Re: NetBSD kernel boot stuck at boot device

[Luis Falcon <falcon%gnuhealth.org@localhost>]

Hi, Lukas
On Mon, Sep 21, 2026 at 06:26:57PM +0200, Lukas Rotermund wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> this is my first time writing to a mailing list, so when I did something wrong
> please tell me!
> 
> I am writing you because I am trying to install the NetBSD install img on my
> Thinkpad T490. Every boot of the flashed img results in the error of the
> attached image. The kernel boot process is stuck there four hours. Nothing
> happens after the last line anymore.
> 
> ```
> [   7.2381348] uhub1: device problem, disabling port 4
> [  12.7181348] uhub1: device problem, disabling port 6
> [  18.1981351] uhub1: device problem, disabling port 8
> [  23.6781350] uhub1: device problem, disabling port 10
> [  23.7081318] swwdog0: software watchdog initialized
> [  23.7381315] boot device: <unkown>
> ```
> 
Those "uhub1" errors are related with the USB subsytem / xhci driver, 

For intance, on my laptop I get:
[     1,166153] uhub1 at usb0: NetBSD (0x0000) EHCI root hub (0x0000), class 9/0, rev 2.00/1.00, addr 1
[     1,166153] uhub1: 3 ports with 3 removable, self powered

So it seems something is wrong with USB either at hardware or kernel level in your box.

> I tried flashing the image from multiple linux systems (mint & void) with `sudo
> dd if=...install.img of=/dev/sda bs=2M` and also with fsync. I synced after
> flashing with `sudo sync`.
> 
> I tried it with 10 different old usb sticks and 2 off the shelf/ new ones that I
> bought today. Every scenario resulting in the same error. After booting 1-2
> times, the USB sticks get bricked with >4000 bad blocks. Resulting in not
> booting the kernel anymore.
> 
Every once and then a pendrive can be bad, but having *all* the usb sticks damaged is *highly unlikely* . 

Some random ideas:

Did you try plugging the stick and booting from a different USB port?

Do you have access to another laptop / computer just to test the boot process with that image?

PS: Although does not seem to be the scenario, is always a good idea to check the integrity of the downloaded file
against its MD5 hash (https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/images/11.0/MD5) 

Hope it helps!

Best,