Skip to main content

💾 Boot

The Boot menu provides options for installing the system bootloader and managing boot configuration files.
This section directly affects system startup behavior and should be used with caution.

The Boot menu is located under:

Settings → Hardware → Boot

Example:

Boot

Boot Options​

Install to Disk​

Installs the system bootloader to a selected disk which will basically copies the contents from your /boot folder to the new drive.

Install to Disk

warning

After the installation finished, please shutdown or reboot your server immediately since all further changes after Install to disk will not be saved.

The recommended way is:

  1. Shutdown your server
  2. Remove the old boot media
  3. Start your server
  4. Change the boot order in your BIOS if necessary to boot from the new disk
Switching to a different boot medium

You can repeat the Install to Disk process at any time to migrate your installation to a new boot medium (e.g. from a USB flash drive to an SSD). This simply copies the current state of your existing installation to the new medium.

Steps:

  1. Run Install to Disk and select the new target medium
  2. Shut down your server
  3. Remove the old boot medium
  4. Boot from the new medium

This process can be repeated as often as needed — each run copies the current installation state to the chosen medium, making it easy to upgrade or replace your boot drive at any time.

When clicking Install to Disk, an input form is displayed with the following options:

📁 Device​

Defines the target device where the bootloader and files from your existing /boot directory will be installed.

note
  • Select the correct disk carefully
  • Installing the bootloader may overwrite existing boot data
  • After the installation finished, please shutdown/reboot your Server immediately and boot from the new disk

💻 Filesystem​

Defines the filesystem used for the boot installation.

note
  • Must be compatible with the selected device (for installation to a HDD/SSD/NVME ext4 is the recommended filesystem)
  • Existing data on the selected filesystem may be affected
  • Please note that if you format a disk in a Linux filesystem type like ext4, btrfs, xfs your drive won't be readable anymore on Windows (there are tools out there which allow you to view/edit such filesystems on Windows)

📈 Extra Partition​

Optionally enables the creation or use of an additional partition for usage as a Pool device.

Options:

  • Enable
  • Disable

If Extra Partition is enabled:

  • The remaining free disk space will be allocated as a separate partition

  • This partition can later be used for:

    • Storage pools

    • Docker data

    • Shares

    • General persistent storage

↪️ Restore from file (MOS Backup)​

Allows you to restore the boot configuration from a MOS backup file.

note

The MOS Backup Plugin must be installed and configured to use this feature.

Edit grub.cfg​

Opens an editor for the GRUB configuration file:

/boot/grub/grub.cfg

Purpose:

  • Modify boot parameters
  • Adjust kernel options
  • Change boot behavior

Edit grub.cfg

danger

This file is critical for system startup Incorrect changes can prevent the system from booting

tip

Only edit grub.cfg if you fully understand GRUB configuration and recovery procedures.

📚 Best Practices​

  • Verify the target device before installing the bootloader
  • Backup important data before making boot-related changes
  • Avoid manual edits to grub.cfg unless absolutely necessary
  • Keep recovery media available when modifying boot settings

✅ Summary​

The Boot menu allows low-level control over system startup configuration.

Key points:

  • Install the bootloader to a selected disk and filesystem
  • Optionally configure an extra partition
  • Manually edit the GRUB configuration file if required
  • Misconfiguration can affect system bootability

Use this section carefully and only when necessary.

Parts of this documentation were created with the assistance of AI tools. All AI-generated content has undergone review, but it may still contain inaccuracies, omissions, or outdated information.