as they are loaded by the initial ramdisk.
29 The root filesystem used by the kernel is specified in the boot config‐
31 uration file, as always. The traditional root=/dev/hda1 style device
32 specification is allowed. If a label is used, as in root=LABEL=rootPart
33 the initrd will search all available devices for an ext2 or ext3
34 filesystem with the appropriate label, and mount that device as the
35 root filesystem.
36
39 --builtin=module
40 Act as if module is built into the kernel being used. mkinitrd
41 will not look for this module, and will not emit an error if it
42 does not exist. This option may be used multiple times.
43 -f Allows mkinitrd to overwrite an existing image file.
46 --fstab=fstab
49 Use fstab to automatically determine what type of filesystem the
50 root device is on. Normally, /etc/fstab is used.
51 --image-version
54 The kernel version number is appended to the initrd image path
55 before the image is created.
56 --nocompress
59 Normally the created initrd image is compressed with gzip. If
60 this option is specified, the compression is skipped.
61 --nopivot
64 Do not use the pivot_root system call as part of the initrd.
65 This lets mkinitrd build proper images for Linux 2.2 kernels at
66 the expense of some features. In particular, some filesystems
67 (such as ext3) will not work properly and filesystem options
68 will not be used to mount root. This option is not recommended,
69 and will be removed in future versions.
70 --omit-lvm-modules
73 Do not load any lvm modules, even if /etc/fstab expects them.
74 --omit-raid-modules
77 Do not load any raid modules, even if /etc/fstab and
78 /etc/raidtab expect them.
79 --omit-scsi-modules
82 Do not load any scsi modules, including 'scsi_mod' and 'sd_mod'
83 modules, even if they are present.
84 --preload=module
87 Load the module module in the initial ramdisk image. The module
88 gets loaded before any SCSI modules which are specified in
89 /etc/modprobe.conf. This option may be used as many times as
90 necessary.
91 -v Prints out verbose information while creating the image (nor‐
94 mally the mkinitrd runs silently).
95 --version
98 Prints the version of mkinitrd that's being used and then exits.
99 --with=module
102 Load the modules module in the initial ramdisk image. The module
103 gets loaded after any SCSI modules which are specified in
104 /etc/modprobe.conf. This option may be used as many times as
105 necessary.
106
109 /dev/loop* A block loopback device is used to create the
110 image, which makes this script useless on systems
111 without block loopback support available (only used
112 on kernels < 2.6)
113 /etc/modprobe.conf Specifies SCSI modules to be loaded and module
115 options to be used.
116 /etc/modules.conf Specifies SCSI modules to be loaded and module
118 options to be used. (only used on kernels < 2.6)
119
122 fstab(5), insmod(1)
123 Tue Aug 10 2004 MKINITRD(8)