From my previous message > and David Laight ^ :

> I guess then the primary partition for -current could be small, how big would it
> need to be?

^define small?  depends how much you want to put in it :-)  Remember it
^mught become your main 'root' someday.  Gave mine 2Gb - given the size
^of IDE disks that is small!

I guess you could install that part later in the main NetBSD primary partition
if it proves good.  But I suppose the root subpartition could be relatively
small, considering the big stuff goes in /usr.  Maybe a separate subpartition
for /home, or is that not usually done?

^Don't know how LILO loads netbsd.  However the netbsd kernel will find
^the disklabel (and hence the definitions of wd0[a-p]) using code that is
^independant of where the kernel was loaded from - unless you use my
^fixed mbr_bootsel et al.

I installed Slackware 8.0, ran lilo a second time, to include the NetBSD primary
partition.  Using Linux cfdisk, prior to installing Slackware 8.0, I deleted
both the NetBSD primary partition and the adjacent primary partition originally
intended for OpenBSD 2.9, and made the combined space into a new primary
partition type a9 (NetBSD, but Unknown to Linux).  lilo.conf needed an "lba32"
line (without the quotes) to be able to see above 8 GB, ran seemingly OK.  I
think that partition was bootable from the previous install attempt that only
installed minimally, and it might possibly still be, though I think I would
redisklabel and reinstall 1.5.2 from the beginning.

I saw messages to the effect that OpenBSD can't boot from above 8 GB, and I
found OpenBSD fdisk can't see above 8 GB, and OpenBSD disklabel showed those two
primary partitions, now combined into one, as overlapping, though it was OK to
Linux fdisk and cfdisk.  So now I figure I have enough without OpenBSD.

^You ought to be able to persuade the netbsd installer to install a
^second netbsd partition by changing the type of the original one before
^starting the install.  I'd try before the install - don't rely on the
^installer getting it right (it may already have decided where the netbsd
^disklabel is...

I guess changing the partition type, as Linux fdisk or cfdisk (and NetBSD
fdisk?) would do, only changes one byte in the partition table but nothing in
the actual partition, thus making it easy to change back?

> I assumed root fs would have to be on the same subpartition as the kernel.

^No! if your kernel config specifies 'root on ? type ?' then it will use
^the slice number passed in.  But if it says 'root on wd0h type ffs' then
^the root filesystem will de wd0h - regardless of where the kernel was
^loaded from - doesn't even need to be the same disk!

^        David

I will have some reading to do, on accessing partitions on other disks.  I have
a variable configuration regarding other disks because of a mobile rack, which
now holds the larger of two hard drives (1270 MB) from the old computer.  New
computer hard drive is 40 GB.