Marcin Jessa wrote:
> Hi.
> 
> I compiled cdboot, /usr/src/sys/arch/i386/stand/cdboot (fresh CURRENT sources) and used it with mkisofs to create an iso image
> # mkisofs -l -J -R -nobak -no-emul-boot -o myiso.iso -c boot.catalog -b cdboot cdimage/
> After boot from CD, cdboot it will fall back to HD boot if you don't press any key.
> Why ? If I chose to boot from CD, why would I want to boot from HD if I dont press any key within given time?
> Maybe adding some informative text or menu like the FreeBSD's one would be in place?

It _is_ a feature. ;-)

That's because lots of people (including me) often forget to remove the
install CD after they installed an OS to the hard disk. That causes to
boot from installation CD again on the next boot, and I find it quite
annoying (Probably, Microsoft also found that and their CD bootloader 
was the first one with the same feature).

But cdboot doesn't always wait for key like the MS one. Sometimes it is
smart so it knows when it doesn't have to ask a user if they want to boot
from CD:

 - if there's no hard disk reported by BIOS, and
 - if there's no active partition set in the MBR.

Note that cdboot is not a general purpose bootloader - its sole use is to
boot the secondary bootloader ("/boot") from the install CD.

Jun-Young