Re: NetBSD Bootable CD ROM HOWTO

["Thomas Mueller" <mueller6724%bellsouth.net@localhost>]

On Feb 25, 2013, at 14:04, "Thomas Mueller" <mueller23%insightbb.com@localhost> 
wrote:

On Tue, 7 May 2013 23:30:36 -0700 John Refling wrote:
> I wanted to re-burn one of the i386 install CDs and add a few programs
> (6.1_RC4) which now seems to have disappeared

> On the website here:

> http://www.netbsd.org/docs/bootcd.html#i386image

> it gives (old) instructions involving using the boot-big.fs as the boot
> image for the cd.
>
> I cannot find that file anywhere on the CD media.  There is the boot[1-5].fs
> etc. for the floppy boot image.

> Maybe the docs should be updated too?

Julian Fagir <gnrp%komkon2.de@localhost> responded:

> imho, this documentation shouldn't be updated, but archived.
> I don't exactly know how it is done, but you should look into build.sh and
> the according Makefiles to see what a current image creation does.
> Of course it would be nice if you documented what you find and write a small
> howto how to create your own CD image. ;-)
        
> Regards, Julian

I remember the old boot-big.fs, about 3.5 MB, actually used it: too big for an 
actual floppy, but worked as a floppy image with grub4dos.

Being DOS-based, grub4dos requires setting sectors-per-track and heads even if 
fictitious.

It looks like the latest grub4dos is grub4dos-0.4.4.zip at
http://download.gna.org/grub4dos/

and I don't think it's being updated any longer.

My command sequence to boot NetBSD 5.1_STABLE on the older computer was

map --mem --heads=16 --sectors-per-track=63 (hd0,2)/boot2/nbffs51c.img (fd0)
map --hook
rootnoverify (fd0)
chainloader (fd0)+1
boot


and then at the NetBSD boot: prompt, I did

boot netbsd -a
(or other NetBSD kernel)

and specified wd0a as root device, accepted wd0b as dump (swap) device)

This floppy image was (still is) 40 MB (created by me, not downloaded).

With an installation kernel that has its own built-in ramdisk, I don't have to 
specify a different root device.

Tom