On Fri, 21 Mar 2003, Jeff Flowers wrote:

> Is the kernel on the NetBSD CD the generic kernel or is it a special
> kernel designed specifically just for installation purposes? I need a

It boots the INSTALL kernel. (But the installation CD, also has the
GENERIC kernel on it for later installation.)

> way to boot the generic kernel via CD-ROM so that I can test some
> laptops for NetBSD compatibility without installing to the hard disk
> drive, as I do not want to effect the partition table. (The laptops do
> not have a floppy disk drives, BTW.)

The INSTALL kernel should be fine, but it does remove the some support
like, joysticks, weasel watchdog timer, ISA busmice, brooktree TV card,
MIDI, and sound support. Also, some of the USB and other support is
different.

I have made around eight different NetBSD "live CDs" over the past 13
months that include a better kernel. They have been quite useful for
testing hardware, using as a rescue disk (even to recover NTFS files and
repair Linux filesystems), teaching classes, surfing the web, setting up a
temporary http and dns server, and a lot more.

Also, I believe that there is another live cd available from
ftp.netbsd.org that may be useful for you. (But I have not tried it yet.)

You may want to try making your own for your laptop testing. Or just use
the install CD (and don't install).

Also, be sure to look at
   http://www.reedmedia.net/misc/netbsd/laptops-and-netbsd-html


   Jeremy C. Reed
   http://bsd.reedmedia.net/