Subject: Re: Netbooting DEC 3000/300X to install NetBSD 1.4.1
To: Wes Kurdziolek <wes@mike.emerge.wm.edu>
From: Jon Lindgren <jlindgren@espus.com>
List: port-alpha
Date: 12/30/1999 06:27:03
On Wed, 29 Dec 1999, Wes Kurdziolek wrote:

> * I can control the DEC via the serial terminal

Try setting jumper W2 to 2-3, as this should force the serial
console.  The default position of 1-2 tries to automatically detect...
Note that if you're using the video/keyboard, setting W2 to 2-3 will
_disable_ the video/keyboard of the 300.

> * It boots into the firmware fine, and the internal tests show the RAM,
> hard drive, and ethernet card work

:-)

> * I'm running bootp, tftp, and ftp servers off of a Windows 98 (horrid,
> right? Unfortunately, I can't install Linux or any flavor of BSD on this
> box b/c it's my parents and I'm home from school for winter break).

As long as the bootp and tftp can support the rfc1048 option, we're
okay...

> * Here's what I do to attempt to netboot the box (the bootp and tftp
> servers are running on my Windows 98 box)
> 
> >>> boot esa0

Aha!  That's trying to boot via mop.  An excerpt from the Alpha Install
Notes:

---------begin plagarism---------
The 3000 series of Turbochannel systems and certain other models use old
SRM, do not have a -proto option and use different device names. They also
tend to not netboot very well so you probably don't need to worry about
this section. However, if you want to give it a try, note the following
differences: 


There is no -proto argument, or ewa0_protocols variable. Old SRM uses
bootp if the device name is given as ez0. 

The use of the setnetbootinfo(8) program will probably also be necessary,
as it is unlikely that an SRM from that era will properly communicate the
ethernet HW address to the boot program. 

Example: 
       >>> boot ez0 
---------end plagarism---------

In short, try "boot ez0" as opposed to "boot esa0"

Hope that helps some...

-Jon Lindgren
 "Xyzzy!  You're a duck!"
 jlindgren@espus.com, yubyub@yubyub.net