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Loaders-update(8)	    System Manager's Manual	     Loaders-update(8)

NAME
       loaders-update -- This utility helps to update the FreeBSD loaders.

SYNOPSIS
       loaders-update mode [-fgr] [-m Efi_mount_dir] [-s loaders_source_dir]

DESCRIPTION
       This  command  searches for all the FreeBSD loaders, EFI	and BIOS ones.
       It checks if they are in	sync with the ones inside /boot	or inside  the
       argument	 of  the -s option.  For each one which	isn't, it proposes ei-
       ther the	commands to type to update it or executes these	very commands,
       depending on the	mode.

MODE
	     shoot-me
       This mode may update the	loader(s), but	ask  for  confirmation	before
       each one.  You need to be root.

	     show-me
       This mode just shows the	commands to type, it changes nothing.

OPTIONS
       These options are available:

       -f	 Won't check the content of the	freebsd-boot partitions.  That
		 means	it won't verify	the coherence between the current root
		 file system and each BIOS loader.  It will update the	parti-
		 tions	according  to the detected root	file system.  This op-
		 tion cannot be	chosen at the same time	than -r.

       -g	 Use 'gpart show' instead of 'sysctl kern.disks' in  order  to
		 list  the available disks.  In	some circumstances, the	output
		 of kern.disks doesn't match the  geoms	 that  'gpart'	knows.
		 So,  in  case of bad or no detection of your disk(s), you can
		 try this option.

       -m Efi_mount_dir
		 If an efi partition isn't already mounted, try	to mount it in
		 Efi_mount_dir.	 The default is	/mnt.

       -r	 Won't check the root file system.  As -f, it won't verify the
		 coherence between the current root file system	and each  BIOS
		 loader.   It will just	check the content of each freebsd-boot
		 partition and verify/update according to  that.   Can	be  of
		 some  use in case you rescue a	system with a USB key, for ex-
		 ample.	 This option cannot be chosen at the  same  time  than
		 -f.

       -s loaders_source_dir
		 Seek  for the source loaders in loaders_source_dir instead of
		 the default /boot.

CAPABILITIES
	Check all disks	reported by the	system.
	Able to	work on	both BIOS and UEFI loaders.
	Work on	mounted	or unmounted EFI partitions.
	Recognize FreeBSD EFI loaders and examine only them.
	Check each freebsd-boot	partition, compare its bootcode	with the  root
       file  system.  If not coherent, don't examine its content (unless -r or
       -f option is specified).
	If a loader is already up-to-date, neither suggest nor attempt an  up-
       date.

LIMITATIONS
	Work only on AMD64 architecture.
	Can only examine disks with GUID Partition Table (GPT).
	Check only the first freebsd-boot and efi partition per	disk.

SEE ALSO
       uefi(8),	gpart(8), gptboot(8), gptzfsboot(8)

COMMENTS
       This  utility comes to fill a void in the FreeBSD upgrading.  Many peo-
       ple don't even know about the importance	to update the loaders and  got
       bitten  by  different  problems along the system	upgrades.  This	mainly
       concerns	zfs on root systems, but not only.  It features	to update  all
       the loaders but also tries to stay stable in different environments and
       FreeBSD	derivatives.   As  such,  it can be used in GhostBSD, TrueNas,
       Hardened	BSD and	maybe others I didn't test.  In	some words,  it	 costs
       nothing	to run it in show-me mode and see what happens.	You can	report
       the  result   here:   https://github.com/Emrion/uploaders   or	there:
       https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/utility-that-tries-to-figure-how-to-
       update-the-freebsd-loaders.94237/

FreeBSD	Ports 14.quarterly     January 25, 2025		     Loaders-update(8)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
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