On Saturday 27 January 2001 16:00 US Central Time, Todd Vierling wrote:

> If you can see the files on the HFS side, you should consider reading the
> README.html / README.txt file inside the macppc directory.  This explains
> in (excruciating) detail how to boot from the OFW prompt.

I've come to the conclusion that I won't be able to boot netbsd on this imac. 
From the macppc FAQ:

	How do I set up a bootable CD-ROM? (top) 

     	Create an ISO 9660 image with ofwboot.xcf and/or ofwboot.elf (depending 
	on which version of Open Firmware your machine is) and a gunziped kernel. Be
     	careful with some of the MacOS gunzip programs, as they may extract the 
	kernel as an ASCII file. Place both the ofwboot and kernel files are at the 	
	top level of the CD (i.e.
     	/). You may also wish to place the other distribution files on the CD f	
	or installation (such as base.tgz, etc.tgz, and so on). 

     	Burn the CD. Boot into Open Firmware. From Open Firmware, boot your 				
	machine from the CD. Depending on which OF version, you may need a different 
	boot command.
     	For example: 
      	boot scsi/sd@3:0,ofwboot.xcf -a
                                           for an OF 1.0.5 machine with CD on 
	the "scsi" Open Firmware bus
                                           Note: OF 1.0.5 cannot load 								
	ofwboot.xcf from a hybrid ISO/HFS CD, only pure ISO
      	boot ata/atapi-disk:0,ofwboot.xcf -a
      	boot ide1/disk@0:0,ofwboot.xcf -a
                                           for an OF 2.0.X machine without a 	
			 cd devailas
      	boot cd:ofwboot.xcf -a
                                           for an OF 2.0.X or 2.4 machine
      	boot cd:netbsd
      	boot cd:ofwboot.elf -a
                                           for an OF 3.0 machine
                                           Note: OF 3 can only load from a 			
			 hybrid HFS/ISO CD

I've tried boot cd:ofwboot.elf -a, since OF 3 won't support ofwboot.xcf on 
ISO 9660.  It gave me the same error.  I also tried booting the kernel 
straight from the CD, also didn't work.  What else can I do?  Obviously I 
can't downgrade OF so I can boot .xcf, and .elf won't boot.  Should I burn a 
new CD with ofwboot.elf?  I dont know what else to do..

Thanks for the help

-- 
Emre Yildirim, Information Security Officer
GPG KeyID 0x92FE42F4 | http://1086362465/emre-dsa.asc
emre@SRENGINEERING.COM | emre.yildirim@US.ARMY.MIL