Re: Making a partition bootable (SS10)

[John Nemeth <jnemeth%cue.bc.ca@localhost>]

On Nov 5,  8:09am, Riccardo Mottola wrote:
} John Nemeth wrote:
} > On Nov 4,  1:09pm, Mouse wrote:
} > }
} > }>  I am performing a fresh install NetBSD 4 (*) [...] SS10 [...], I
} > }>  thought of making a small boot partition.
} > }
} > } Reasonable enough.  I routinely do that.
} > }
} > }>  I have thus a root partition and a small 20MB root partition which I
} > }>  put at the beginning of the disk.
} > }
} > } I assume at least one of those "root"s should be "boot".  That's what I
} > } do; for example, one of my machines has a mount table showing
} > }
} > } Filesystem  1024-blocks     Used    Avail Capacity  Mounted on
} > } /dev/sd0d      33900347 29922214  2283115    92%    /
} > } /dev/sd0a         63471    14814    45483    24%    /kernels
} > } kernfs                1        1        0   100%    /kern
} > } procfs                4        4        0   100%    /proc
} > }
} > } /kernels holds boot, netbsd, and a handful of old versions of netbsd;
} > } the old versions are of no use in routine operation, but are very
} > } useful when I'm booting new kernels (which I do semi-regularly) which
} > } don't always work right.
} > }
} > }>  What is the "boot" file?  at first, I was about to mount my boot
} > }>  partition into /boot as used on linux, but that would have been a
} > }>  problem.
} > }
} > } /boot is the second-stage bootloader.
} > }
} > } [snip information about how a sparc boots]
} > }
} > }>  I tried to copy "netbsd" and "boot" into the other partition and boot
} > }>  from it, but it doesn't work.
} > }
} > } This should work _provided_ the partition containing them is all within
} > } the first gig of the disk, and you (re)run installboot to set the
} > } correct block numbers in the first-stage bootstrap, and you either (a)
} > } build a kernel "config root on" your actual root partition, (b) boot
} > } with -a so you can manually supply the root device, or (c) set up an
} > } autoconfigured-as-root RAIDframe unit to steal root away from what it
} > } would otherwise default to.
} >
} >       (d) adjust OFW variables to point to the correct partition by
} > default.
} Hmm... since for now I don't want to compile my own kernel. but use the 
} standard generic MP kernel, I suppose my only options are (b) and (d) ?
} Are there some readme or other docs to help me try that?

     Type "man boot".  Also:
http://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-6.1/sparc/INSTALL.html#Configuring%20your%20PROM

} Given that my boot rom has a dying battery, (d) is inconvenient, I'll 
} try soldering a new battery in though
} >
} > }>  Fdisk writes the boot sectors on a "whole disk".
} > }
} > } Fdisk?  fdisk?  On NetBSD/sparc, I wouldn't expect there to even _be_
} > } an fdisk.  (My own NetBSD/sparc machines are at 1.4T, which is what I
} >
} >       I would expect it to be there for manipulating disks that came
} > from a PC.  However, as noted, it should never be used on a disk
} > intended to be bootable by a sparc based machine.
} Sorry to cause all this confusion. I intended to write disklabel, no 
} fdisk was ever used. I just partitioned the disk using it as an external 
} HD from within NetBSD 2 running on sparc. All that part is "fine" in any 
} case, since I can do a "boot disk:d" and my machine will boot

     Again, type "man boot".  You want "boot disk:d -a".

} Since I can boot up to the point where init fails my only problem seems 
} to be that the kernel infers that / is in the same partition where the 
} kernel is, when in fact it is not.
} 
}-- End of excerpt from Riccardo Mottola