Re: Install 1.6.2 on Amiga 2000

[Lance Tagliapietra <lancetag%luminet.net@localhost>]

I have achieved a bit of success getting NetBSD to install on my Amiga
2000 (described in the quoted text below). I have discovered:

1. Mentioning the -b option for the boot parameters prompt would
be very useful.  The -b parameter causes the NetBSD boot to stop and
prompt for a device to boot from.  This is really helpful when the boot
would normally pick a partition (or drive) what is not desired.

2. The network configuration support for ed0 when ed0 is an ASDG
lanrover leaves a bit to be desired.  During
installation, the network configuration portion, I selected ed0, entered
all the information as prompted, but the device did not show an 'X' by
it indicating configured when I was complete, and on the next boot, it
did not get the IP assigned.

3. I had to pull the cable from the ASDG ethernet card after the boot
process recognized it, otherwise the install would randomly lock up or
give errors (see quoted text below for a description of issues).  I was
able to repeat the install twice by pulling the cable after the boot.
The cable was needed though, so the card would be recognized during boot
and I would get the prompt for network configuration.

4. The if/fi issue goes away when the network cable pulled.  My guess is
that network traffic is coming in and is not be handled properly.

--Lance

On Fri, Apr 02, 2004 at 08:03:13PM -0500, John Klos wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> > I'm trying to install NetBSD 1.6.2 on an Amiga 2000 with
> > KS 37.175 ROM
> > GVP Combo 030 w/12M RAM
> > Quantum 3.2G hard disk (install target)
> > Seagate 4G hard disk (boot device).
> 
> Looks good...
> 
> > I can get the miniroot.fs booting, and it starts the install procedure
> > through the part where it does start to create the filesystem on the
> > root devicve.  It seems to get through this process, then at the end I
> > get the following error message:
> > newfs: ioctl (WDINFO): invalid arguement
> > newfs: /dev/rsd1a: can't rewrite disk label
> 
> That should be fine - because you use AmigaDOS to partition the disk, the
> disklabel is not actually written ever by NetBSD. You can safely ignore
> that.
> 
> > It then goes on to ask me if I want to install the network [y] and
> > pressing return gives anotehr error:
> > /install: 270: Syntax error: end of file unexpected (expecting fi)
> >
> > and then even control-D will not re-start the install procedure (well,
> > it will restart, and then die with another error).
> 
> That error should not be. Can you download the 1.6.2 sets and install them
> from a local source, and set up the network later?
> 
> > I have tried different size partitions on the Quantum drive (under and
> > 0ver 500MB) without success.
> 
> The size shouldn't matter (since both drives are less than 4 gigs).
> 
> > Also, the install instructions need a bit of update for systems with KS
> > 37.175, as it seems that the filesystem must be an Amiga format for the
> > drive to come up on the boot menu (custom FS partitions are not listed.
> > On the flip side, autobooting the Amiga directly into NetBSD is neat!
> 
> If you create a custom boot filesystem, set it as bootable, and it doesn't
> come up on the boot menue, then you may have a controller ROM which
> doesn't support that. I have an Amiga 1200, and the Blizzard 1260's SCSI
> won't boot NetBSD, but a CyberStorm in another machine does just fine. If
> this is the case, you may need to boot AmigaDOS and have that run loadbsd
> (make sure you get version 3, as the older version does not support
> booting ELF kernels).
> 
> > I got intrested in NetBSD when I read that it supports the ASDG ethernet
> > card I have.  It seems that there is a bit of problem with the support
> > there too, as leaving the card connected to the network will give an
> > error in the install process indicating that the receive buffer has
> > overflowed.  I ultimately pulled the card for my final attempts at
> > install, just to make sure that unserviced interrupts were not causing
> > my install issue.
> 
> That error is actually just a warning; you can safely ignore it. It's
> somewhat common when the card is connected to a network that has other
> traffic going around. Just a little annoying sometimes.
> 
> > Suggestions? more info required?
> 
> The if / fi thing needs to be fixed, but see if you can get past that by
> not configuring your network in that part. Or you can boot the install
> kernel and do the install manually.
> 
> In either case, please give feedback!
> 
> Good luck,
> John Klos