I am trying to install NetBSD 1.0 on a Gateway 2000 486DX2/66.  It has a
730meg Western Digital hard drive and Pheonix BIOS 4.04C.  My goal is to
break the drive into multiple partitions, using 350meg for NetBSD.  However,
I seem to be some distance from this goal since I have been unable to
install a bootable NetBSD kernel even when I try using the whole drive.
The error I consistently get when I boot the system simply says "Read
error".  I have read the *BSD.FAQ and it has led me to be suspicious of my
disk geometry.

Some particulars:  the raw geometry of the drive is 1416c/16t/63s and,
when I use this during the NetBSD install process, I am able to complete
the installation of the file system and kernel without difficulty.  I
have also tried feeding the installer some artificial geometries such as
708c/32t/63s and 707c/32t/63s, but the installer is then unable to read
or write to the disk.  (Note - the latter geometry is the one that appears
by default when I run the DOS partitioning utility, pfdisk.exe.)

I'm seeking any hints or help that you might offer.  Barring a miracle
solution, I'd find it useful to know what situations can trigger the
"Read error" boot message.  (I'm currently guessing that some cylinder /
track / sector information stored in the boot block is being interpreted
using the wrong geometry.  If this is true, I'd like to have it confirmed
and perhaps get some suggestions as to how I might get around it.)

...Rox