Subject: Default boot device on Dreamcast? Other stuff.
To: None <port-dreamcast@netbsd.org>
From: Andy Ruhl <acruhl@gmail.com>
List: port-dreamcast
Date: 08/13/2006 19:02:40
A few issues:

1. What is the default boot device on Dreamcast?
2. Can we get some links fixed on the page for the port?

First, #1:

I see this in the GENERIC config file in 3.0.1:

# Kernel root file system and dump configuration.
#config         netbsd  root on ? type nfs
#config         netbsd  root on wd0a type ffs
config          netbsd  root on ? type ?

This produces a panic when I attempt to netboot this kernel (using the
IP upload slave setup and an NFS root). If I change to this (the only
change):

# Kernel root file system and dump configuration.
config         netbsd  root on ? type nfs
#config         netbsd  root on wd0a type ffs
#config          netbsd  root on ? type ?

Then I can boot.

Are we expecting to boot off of CD with the GENERIC method? What exact
device is the default GENERIC kernel actually expecting? It seems like
it's not practical to boot these things from anything except the
network, except maybe to do some small stuff with the MD kernel.

Maybe we could make a GENERIC_NFS kernel to go with the distro so that
it's not so difficult to get it to netboot? I had to cross compile a
kernel on another box. That's kind of difficult for the non NetBSD
initiated.

Second, #2:

The links to Josh Tolbert's page in the howto
(http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/dreamcast/howto.html) point to this non
existent place:

http://members.wri.com/josht/dreamcast/dreamcast.html

They should point here (I think):

http://www.puresimplicity.net/~hemi/dreamcast/

So far 3.0.1 seems to be working. I got a panic on halt once, not sure
why. It's compiling some pkgsrc stuff right now.

Andy