Coreboot Options

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Revision as of 22:35, 9 September 2010 by Uwe (talk | contribs) (Old config system is gone.)
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The wiki is being retired!

Documentation is now handled by the same processes we use for code: Add something to the Documentation/ directory in the coreboot repo, and it will be rendered to https://doc.coreboot.org/. Contributions welcome!

This is an automatically generated list of coreboot compile-time options.

Last update: 2010/09/10 00:31:21. (r5798)

Option Source Format Short Description Description
Menu: General setup
EXPERT toplevel bool Expert mode

This allows you to select certain advanced configuration options.

Warning: Only enable this option if you really know what you are doing! You have been warned!

LOCALVERSION toplevel string Local version string

Append an extra string to the end of the coreboot version.

This can be useful if, for instance, you want to append the respective board's hostname or some other identifying string to the coreboot version number, so that you can easily distinguish boot logs of different boards from each other.

CBFS_PREFIX toplevel string CBFS prefix to use

Select the prefix to all files put into the image. It's "fallback" by default, "normal" is a common alternative.

CBFS_PREFIX toplevel string Compiler

This option allows you to select the compiler used for building coreboot.

SCANBUILD_ENABLE toplevel bool Build with scan-build for static analysis

Changes the build process to scan-build is used. Requires scan-build in path.

SCANBUILD_REPORT_LOCATION toplevel string Directory to put scan-build report in

Where the scan-build report should be stored

CCACHE toplevel bool ccache

Enables the use of ccache for faster builds. Requires ccache in path.

SCONFIG_GENPARSER toplevel bool Generate SCONFIG parser using flex and bison

Enable this option if you are working on the sconfig device tree parser and made changes to sconfig.l and sconfig.y. Otherwise, say N.

USE_OPTION_TABLE toplevel bool Use CMOS for configuration values

Enable this option if coreboot shall read options from the "CMOS" NVRAM instead of using hard coded values.

Menu: Mainboard
ONBOARD_UARTS_RS485 mainboard/lippert/literunner-lx bool Switch on-board serial ports 1 & 2 to RS485

If selected, the first two on-board serial ports will operate in RS485 mode instead of RS232.

ONBOARD_IDE_SLAVE mainboard/lippert/literunner-lx bool Make on-board CF socket act as Slave

If selected, the on-board Compact Flash card socket will act as IDE Slave instead of Master.

ONBOARD_UARTS_RS485 mainboard/lippert/roadrunner-lx bool Switch on-board serial ports to RS485

If selected, both on-board serial ports will operate in RS485 mode instead of RS232.

ONBOARD_UARTS_RS485 mainboard/lippert/spacerunner-lx bool Switch on-board serial ports to RS485

If selected, both on-board serial ports will operate in RS485 mode instead of RS232.

ONBOARD_IDE_SLAVE mainboard/lippert/spacerunner-lx bool Make on-board SSD act as Slave

If selected, the on-board SSD will act as IDE Slave instead of Master.

BOARD_ROMSIZE_KB_4096 mainboard bool ROM chip size

Select the size of the ROM chip you intend to flash coreboot on.

The build system will take care of creating a coreboot.rom file of the matching size.

COREBOOT_ROMSIZE_KB_128 mainboard bool 128 KB

Choose this option if you have a 128 KB ROM chip.

COREBOOT_ROMSIZE_KB_256 mainboard bool 256 KB

Choose this option if you have a 256 KB ROM chip.

COREBOOT_ROMSIZE_KB_512 mainboard bool 512 KB

Choose this option if you have a 512 KB ROM chip.

COREBOOT_ROMSIZE_KB_1024 mainboard bool 1024 KB (1 MB)

Choose this option if you have a 1024 KB (1 MB) ROM chip.

COREBOOT_ROMSIZE_KB_2048 mainboard bool 2048 KB (2 MB)

Choose this option if you have a 2048 KB (2 MB) ROM chip.

COREBOOT_ROMSIZE_KB_4096 mainboard bool 4096 KB (4 MB)

Choose this option if you have a 4096 KB (4 MB) ROM chip.

UPDATE_IMAGE arch/i386 bool Update existing coreboot.rom image

If this option is activate, no new coreboot.rom file is created. Instead it is expected that there already is a suitable file for further processing. The bootblock will not be modified.

Menu: Chipset
(comment) CPU
GEODE_VSA_FILE cpu/amd/model_gx2 bool Add a VSA image

Select this option if you have an AMD Geode GX2 vsa that you would like to add to your ROM.

You will be able to specify the location and file name of the image later.

