Subject: Re: Install NetBSD over the top of Linux
To: None <chammer@phyd2hammer.uni-bielefeld.de>
From: Mike Long <mike.long@analog.com>
List: current-users
Date: 06/14/1996 10:37:00
>From: Carsten Hammer <chammer@phyd2hammer.uni-bielefeld.de>
>Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 10:09:34 +0000 (GMT)

>Does it make it anything easier to have a installed Linux
>when installing NetBSD? I have a Linux box connected to
>the internet and want to install NetBSD on it (deleting Linux).
>It is a 486 with a 200MB HD. Just replacing the /vmlinuz with 
>/netbsd does not work for (at least) two reasons as i understand:
>
>1. Major and minor device numbers dont conform to any standard.
>   (is there any?)

No.

>2. NetBSD does not understand ext2fs of Linux
>
>Is this correct?

Yes.  Also, it is questionable whether Linux' boot blocks would load
the kernel properly, and the kernel probably would not get along with
Linux' init.

>And to try to get help directly for my problem:
>Is there any filesystem that NetBSD and Linux know both and
>that would help to do my migration to NetBSD?

MSDOS.  Watch out for mangled filenames, unless Linux' msdosfs also
understands Lose95 long filenames.  You can avoid that problem by
using tar.

>Is there a way to boot my box on a NFS mounted NetBSD-rootfs and
>to install then via NFS?(security considerations are no
>big problem for me, at least as long only this machine is affected)

I don't know about NFS, but you can boot with the floppies and then
install via FTP.
-- 
Mike Long <mike.long@analog.com>     <URL:http://www.shore.net/~mikel>
VLSI Design Engineer         finger mikel@shore.net for PGP public key
Analog Devices, CPD Division          CCBF225E7D3F7ECB2C8F7ABB15D9BE7B
Norwood, MA 02062 USA       (eq (opinion 'ADI) (opinion 'mike)) -> nil