Re: Netbooting a blue and white G3

[Michael <macallan%netbsd.org@localhost>]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Hello,

On Oct 15, 2009, at 8:57 AM, Andy Ruhl wrote:

> On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 7:46 PM, Michael <macallan%netbsd.org@localhost> wrote:
> > The easiest way is:
> > - - put ofwboot.xcf into your OSX boot partition, that way you  
> > don't have to
> > mess with a FAT or whatever fs ( I seem to remember you mentioned  
> > having OSX
> > on that machine )
> > - - create the NetBSD partitions with OSX. No need to format them  
> > with
> > anything, just create them and write down the partition number for  
> > what you
> > intend to become your root ( /dev/disk1sx where x is the number you  
> > want )
> > - - netboot into NetBSD, change the partition types to UNIX or  
> > whatever,
> > doesn't really matter what as long as it keeps OSX from attempting  
> > to mount
> > them, put a matching disklabel in place ( should be more or less  
> > automatic
> > ), newfs, unpack, etc.
> > - - boot hd:ofwboot.xcf ultra1:x/netbsd with x being the number you  
> > wrote
> > down above, and ultra1 being the devalias for your NetBSD disk. On  
> > my beige
> > G3 it would be ide1, on my G4 it's ultra1, the iBook uses hd1 IIRC  
> > - no idea
> > what it would be on a b&w G3, just look at your devaliases. But hd  
> > should
> > point at the first OF readable partition on the first disk on any OF3
> > machine.
>
> Ok, this is nice for people who want to keep OSX.
>
> For my purposes, I can add a new disk to the machine (200 gig IDE),
> but when I do it the thing no longer boots. I get the folder with a
> question mark. I need to make sure I'm putting the slave disk in there
> correctly though. If I can fix that problem, then this method seems
> like a good idea.

That can be a challenge, many macs, especially pre-G4 models, are very  
finicky about that. Some combinations will only work with cable  
select, some only with master / slave set, some disks don't like each  
other - it took me a while to get my beige G3 to boot with two disks  
on the 1st IDE channel.

> Question: You said "Create the NetBSD partitions with OSX..." then
> "Change the partition types to UNIX whatever..." Is this done with
> disklabel or pdisk? I'm hoping I can just figure this out myself.

I meant pdisk - OSX and OF don't see the NetBSD disklabel.

> I have booted NetBSD on a whole lot of different machine types, so far
> this has been the most difficult one that I can remember that is
> claimed to be supported. It doesn't seem like it needs to be.

In part you can thank Apple for that - each OF version has its own set  
of bugs and weirdnesses, the ones used in PMac G3 models are by far  
the worst :/

Additions to the FAQ are always welcome.

have fun
Michael

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (Darwin)

iQEVAwUBStdiE8pnzkX8Yg2nAQKDmwgAha4A8Fml0+myI7GX5ltsil1DEMB+Kr7w
COt5WPjxO0iJpo7NLxLnms1JLBVq91uEBrlJ9dTPeVO+LNesJSvorJ9l3GzQyA/J
9372ZiGyfekVfTkvJnYGpfnEm+lHOt+QHwUL2oT1l91k+wyWyFRoDlHGiQBqX9b2
FHDNFkAdaK1f0G27hqvyHpE90PkM4vHCV5OKEOWIZc8JzULJPRlL1aHEEEL76nmS
XfC5puhVWrXdZAzku6VKFRUxdxM1fNB/E8d0Qr1JXLdMnBp6OR4ZNpdX0lMbBpd8
7x7ggs12cx60JANpE5XdHaOzfpzmVuVPI6QzGpEiKuiZIc+PZ40fDg==
=ZkDL
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----