VSA_FILENAME cpu/amd/model_gx2 string AMD Geode GX2 VSA path and filename

The path and filename of the file to use as VSA.


GEODE_VSA_FILE cpu/amd/model_lx bool Add a VSA image

Select this option if you have an AMD Geode LX vsa that you would like to add to your ROM.

You will be able to specify the location and file name of the image later.

VSA_FILENAME cpu/amd/model_lx string AMD Geode LX VSA path and filename

The path and filename of the file to use as VSA.


SMP cpu bool

This option is used to enable certain functions to make coreboot work correctly on symmetric multi processor (SMP) systems.

MMX cpu bool

Select MMX in your socket or model Kconfig if your CPU has MMX streaming SIMD instructions. ROMCC can build more efficient code if it can spill to MMX registers.

SSE cpu bool

Select SSE in your socket or model Kconfig if your CPU has SSE streaming SIMD instructions. ROMCC can build more efficient code if it can spill to SSE (aka XMM) registers.

SSE2 cpu bool

Select SSE2 in your socket or model Kconfig if your CPU has SSE2 streaming SIMD instructions. Some parts of coreboot can be built with more efficient code if SSE2 instructions are available.

VAR_MTRR_HOLE cpu bool

Unset this if you don't want the MTRR code to use subtractive MTRRs

(comment) Northbridge
Menu: HyperTransport setup
None northbridge/amd None HyperTransport frequency

This option sets the maximum permissible HyperTransport link frequency.

Use of this option will only limit the autodetected HT frequency. It will not (and cannot) increase the frequency beyond the autodetected limits.

This is primarily used to work around poorly designed or laid out HT traces on certain motherboards.

LIMIT_HT_SPEED_AUTO northbridge/amd bool HyperTransport downlink width

This option sets the maximum permissible HyperTransport downlink width.

Use of this option will only limit the autodetected HT width. It will not (and cannot) increase the width beyond the autodetected limits.

This is primarily used to work around poorly designed or laid out HT traces on certain motherboards.

LIMIT_HT_DOWN_WIDTH_16 northbridge/amd bool HyperTransport uplink width

This option sets the maximum permissible HyperTransport uplink width.

Use of this option will only limit the autodetected HT width. It will not (and cannot) increase the width beyond the autodetected limits.

This is primarily used to work around poorly designed or laid out HT traces on certain motherboards.

SDRAMPWR_4DIMM northbridge/intel/i440bx bool

This option affects how the SDRAMC register is programmed. Memory clock signals will not be routed properly if this option is set wrong.

If your board has 4 DIMM slots, you must use select this option, in your Kconfig file of the board. On boards with 3 DIMM slots, do _not_ select this option.


(comment) Southbridge
Menu: AMD Geode GX1 video support
(comment) Super I/O
(comment) Devices
VGA_BRIDGE_SETUP devices bool Setup bridges on path to VGA adapter

Allow bridges to set up legacy decoding ranges for VGA. Don't disable this unless you're sure you don't want the briges setup for VGA.

VGA_ROM_RUN devices bool Run VGA option ROMs

Execute VGA option ROMs, if found. This is required to enable PCI/AGP/PCI-E video cards.

PCI_ROM_RUN devices bool Run non-VGA option ROMs

Execute non-VGA PCI option ROMs, if found.

Examples include IDE/SATA controller option ROMs and option ROMs for network cards (NICs).

PCI_OPTION_ROM_RUN_REALMODE devices bool Native mode

If you select this option, PCI option ROMs will be executed natively on the CPU in real mode. No CPU emulation is involved, so this is the fastest, but also the least secure option. (only works on x86/x64 systems)

PCI_OPTION_ROM_RUN_YABEL devices bool Secure mode

If you select this option, the x86emu CPU emulator will be used to execute PCI option ROMs.

This option prevents option ROMs from doing dirty tricks with the system (such as installing SMM modules or hypervisors), but it is also significantly slower than the native option ROM initialization method.

This is the default choice for non-x86 systems.

YABEL_PCI_ACCESS_OTHER_DEVICES devices bool Allow option ROMs to access other devices

Per default, YABEL only allows option ROMs to access the PCI device that they are associated with. However, this causes trouble for some onboard graphics chips whose option ROM needs to reconfigure the north bridge.

YABEL_VIRTMEM_LOCATION devices hex Location of YABEL's virtual memory

YABEL requires 1MB memory for its CPU emulation. This memory is normally located at 16MB.

YABEL_DIRECTHW devices bool Direct hardware access

YABEL consists of two parts: It uses x86emu for the CPU emulation and additionally provides a PC system emulation that filters bad device and memory access (such as PCI config space access to other devices than the initialized one).

