thanks a lot .. now at least have a clue what OF is..
the computer is: Mac G3 266 OF version 2.0f1
seems like I need to change boot-device to something.. (to what?)
thanks in advance.


Regards,

Igor N. Green

On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Geoffrey C Kinnel wrote:

-->"Igor N. Green" wrote:
-->> 
-->> where can I get the Boot Variables program? how can I run it?
-->> any links? do I need to install it?
-->> how can I change the nvram settings?
-->> if I get to the OF how can I change it without the Boot Variables program?
-->> thanks in advance.
-->> seems like I'm a real pain in the ass.. but sorry. this is my first Mac.
-->> (hope not the last one)
-->> 
-->> -->>I tried this `ata/ata-disk@0:0' and `ata/ata-disk@0:bsd'
-->> -->>I always get the same result: I see a picture of a floppy on my screen and
-->> -->>an 'x' inside.
-->> -->>I suspect that the problem is that  the MBR is not changed..
-->> -->>and it still contains something to boot MacOS which I don't have anymore.
-->> -->>I need either to install the bootloader (if any) or clear the MBR (if
-->> -->>any)..
-->> -->>damned Mac, why should it be that difficult while everything is very
-->> -->>simple in PC (BIOS, CMOS) without shortcuts and stuff like that.
-->> -->
-->
-->Igor,
-->
-->Boot Variables is a MacOS program. You said earlier that you
-->removed MacOS from your computer, so Boot Variables is not an
-->option.
-->
-->When a Mac boots, the first thing it does is check Open Firmware
-->(OF) for boot settings. The most important (in your case) are
-->auto-boot?, boot-device, input-device and output-device. You need
-->to set these variables to appropriate values for your machine.
-->
-->Now, the problem is, Macs usually have auto-boot?=true and
-->boot-device=/APPL/ROM  (from memory, might be slightly off),
-->which means it will automatically boot from the Mac ROM before
-->ever reading from a hard drive (and pretty quickly after power
-->up, too.) The input- and output-device variables are not too
-->important to the Mac ROM booting, but VERY important for NetBSD. 
-->
-->We need to figure out how to get you into Open Firmware. Usually
-->doing cmd-opt-O-F at startup (before the chime stops) will work.
-->On some models you will see text appear on your screen, but on
-->others, this will appear to do nothing. Actually, it's looking at
-->the input-device for input and sending output to the
-->output-device specified in OF. These are usually the modem port. 
-->
-->The modem port?
-->
-->Yes. The default input-device and output-device is ttya, with is
-->the first serial port, or modem port. So if you have another
-->computer, you can hook up a serial cable from the modem port of
-->the NetBSD mac and connect it to the serial port of the other
-->computer. Start up the other computer and open a communication
-->program, and set it to N-8-1 at 38400 baud. Then boot the netbsd
-->computer using the cmd-opt-O-F. You should see output in the
-->comms program. This is open firmware.
-->
-->You will need to find out the proper aliases for devices on your
-->machine and set Open firmware variables to those values. Here is
-->a list of helpful OF commands:
-->
-->devalias  --lists aliases
-->printenv  --prints current variable settings
-->setenv <var> <value> --sets a variable e.g. setenv input-device
-->kbd
-->boot  --boots the boot-device
-->bye --attempts to boot using Mac ROM. This will fail in your
-->case.
-->
-->Let us know your Mac model number, and we should be able to help
-->some more. If you get to OF, try
-->setenv input-device kbd
-->setenv output-device screen
-->
-->See <http://www.linuxppc.com/userguide/of.html> and
--><http://www.linuxppc.com/userguide/output_dev.html> for some
-->potentially helpful info.
-->
-->Mucking around with OF the first time is a little confusing, but
-->once you get it right, it's set and forget. I hope this was
-->helpful.
-->
-->Geoff
-->