Subject: 1.2 i386 bootstrap 'read error' problem (Help).
To: None <netbsd-help@NetBSD.ORG, port-i386@NetBSD.ORG>
From: None <swt@ono.aca.com>
List: port-i386
Date: 10/18/1996 15:09:37
Hi - I've just installed the binary distribution of i386 NetBSD 1.2 on a P5,
EIDE, 16M machine.  (This machine is going to be a 100% NetBSD; I won't be
sharing it with DOS/Win.)  Booting off the boot floppies I made the file
systems, installed the kernal, and so on just fine.  The problem is when
attempting to boot off the hard drive.  Instead of booting I get a "Read
Error.", so it appears to be a problem with the bootstraping.

I've covered all the ideas/solutions given in the faq about ide/eide disk
geometry, lba, and on.  It seems that I'm getting the real disk geometry
from the controller and I have lba turned off in cmos but netbsd still 
doesn't boot.  I've looked up the disk geometry from the manufacture and it 
is the same information I'm getting blurped out from netbsd's wd controller 
at boot time.  However the information about geometry I get from pfdisk.exe
is very different, though takeing this geometry doesn't fix the problem 
either.  I'm also sure that the wd driver is working ok with my EIDE 
controller because I can boot with a floppy, then boot netbsd off the
disk with 'hd(0,a)/netbsd' at the boot prompt and things go just fine.

So this leaves me with two questions:

	a) Anyone have any other things I can try that might get netbsd
	   to boot off of my hard drive?

	b) Is the i386 netbsd a two stage boot?  That is does it require
	   a primary and secondary bootstrap, so the disklabel command
	   to write the bootstrap would be 'disklabel -B -b /usr/mdec/wdboot 
	   -s /usr/mdec/bootwd wd0'?


Thanks for your help.
-- 
Stephen W. Thomas                       Internet email: swt@aca.com
Affinity Computer Applications, Inc.             Voice: (218) 723-2385, Ext. 11
18 North 4th Avenue West                           Fax: (218) 723-2395
Duluth, MN  55802-1510 USA