hey,

i emailed asking for help:

{
>hi,
>       im tryin to get netbsd to run on my mac 2ci.  I partioned my drive
>correctly, installed the file system, installed the kernal and the extra
>files, and booted.  problem is, i cant get anything done cause it says
>the file system is read only.  i tryed "mount -aw" but it says  "the
>device does not match the mounted device"  any help would be greatly
>appreciated.  BTW, i am booting off an external SCSI HD.  could this
>have anything to do with the problem?  thanx
>
}

and got lots of answers!

> > > >i tryed "mount -aw" but it says  "the device does not match the
> > > >mounted device"
> > > 
> > > try "mount -uw /" to mount "/" read/write in single user.
> > > booting off an *external* scsi hd shouldn't ever matter, provided the drive
> > > is properly terminated. (and if you have only 1 SCSI bus, which you do).
> > > later,
> > 
> > Nope, that won;t work.  The error message you're getting says that the
> > kernel was compiled with a hard-coded root specification, like
> 
> Actually, that's not quite true.  The message means that the root
> device at boot time is not the same device that the installer placed
> in /etc/fstab.  This can happen if devices are shuffled around on the
> scsi bus, or if a device is turned on during installation and off during
> boot (or vice versa).
> 
> Take a look at your boot log where it probes the SCSI bus.  Look for the
> disk that contains your root partition.  It's going to be sd0, sd1, or
> something like that.  You can then type:
> 
> # mount -u /dev/sd1a /
> 
> (substituting /dev/sd1a with the appropriate device name)  The '-u'
> means "update" since root is already mounted.  When you don't specify the
> device name, it looks in /etc/fstab to find the correct device, but in
> your case, the installer didn't fill that in properly.

problem is im still having trouble.
here is what it says on boot after displaying system information
starting with anything important to the f/s:

Changing root device to sd1a.
PRAM: 0x346201c8, macos_boottime:0x346201bf
Automatic boot in progress: Starting file system checks.
Can't Open /dev/rsd2a: Device not configured.
/dev/rsd2a: Can't check file system.
/dev/rsd2a: Unexpected inconsistency; run fsck_ffs manually
Automatic file system check failed;help!
Enter pathname of shell or RETURN for sh:   <return>
Terminal type?      <vt100>

then it drops me into the shell.  i tried:

# mount -uw /    and it replied:
ufs:/dev/sd2a on /: specified device does not match mounted device

# mount -u /dev/sd1a /   and it replied:
/dev/sd1a: file system not clean; please fsck(8)

# fsck  and it replied:
Can't Open /dev/rsd2a: Device not configured

AHHHH  im goin nutz here.  if i havent completly lost you please help me
out.   Thanx,

-ChAoS