Re: ofwboot.xcf problem (port-macppc/44895)

[Havard Eidnes <he%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

>> > - I figure out where on cvs.netbsd.org the docs are...
>> > - I have time to do it  
>>
>> I can have a stab at drafting the documentation update, just sit
>> back and wait for the juicier stuff :)
>
> Thanks :)

How does this look?

     Therefore, to boot the NetBSD kernel, Open Firmware must first load a
     `bootloader' (ofwboot.xcf) which knows how to load the NetBSD kernel.

     Note:  Despite a note to the contrary in earlier releases that
            ofwboot.elf is obsoleted, that is no longer the case.  It has been
            observed that on some newish machines (notably at least some Mac
            Minis), use of ofwboot.xcf will result in an early kernel panic
            when loading the GENERIC kernel from disk.  For these machines it
            appears to be a workaround to use ofwboot.elf instead of
            ofwboot.xcf as the boot loader.  The root cause for this problem
            has unfortunately yet to be found.

The two first lines are context, the note is rewritten compared
to earlier.  The source diff:

Index: prep.OPENFIRMWARE
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvsroot/src/distrib/notes/macppc/prep.OPENFIRMWARE,v
retrieving revision 1.18
diff -u -r1.18 prep.OPENFIRMWARE
--- prep.OPENFIRMWARE   9 May 2015 08:13:35 -0000       1.18
+++ prep.OPENFIRMWARE   6 Jun 2017 11:17:22 -0000
@@ -746,12 +746,20 @@
 which then loads the kernel.
 .\}
 .(Note
+Despite a note to the contrary in earlier releases that
 .Pa ofwboot.elf
-is obsoleted.  All users should be using
+is obsoleted, that is no longer the case.
+It has been observed that on some newish machines (notably at least
+some Mac Minis), use of
 .Pa ofwboot.xcf
-instead of
+will result in an early kernel panic when loading the GENERIC kernel
+from disk.
+For these machines it appears to be a workaround to use
 .Pa ofwboot.elf
-now.
+instead of
+.Pa ofwboot.xcf
+as the boot loader.
+The root cause for this problem has unfortunately yet to be found.
 .Note)
 .Pp
 The following bootable media are available for loading the bootloader:

Regards,

- Havard