Curiouser and curiouser.

Since I was able to boot, I proceeded to install from the CD (I can't remember 
where to get the daily sets by FTP... :-( ). That went fine, for as far as I got.

But when I reboot - the installed kernel doesn't find all the disks, again!

 > boot
booting hd0a:netbsd
7070552+837072+383992 [494472+312784]=0x9ae8e0
Copyright (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
     The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
     The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.

NetBSD 3.99.24 (GENERIC) #0: Fri Aug  4 14:24:28 CST 2006
         oster@quadrapus:/u1/builds/build69/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/GENERIC
total memory = 8143 MB
avail memory = 7848 MB
timecounter: Timecounters tick every 10.000 msec
timecounter: Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 100
timecounter: selected timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 100
mainbus0 (root)
mainbus0: Intel MP Specification (Version 1.4) (TEMPLATE ETEMPLATE   )
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 246, 2000.08 MHz
cpu0: features: e7dbfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR>
cpu0: features: e7dbfbff<PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,MPC,NOX,MMXX,MMX>
cpu0: features: e7dbfbff<FXSR,SSE,SSE2,LONG,3DNOW2,3DNOW>
cpu0: calibrating local timer
cpu0: apic clock running at 199 MHz
cpu0: 16 page colors
cpu1 at mainbus0: apid 1 (application processor)
cpu1: not started
mpbios: bus 0 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 1 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 2 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 3 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 128 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 129 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 130 is type PCI
mpbios: bus 131 is type ISA
ioapic0 at mainbus0 apid 2 (I/O APIC)
ioapic0: pa 0xfec00000, version 11, 24 pins
ioapic1 at mainbus0 apid 3 (I/O APIC)
ioapic1: pa 0xdfefc000, version 11, 24 pins
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1
pci0: i/o space, memory space enabled, rd/line, rd/mult, wr/inv ok
NVIDIA nForce4 Memory Controller (miscellaneous memory, revision 0xa3) at pci0 
dev 0 function 0 not configured
pcib0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0
pcib0: NVIDIA nForce4 PCI-ISA bridge (rev. 0xa3)
NVIDIA nForce4 SMBus (SMBus serial bus, revision 0xa2) at pci0 dev 1 function 1 
not configured
ohci0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0: NVIDIA nForce4 USB Host Controller (rev. 0xa2)
ohci0: interrupting at ioapic0 pin 8 (irq 9)
ohci0: OHCI version 1.0, legacy support
usb0 at ohci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub0 at usb0
uhub0: NVIDIA OHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub0: 10 ports with 10 removable, self powered
ehci0 at pci0 dev 2 function 1: NVIDIA nForce4 USB2 Host Controller (rev. 0xa3)
ehci0: interrupting at ioapic0 pin 9 (irq 9)
ehci0: BIOS refuses to give up ownership, using force
ehci0: EHCI version 1.0
ehci0: companion controller, 4 ports each: ohci0
usb1 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1
uhub1: NVIDIA EHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 2.00/1.00, addr 1
uhub1: 10 ports with 10 removable, self powered
auich0 at pci0 dev 4 function 0: nForce4 AC-97 Audio
pci_intr_map: bus 0 dev 4 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
auich0: can't establish interrupt at irq 9
viaide0 at pci0 dev 6 function 0
viaide0: NVIDIA nForce4 IDE Controller (rev. 0xf2)
viaide0: bus-master DMA support present
viaide0: primary channel configured to compatibility mode
isa_intr_establish: no MP mapping found
viaide0: primary channel interrupting at irq 14
atabus0 at viaide0 channel 0
viaide0: secondary channel configured to compatibility mode
isa_intr_establish: no MP mapping found
viaide0: secondary channel interrupting at irq 15
atabus1 at viaide0 channel 1
viaide1 at pci0 dev 7 function 0
viaide1: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide1: bus-master DMA support present
viaide1: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 0 dev 7 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
viaide1: couldn't establish native-PCI interrupt at irq 9
viaide1: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 0 dev 7 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
viaide1: couldn't establish native-PCI interrupt at irq 9
viaide2 at pci0 dev 8 function 0
viaide2: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide2: bus-master DMA support present
viaide2: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 0 dev 8 func 0 pin 1; line 5
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
viaide2: using irq 5 for native-PCI interrupt
atabus2 at viaide2 channel 0
viaide2: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
atabus3 at viaide2 channel 1
ppb0 at pci0 dev 9 function 0: NVIDIA nForce4 PCI Host Bridge (rev. 0xa2)
pci1 at ppb0 bus 3
pci1: i/o space, memory space enabled
nfe0 at pci0 dev 10 function 0pci_intr_map: bus 0 dev 10 func 0 pin 1; line 11
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
: irq 11, address 00:30:48:57:80:b4
makphy0 at nfe0 phy 1: Marvell 88E1111 Gigabit PHY, rev. 2
makphy0: 10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, 1000baseT, 
1000baseT-FDX, auto
ppb1 at pci0 dev 13 function 0: NVIDIA nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci2 at ppb1 bus 2
pci2: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
ppb2 at pci0 dev 14 function 0: NVIDIA nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci3 at ppb2 bus 1
pci3: i/o space, memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
