Currently I am running NetBSD 1.5 on my old alpha 3000/400, using the
patched kernel that used to be available at the monash ftp site. I have X
running, but there are a few issues I'd like to get resolved:

* I have an external CD-R drive (an old "Smart & Friendly" job), which I
can't seem to get going using cdrecord. Apparently there is a problem with
the scsi bus (at least, that's the error that's reported). Is this because
the external scsi bus isn't supported by cdrecord, or is it due to something
else?? Would I just need to configure and recompile cdrecord?
* The turbochannel frame buffer I have supports 24-bit colour, but I can't
seem to get X to run at anything other than 8bpp. I'd really like to run @
24-bit colour, as that way I could use the nice 21" monitor on the machine
to full effect.

Are these issues resolved in 1.5.2? That is, is the standard 1.5.2 kernel
patched for tcwscons, and does the kernel have the drivers necessary to run
cdrecord out of the box on this machine? Will I be able to install 1.5.2
without patching the installation kernel, like I had to do with 1.5?

Apologies for the newbie-ness of the questions, but I don't really have my
head around the netBSD world yet.

Cheers,
Matthew van de Werken
Electronics Engineer
CSIRO Exploration & Mining - Gravity Group
1 Technology Court - Pullenvale - Qld - 4069
ph:  (07) 3327 4685     fax:  (07) 3327 4455
email:  matt.vandewerken@csiro.au