Subject: Re: install/22713: New floppy install boot fails on at least one USB floppy drive
To: None <netbsd-bugs@netbsd.org>
From: David Laight <david@l8s.co.uk>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 09/07/2003 21:09:10
> >Synopsis:     New floppy install boot fails on at least one USB floppy drive
> Machine: i386

>    When trying to boot an install floppy from a couple of recent versions
>    of -current (2003-05-28 and 2003-08-13) on a VIA EPIA-V8000 Mini-ITX
>    motherboard with a Toshiba USB floppy, the system quickly reboots.
>    Sometimes with the more recent of the two builds above it displays
>    something along the lines of 'NetBSD ufstar primary bootstrap' before
>    the reboot, other times, and always with the earlier kernel, it
>    displays nothing, it just reboots.

Sounds like a broken bios :-)  (always blame someone else)

The 'NetBSD ustarfs primary bootstrap' message is a fairly recent addition.
So I supect the boot code is failing in the same place in both cases.
(and it isn't the kernel it is the code in arch/i386/stand/bootxx)

Unfortunately in order to attempt to fix this, the exact point of failure
needs to be identified.  This can only be done by adding putstr/putint
calls (not printf here) into the code until they stop coming out!

One guess might be that we are overwriting some memory the bios things
it is using.  You could try rebuilding with PRIMARY_LOAD_ADDRESS set
higher - maybe 0x2000 instead of 0x600.

	David

-- 
David Laight: david@l8s.co.uk