When choosing this option, x86emu will pass through all hardware accesses to memory and I/O devices to the underlying memory and I/O addresses. While this option prevents option ROMs from doing dirty tricks with the CPU (such as installing SMM modules or hypervisors), they can still access all devices in the system. Enable this option for a good compromise between security and speed.

Menu: Generic Drivers
DRIVERS_SIL_3114 drivers bool Silicon Image SIL3114

It sets PCI class to IDE compatible native mode, allowing SeaBIOS, FILO etc... to boot from it.


Menu: Console options
CONSOLE_SERIAL8250 console bool Serial port console output

Send coreboot debug output to a serial port console.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_COM1 console bool COM1/ttyS0, I/O port 0x3f8

Serial console on COM1/ttyS0 at I/O port 0x3f8.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_COM2 console bool COM2/ttyS1, I/O port 0x2f8

Serial console on COM2/ttyS1 at I/O port 0x2f8.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_COM3 console bool COM3/ttyS2, I/O port 0x3e8

Serial console on COM3/ttyS2 at I/O port 0x3e8.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_COM4 console bool COM4/ttyS3, I/O port 0x2e8

Serial console on COM4/ttyS3 at I/O port 0x2e8.

TTYS0_BASE console hex

Map the COM port names to the respective I/O port.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_115200 console bool 115200

Set serial port Baud rate to 115200.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_57600 console bool 57600

Set serial port Baud rate to 57600.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_38400 console bool 38400

Set serial port Baud rate to 38400.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_19200 console bool 19200

Set serial port Baud rate to 19200.

CONSOLE_SERIAL_9600 console bool 9600

Set serial port Baud rate to 9600.

TTYS0_BAUD console int

Map the Baud rates to an integer.

USBDEBUG console bool USB 2.0 EHCI debug dongle support

This option allows you to use a so-called USB EHCI Debug device to retrieve the coreboot debug messages (instead, or in addition to, a serial port).

This feature is NOT supported on all chipsets in coreboot!

It also requires a USB2 controller which supports the EHCI Debug Port capability. Controllers which are known to work:

  • 10b9:5239 ALi Corporation USB 2.0 (USB PCI card)
  • 8086:24cd Intel ICH4/ICH4-M
  • 8086:24dd Intel ICH5
  • 8086:265c Intel ICH6
  • 8086:268c Intel 631xESB/632xESB/3100
  • 8086:27cc Intel ICH7
  • 8086:2836 Intel ICH8
  • 8086:283a Intel ICH8
  • 8086:293a Intel ICH9
  • 10de:0088 NVIDIA MCP2A
  • 10de:005b NVIDIA CK804
  • 10de:026e NVIDIA MCP51
  • 10de:036d NVIDIA MCP55
  • 10de:03f2 NVIDIA MCP61
  • 1002:4386 ATI/AMD SB600
  • 1106:3104 VIA VX800

See http://www.coreboot.org/EHCI_Debug_Port for an up-to-date list.

CONSOLE_VGA_ONBOARD_AT_FIRST console bool Use onboard VGA as primary video device

If not selected, the last adapter found will be used.

CONSOLE_NE2K console bool Network console over NE2000 compatible Ethernet adapter

Send coreboot debug output to a Ethernet console, it works same way as Linux netconsole, packets are received to UDP port 6666 on IP/MAC specified with options bellow. Use following netcat command: nc -u -l -p 6666

CONSOLE_NE2K_DST_MAC console string Destination MAC address of remote system

Type in either MAC address of logging system or MAC address of the router.

CONSOLE_NE2K_DST_IP console string Destination IP of logging system

This is IP adress of the system running for example netcat command to dump the packets.

CONSOLE_NE2K_SRC_IP console string IP adress of Coreboot system

This is the IP of the Coreboot system

CONSOLE_NE2K_IO_PORT console hex NE2000 adapter fixed IO port address

This is the IO port address for the IO port on the card, please select some non-conflicting region, 32 bytes of IO spaces will be used (and align on 32 bytes boundary, qemu needs broader align)


MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_8 console bool 8: SPEW

Way too many details.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_7 console bool 7: DEBUG

Debug-level messages.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_6 console bool 6: INFO

Informational messages.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_5 console bool 5: NOTICE

Normal but significant conditions.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_4 console bool 4: WARNING

Warning conditions.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_3 console bool 3: ERR

Error conditions.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_2 console bool 2: CRIT

Critical conditions.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_1 console bool 1: ALERT

Action must be taken immediately.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_0 console bool 0: EMERG

System is unusable.

