Subject: i386 install problem --- set files
To: None <netbsd-help@netbsd.org>
From: David Friggens <dnf@paradise.net.nz>
List: netbsd-help
Date: 06/22/2001 13:12:23
Hi. I'm trying to install 1.5 on an old 486 with 16Mb of RAM, ~300Mb HD, & 
no modem, network, or CDROM.

I read the install file and thought I was fine - partitioning was fairly 
easy (compared to what I thought it would be) and the install seems fine. 
Except that I can't figure out how to get at the set files.

I tried RaWrite-ing the *.tgz files onto floppies, but RaWrite breaks down 
and says there's a disk error in sector one. (For every disk I've tried.) 
The install file is a little vague about this point. It says copy all of 
the set_file.xx files onto disks. I'm now thinking that it doesn't mean 
using RaWrite (that's only for the boot disks). But the .tgz files are too 
big for floppies to be directly copied.
Does "set_file.xx" mean:
=> the *.tgz files
=> the *.tar files inside them (even bigger!)
=> or the variously named files inside the .tar ones (though some of these 
are too big for a floppy, notably the kernel)


Alternatively, when I couldn't get the floppies working I tried to install 
from the hard disk.
I copied the *.tgz files from my main PC using floppies and Slice (16) onto 
a DOS partition. But I can't access the DOS partition during the install. 
The install file shows how to mount a DOS partition on the second boot, and 
I have seen a couple of similar things in the mailing lists, but they all 
rely on the "mount" command. I paused sysint and tried to do a few things, 
but whenever I typed "mount" it said

	Cannot open `/etc/fstab': No such file or directory

so presumably I can't access the partition until I've finished the install 
(kinda chicken and egg, eh?).


so
Q: Which files are supposed to be on the disk and how do I get them on?
Q: How can I (easily and painlessly, if possible) access the sets in the 
DOS partition?

An answer to one or both would be greatly appreciated.


TIA David
(BTW I'm not on the list, so you'll have to email me directly. Sorry.)