vga0 at pci3 dev 0 function 0: NVIDIA GeForce 6200TC (rev. 0xa1)
vga0: WARNING: ignoring 64-bit BAR @ 0x14
vga0: WARNING: ignoring 64-bit BAR @ 0x1c
wsdisplay0 at vga0 kbdmux 1
wsmux1: connecting to wsdisplay0
pchb0 at pci0 dev 24 function 0
pchb0: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 HyperTransport configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb1 at pci0 dev 24 function 1
pchb1: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Address Map configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb2 at pci0 dev 24 function 2
pchb2: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 DRAM configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb3 at pci0 dev 24 function 3
pchb3: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Miscellaneous configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb4 at pci0 dev 25 function 0
pchb4: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 HyperTransport configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb5 at pci0 dev 25 function 1
pchb5: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Address Map configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb6 at pci0 dev 25 function 2
pchb6: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 DRAM configuration (rev. 0x00)
pchb7 at pci0 dev 25 function 3
pchb7: Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 Miscellaneous configuration (rev. 0x00)
isa0 at pcib0
lpt0 at isa0 port 0x378-0x37b irq 7
isa_intr_establish: no MP mapping found
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4: ns16550a, working fifo
com0: console
isa_intr_establish: no MP mapping found
com1 at isa0 port 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 3: ns16550a, working fifo
isa_intr_establish: no MP mapping found
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60-0x64
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
isa_intr_establish: no MP mapping found
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0 mux 1
wskbd0: connecting to wsdisplay0
attimer0 at isa0 port 0x40-0x43: AT Timer
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: PC speaker (CPU-intensive output)
sysbeep0 at pcppi0
pcppi0: attached to attimer0
pci4 at mainbus0 bus 128
pci4: i/o space, memory space enabled, rd/line, rd/mult, wr/inv ok
NVIDIA nForce4 Memory Controller (miscellaneous memory, revision 0xa3) at pci4 
dev 0 function 0 not configured
NVIDIA product 0x00d3 (miscellaneous memory, revision 0xa3) at pci4 dev 1 
function 0 not configured
viaide3 at pci4 dev 7 function 0
viaide3: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide3: bus-master DMA support present
viaide3: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 128 dev 7 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
viaide3: couldn't establish native-PCI interrupt at irq 9
viaide3: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 128 dev 7 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
viaide3: couldn't establish native-PCI interrupt at irq 9
viaide4 at pci4 dev 8 function 0
viaide4: NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller (rev. 0xf3)
viaide4: bus-master DMA support present
viaide4: primary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 128 dev 8 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
viaide4: couldn't establish native-PCI interrupt at irq 9
viaide4: secondary channel wired to native-PCI mode
pci_intr_map: bus 128 dev 8 func 0 pin 1; line 9
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
failed to allocate interrupt slot for PIC pic0 pin 9
viaide4: couldn't establish native-PCI interrupt at irq 9
nfe1 at pci4 dev 10 function 0pci_intr_map: bus 128 dev 10 func 0 pin 1; line 10
pci_intr_map: no MP mapping found
: irq 10, address 00:30:48:57:80:b5
makphy1 at nfe1 phy 1: Marvell 88E1111 Gigabit PHY, rev. 2
makphy1: 10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, 1000baseT, 
1000baseT-FDX, auto
ppb3 at pci4 dev 13 function 0: NVIDIA nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci5 at ppb3 bus 130
pci5: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
ppb4 at pci4 dev 14 function 0: NVIDIA nForce4 PCIe Host Bridge (rev. 0xa3)
pci6 at ppb4 bus 129
pci6: memory space enabled, rd/line, wr/inv ok
ioapic0: enabling
ioapic1: enabling
timecounter: Timecounter "TSC" frequency 2000099710 Hz quality 800
timecounter: selected timecounter "TSC" frequency 2000099710 Hz quality 800
timecounter: Timecounter "clockinterrupt" frequency 100 Hz quality 0
Kernelized RAIDframe activated
atapibus0 at atabus0: 2 targets
cd0 at atapibus0 drive 0: <LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-160P6S, , PS0A> cdrom removable
cd0: 32-bit data port
cd0: drive supports PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 4 (Ultra/66)
cd0(viaide0:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 4 (Ultra/66) (using DMA)
wd0 at atabus2 drive 0: <WDC WD4000YR-01PLB0>
wd0: drive supports 16-sector PIO transfers, LBA48 addressing
wd0: 372 GB, 775221 cyl, 16 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 781422768 sectors
wd0: 32-bit data port
wd0: drive supports PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 6 (Ultra/133)
wd0(viaide2:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6 (Ultra/133) (using DMA)
wd1 at atabus3 drive 0: <WDC WD4000YR-01PLB0>
wd1: drive supports 16-sector PIO transfers, LBA48 addressing
wd1: 372 GB, 775221 cyl, 16 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 781422768 sectors
wd1: 32-bit data port
wd1: drive supports PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2, Ultra-DMA mode 6 (Ultra/133)
wd1(viaide2:1:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 6 (Ultra/133) (using DMA)
boot device: <unknown>
root device: