> > >Ideally, it would be nice if a 3000/300 class machine could come up
> > >running on the monitor rather than being forced into a serial >terminal.
> > >That would seem to require a second set of boot floppies and a >kern.tgz
> > >with both kernels available, and some way to force either at the tail
> > >end of the install.
> >
.....
> Most of the issues with (and reasons for) the TCWSCONS special-case predate
> my time here, but I think I vaguely know what the issue is.
> 
> First, the scorecard:
> 
> 	TCWSCONS => zsc => dev/ic/z8530sc.c
> 	GENERIC => scc => alpha/tc/scc.c

Well, since the 3000 line is the odd critter in the ratsnest, and I
would concur that maybe it is not a wise idea to break working code,
but, is there a way to separate out just a boot/install floppy system
tailored to the 3000 line?  It could mean generating a separate floppy
set, or a separate boot cd image, but I would think it should be doable
with a custom 3000 only install kernel?

I think there are enough of us with these machines AND the consoles
dongles monitors keyboards for them, that it would be beneficial to
have a 3000 tcwscons boot suite, without any other alpha bits around.
This would be specific for the 3000 machines only.  Yeah, that adds
making a second boot floppy set, but, if it did not fracture the code
base, it would be considerably useful.  There is no particular reason
some sort of shell script could not be used to generate routinely such
a boot/install floppy only for the 3000, is there?

Maybe when it comes time to finalize the 1.5.1 release, several of
us with 3000/300 boxes and twscons, could do an update and build
a special boot setup suite, test it, and if it works, throw it
into the archives somewhere?  I was trying to do that kind of thing,
but my code base got so fractured I could not get a current build,
even of the kernel, and had to drop back to 1.5, chase down a VAX
terminal, and rebuild tcwscons.  Grumble/pain.....

I am a very firm believer that IFF a machine has a nice 19 inch hires
monitor hooked up, it seems a little odd to have to chase down and
rip off a monitor from one of my VAXentoyz just to bring up the alpha.
Granted the 3000/300 is a special case, but, it would be a nice bit
of pipe-dream IFF an install could be run that way off tcwscons.

Practically, how do we best do that?

Just thinking out loud again.....

Bob