Subject: Re: sysinst, serial console on soekris
To: None <netbsd-help@NetBSD.org>
From: Mark E. Perkins <perkinsm@bway.net>
List: netbsd-help
Date: 01/01/2007 16:38:26
On 2007/01/01 12:28, David Laight wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 29, 2006 at 06:54:17PM -0500, James K. Lowden wrote:
>> Mark E. Perkins wrote:
>>> Is sysinst going to DTRT on it's own or ask
>>> me if I'm using a serial console?  Or do I need to drop into a shell and
>>> run installboot after the installation is done (and before I reboot)? 
>> In theory, yes, sysinst will DTRT.  
> 
> In practise as well....
> You can set the baud rate (speed) to 0 with installboot, in which case the
> boot code will determine the current rate (by reading the divisor registers)
> Which is actually quite handy when pxebooting a kernel.
> (use 'installboot -e' to modify the pxeboot iage)

Here's how it went for me...  When sysinst got to the bootblocks phase, it
appeared to offer to DTRT, suggesting serial console on com0 with baud rate 0
(this was a brand new drive, so there were no existing bootblocks to fall back
on).  My notes say I accepted this, but when I was done with the install, I
couldn't boot from wd0.  I tried booting to the install kernel, dropping into
a shell, running installboot, but still could not boot from the wd0.  I ended
up running through the entire installation again, this time specifically
choosing com0 and 9600 baud (via the menu) at the bootblocks phase.  After
that install, I could boot from wd0.

I'm not sure where I went wrong on the first install, but I think that when I
ran installboot (from the shell I got via sysinst) I did not specify the raw
device (which should have been obvious if I had done a more careful RTFM for
installboot).

Mark