-*- Text -*-

This is the GRUB.  Welcome.

This file contains instructions for compiling and installing the GRUB.

The Requirements

================

GRUB depends on some software packages installed into your system. If

you don't have any of them, please obtain and install them before

configuring the GRUB.

* GCC

  Probably every recent GCC should work, but we recommend GCC 2.95 and

  later, since you can create smaller binary images. See the web page

  <http://gcc.gnu.org/>.

* GNU Make

  For now, the Makefiles produced by Automake depends on GNU Make. See

  the web page <http://www.gnu.org/software/make/make.html>.

* GNU binutils 2.9.1.0.23 or later

  Binutils has changed the behavior of 16bit assembler between 2.9.1

  and 2.9.1.0.x, and we support only 2.9.1.0.x and higher. In

  particular, we recommend using binutils 2.10, since it is the only

  public release that supports real 16bit mode. Please take a look at

  the web page <http://sourceware.cygnus.com/binutils/>, for more

  information. Note that you don't have to install it into any system

  directory. See the section "Operation Controls", if you want to

  install binutils into your own directory.

If you'd like to develop GRUB, these below are also required. Don't

forget to specify the option `--enable-maintainer-mode' when running the

configure script.

* Texinfo 4.0 or later

  We use some new macros in the documents, so you need a recent

  Texinfo release. See the web page

  <http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/texinfo.html>.

* Developers: GNU Autoconf 2.5x and GNU Automake 1.7 or later

  You should not need Automake just to compile GRUB, but you will need

  it if you edit any of the build files (Makefile.am, configure.in,

  etc).  We use the new "per-executable flags" feature found in the

  latest release of automake.  See the web page

  <http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/automake.html>.

Configuring the GRUB

====================

The `configure' shell script attempts to guess correct values for

various system-dependent variables used during compilation.  It uses

those values to create a `Makefile' in each directory of the package.

It may also create one or more `.h' files containing system-dependent

definitions.  Finally, it creates a shell script `config.status' that

you can run in the future to recreate the current configuration, a

file `config.cache' that saves the results of its tests to speed up

reconfiguring, and a file `config.log' containing compiler output

(useful mainly for debugging `configure').

If you need to do unusual things to compile the package, please try to

figure out how `configure' could check whether to do them, and mail

diffs or instructions to the address given in the `README' so they can

be considered for the next release.  If at some point `config.cache'

contains results you don't want to keep, you may remove or edit it.

The file `configure.in' is used to create `configure' by a program

called `autoconf'.  You only need `configure.in' if you want to change

it or regenerate `configure' using a newer version of `autoconf'.

Building the GRUB

=================

The simplest way to compile this package is:

  1. `cd' to the directory containing the package's source code and

     type `./configure' to configure the package for your system.  If

     you're using `csh' on an old version of System V, you might need

     to type `sh ./configure' instead to prevent `csh' from trying to

     execute `configure' itself.

     Running `configure' takes awhile.  While running, it prints some

     messages telling which features it is checking for.

  2. Type `make' to compile the package.

  3. Optionally, type `make check' to run any self-tests that come with

     the package.

  4. Type `make install' to install the programs and any data files and

     documentation.

  5. You can remove the program binaries and object files from the

     source code directory by typing `make clean'.  To also remove the

     files that `configure' created (so you can compile the package for

     a different kind of computer), type `make distclean'.  There is

     also a `make maintainer-clean' target, but that is intended mainly

     for the package's developers.  If you use it, you may have to get

     all sorts of other programs in order to regenerate files that came

     with the distribution.

Compiling For Multiple Architectures

====================================

You can compile the package for more than one kind of computer at the

same time, by placing the object files for each architecture in their

own directory.  `cd' to the directory where you want the object files

and executables to go and run the `configure' script.  `configure'

automatically checks for the source code in the directory that

`configure' is in and in `..'.

Installation Names

==================

By default, `make install' will install the package's files in

`/usr/local/bin', `/usr/local/man', etc.  You can specify an

installation prefix by giving `configure' the option `--prefix=PATH'.