MAXIMUM_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL console int

Map the log level config names to an integer.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_8 console bool 8: SPEW

Way too many details.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_7 console bool 7: DEBUG

Debug-level messages.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_6 console bool 6: INFO

Informational messages.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_5 console bool 5: NOTICE

Normal but significant conditions.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_4 console bool 4: WARNING

Warning conditions.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_3 console bool 3: ERR

Error conditions.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_2 console bool 2: CRIT

Critical conditions.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_1 console bool 1: ALERT

Action must be taken immediately.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL_0 console bool 0: EMERG

System is unusable.

DEFAULT_CONSOLE_LOGLEVEL console int

Map the log level config names to an integer.

SERIAL_POST console bool Show POST codes on the serial port console

If enabled, coreboot will additionally print POST codes (which are usually displayed using a so-called "POST card" ISA/PCI/PCI-E device) on the serial console.

HAVE_HARD_RESET toplevel bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has a hard_reset function, no matter if it's provided by board code or chipset code.

HAVE_OPTION_TABLE toplevel bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has a cmos.layout file containing NVRAM/CMOS bit definitions. It defaults to 'n' but can be selected in mainboard/*/Kconfig.

VGA toplevel bool

Build board-specific VGA code.

GFXUMA toplevel bool

Enable Unified Memory Architecture for graphics.

HAVE_ACPI_TABLES toplevel bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has ACPI table support. It is usually set in mainboard/*/Kconfig. Whether or not the ACPI tables are actually generated by coreboot is configurable by the user via GENERATE_ACPI_TABLES.

HAVE_MP_TABLE toplevel bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has MP table support. It is usually set in mainboard/*/Kconfig. Whether or not the MP table is actually generated by coreboot is configurable by the user via GENERATE_MP_TABLE.

HAVE_PIRQ_TABLE toplevel bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has PIRQ table support. It is usually set in mainboard/*/Kconfig. Whether or not the PIRQ table is actually generated by coreboot is configurable by the user via GENERATE_PIRQ_TABLE.

Menu: System tables
GENERATE_ACPI_TABLES toplevel bool Generate ACPI tables

Generate ACPI tables for this board.

If unsure, say Y.

GENERATE_MP_TABLE toplevel bool Generate an MP table

Generate an MP table (conforming to the Intel MultiProcessor specification 1.4) for this board.

If unsure, say Y.

GENERATE_PIRQ_TABLE toplevel bool Generate a PIRQ table

Generate a PIRQ table for this board.

If unsure, say Y.

Menu: Payload
PAYLOAD_NONE toplevel bool None

Select this option if you want to create an "empty" coreboot ROM image for a certain mainboard, i.e. a coreboot ROM image which does not yet contain a payload.

For such an image to be useful, you have to use 'cbfstool' to add a payload to the ROM image later.

PAYLOAD_ELF toplevel bool An ELF executable payload

Select this option if you have a payload image (an ELF file) which coreboot should run as soon as the basic hardware initialization is completed.

You will be able to specify the location and file name of the payload image later.

FALLBACK_PAYLOAD_FILE toplevel string Payload path and filename

The path and filename of the ELF executable file to use as payload.

COMPRESSED_PAYLOAD_LZMA toplevel bool Use LZMA compression for payloads

In order to reduce the size payloads take up in the ROM chip coreboot can compress them using the LZMA algorithm.

Menu: VGA BIOS
VGA_BIOS toplevel bool Add a VGA BIOS image

Select this option if you have a VGA BIOS image that you would like to add to your ROM.

You will be able to specify the location and file name of the image later.

FALLBACK_VGA_BIOS_FILE toplevel string VGA BIOS path and filename

The path and filename of the file to use as VGA BIOS.

FALLBACK_VGA_BIOS_ID toplevel string VGA device PCI IDs

The comma-separated PCI vendor and device ID that would associate your VGA BIOS to your video card.

Example: 1106,3230

In the above example 1106 is the PCI vendor ID (in hex, but without the "0x" prefix) and 3230 specifies the PCI device ID of the video card (also in hex, without "0x" prefix).

INTEL_MBI toplevel bool Add an MBI image

Select this option if you have an Intel MBI image that you would like to add to your ROM.

You will be able to specify the location and file name of the image later.

FALLBACK_MBI_FILE toplevel string Intel MBI path and filename

The path and filename of the file to use as VGA BIOS.

Menu: Bootsplash
BOOTSPLASH toplevel bool Show graphical bootsplash

This option shows a graphical bootsplash screen. The grapics are loaded from the CBFS file bootsplash.jpg.

