Q: What is the boot procedure on Angstrom?
Roughly, the process is: • the machine-specific bootloader loads the kernel (zImage*) from flash or another medium (memory card, native file for non-Linux devices); • the kernel mounts the rootfs (defined at compile time or by root= parameter on kernel command line); • the kernel runs a standard sysvinit sequence using /sbin/init. As of now, Angstrom doesn’t handle the initial bootloading process. The idea of some universal bootloader, like LAB, has been discussed, but it would take time to become a reality, and the machine-specific solution (Zaurus bootloader, PocketPC bootloader, HH.og bootloader, or HaRET, etc.) will always be needed, like a motherboard requires its own BIOS. To boot from different storage devices, Altboot may be a solution; it is not included in Angstrom for the moment, and only supports Zaurus, but this may change in the future.