You can specify separate installation prefixes for

architecture-specific files and architecture-independent files.  If

you give `configure' the option `--exec-prefix=PATH', the package will

use PATH as the prefix for installing programs and libraries.

Documentation and other data files will still use the regular prefix.

In addition, if you use an unusual directory layout you can give

options like `--bindir=PATH' to specify different values for

particular kinds of files.  Run `configure --help' for a list of the

directories you can set and what kinds of files go in them.

If the package supports it, you can cause programs to be installed

with an extra prefix or suffix on their names by giving `configure'

the option `--program-prefix=PREFIX' or `--program-suffix=SUFFIX'.

Please note, however, that the GRUB knows where it is located in the

filesystem.  If you have installed it in an unusual location, the

system might not work properly, or at all.  The chief utility of these

options for the GRUB is to allow you to "install" in some alternate

location, and then copy these to the actual root filesystem later.

Sharing Defaults

================

If you want to set default values for `configure' scripts to share,

you can create a site shell script called `config.site' that gives

default values for variables like `CC', `cache_file', and `prefix'.

`configure' looks for `PREFIX/share/config.site' if it exists, then

`PREFIX/etc/config.site' if it exists.  Or, you can set the

`CONFIG_SITE' environment variable to the location of the site script.

A warning: not all `configure' scripts look for a site script.

Operation Controls

==================

   `configure' recognizes the following options to control how it

operates.

`--cache-file=FILE'

     Use and save the results of the tests in FILE instead of

     `./config.cache'.  Set FILE to `/dev/null' to disable caching, for

     debugging `configure'.

`--help'

     Print a summary of the options to `configure', and exit.

`--quiet'

`--silent'

`-q'

     Do not print messages saying which checks are being made.

`--srcdir=DIR'

     Look for the package's source code in directory DIR.  Usually

     `configure' can determine that directory automatically.

`--version'

     Print the version of Autoconf used to generate the `configure'

     script, and exit.

`--enable-maintainer-mode'

     Enable make rules and dependencies not useful (and sometimes

     confusing) to the casual installer. If you are a GRUB developer,

     it is a good idea to specify this option.

`--disable-ext2fs'

     Omit the ext2fs support in Stage 2.

`--disable-fat'

     Omit the FAT support in Stage 2.

`--disable-ffs'

     Omit the FFS support in Stage 2.

`--disable-minix'

     Omit the Minix fs support in Stage 2.

`--disable-reiserfs'

     Omit the ReiserFS support in Stage 2.

`--disable-vstafs'

     Omit the VSTa filesystem support in Stage 2.

`--disable-jfs'

     Omit the JFS support in Stage 2.

`--disable-xfs'

     Omit the XFS support in Stage 2.

`--disable-ufs2'

     Omit the UFS2 support in Stage 2.

`--disable-iso9660'

     Omit the ISO9660 support in Stage 2.

`--disable-gunzip'

     Omit the decompression support in Stage 2.

`--disable-md5-password'

     Omit the MD5 password support in Stage2.

`--with-binutils=PATH'

     Search the path PATH to find binutils. If you have installed your

     binutils executables into an unusual location where GCC doesn't

     search by default, use this option.

`--without-curses'

     Don't use the curses library.

`--disable-hercules'

     Omit the hercules console support in Stage 2.

`--disable-serial'

     Omit the serial terminal support in Stage 2.

`--enable-serial-speed-simulation'

     Simulate the slowness of a serial device in the grub shell. This

     option is useful for GRUB developers, as you can test the

     performance of a terminal emulation even on pseudo terminals.

`--enable-preset-menu=FILE'

     Preset a menu file FILE in Stage 2. This is useful, if you cannot

     put a configuration file on a filesystem for some reason (e.g. when

     you need to set the default terminal to a serial terminal in an

     embedded system).

`--enable-example-kernel'

     Build the example Multiboot kernel in the directory "docs". You

     will be able to boot the image "kernel" with GRUB.

`--disable-auto-linux-mem-opt'

     Don't pass the "mem=" option automatically, when booting Linux.

     You can also disable the feature at run time.

`configure' also accepts several options for the network support. See

the file `netboot/README.netboot', for more information.