FALLBACK_BOOTSPLASH_FILE toplevel string Bootsplash path and filename

The path and filename of the file to use as graphical bootsplash screen. The file format has to be jpg.

FRAMEBUFFER_VESA_MODE toplevel hex VESA framebuffer video mode

This option sets the resolution used for the coreboot framebuffer and bootsplash screen. Set to 0x117 for 1024x768x16. A diligent soul will some day make this a "choice".

COREBOOT_KEEP_FRAMEBUFFER toplevel bool Keep VESA framebuffer

This option keeps the framebuffer mode set after coreboot finishes execution. If this option is enabled, coreboot will pass a framebuffer entry in its coreboot table and the payload will need a framebuffer driver. If this option is disabled, coreboot will switch back to text mode before handing control to a payload.

Menu: Debugging
GDB_STUB toplevel bool GDB debugging support

If enabled, you will be able to set breakpoints for gdb debugging. See src/arch/i386/lib/c_start.S for details.

DEBUG_RAM_SETUP toplevel bool Output verbose RAM init debug messages

This option enables additional RAM init related debug messages. It is recommended to enable this when debugging issues on your board which might be RAM init related.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

DEBUG_PIRQ toplevel bool Check PIRQ table consistency

If unsure, say N.

DEBUG_SMBUS toplevel bool Output verbose SMBus debug messages

This option enables additional SMBus (and SPD) debug messages.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

DEBUG_SMI toplevel bool Output verbose SMI debug messages

This option enables additional SMI related debug messages.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

DEBUG_SMM_RELOCATION toplevel bool Debug SMM relocation code

This option enables additional SMM handler relocation related debug messages.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

REALMODE_DEBUG toplevel bool Enable debug messages for option ROM execution

This option enables additional x86emu related debug messages.

Note: This option will increase the time to emulate a ROM.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG toplevel bool Output verbose x86emu debug messages

This option enables additional x86emu related debug messages.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_JMP toplevel bool Trace JMP/RETF

Print information about JMP and RETF opcodes from x86emu.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_TRACE toplevel bool Trace all opcodes

Print _all_ opcodes that are executed by x86emu.

WARNING: This will produce a LOT of output and take a long time.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_PNP toplevel bool Log Plug&Play accesses

Print Plug And Play accesses made by option ROMs.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_DISK toplevel bool Log Disk I/O

Print Disk I/O related messages.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_PMM toplevel bool Log PMM

Print messages related to POST Memory Manager (PMM).

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.


X86EMU_DEBUG_VBE toplevel bool Debug VESA BIOS Extensions

Print messages related to VESA BIOS Extension (VBE) functions.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_INT10 toplevel bool Redirect INT10 output to console

Let INT10 (i.e. character output) calls print messages to debug output.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_INTERRUPTS toplevel bool Log intXX calls

Print messages related to interrupt handling.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_CHECK_VMEM_ACCESS toplevel bool Log special memory accesses

Print messages related to accesses to certain areas of the virtual memory (e.g. BDA (BIOS Data Area) or interrupt vectors)

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_MEM toplevel bool Log all memory accesses

Print memory accesses made by option ROM. Note: This also includes accesses to fetch instructions.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

X86EMU_DEBUG_IO toplevel bool Log IO accesses

Print I/O accesses made by option ROM.

Note: This option will increase the size of the coreboot image.

If unsure, say N.

LLSHELL toplevel bool Built-in low-level shell

If enabled, you will have a low level shell to examine your machine. Put llshell() in your (romstage) code to start the shell. See src/arch/i386/llshell/llshell.inc for details.

BOARD_HAS_HARD_RESET toplevel.deprecated_options bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has a reset.c file containing a hard_reset() function.

BOARD_HAS_FADT toplevel.deprecated_options bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has a board-local FADT in fadt.c. Long-term, those should be moved to appropriate chipset components (eg. southbridge)

HAVE_BUS_CONFIG toplevel.deprecated_options bool

This variable specifies whether a given board has a get_bus_conf.c file containing information about bus routing.

DRIVERS_PS2_KEYBOARD toplevel.deprecated_options bool PS2 Keyboard init

Enable this option to initialize PS2 keyboards found connected to the PS2 port. Some payloads (eg, filo) require this option. Other payloads (eg, SeaBIOS, Linux) do not require it. Initializing a PS2 keyboard can take several hundred milliseconds. If you know you will only use a payload which does not require this option, then you can say "n" here to speed up boot time. Otherwise say "y".

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