Subject: Re: DEC PC164 questions
To: None <port-alpha@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Andrew Gallatin <gallatin@cs.duke.edu>
List: port-alpha
Date: 02/16/1997 14:34:20
Chris G. Demetriou writes:
 > However, the firmware is enough.  You _NEED_ SRM console firmware to
 > run NetBSD/Alpha.
 > 
 > If you can get SRM console firmware for an AlphaPC 164, in all
 > likelyhood that AlphaPC 164 can run NetBSD (as long as you _have_ the
 > SRM console firmware installed 8-).  I can't say 100% for sure that
 > it'll work, because I don't know the full variety of AlphaPC 164's out
 > there.  However, i've run NetBSD/alpha or seen it run on several
 > members of the AlphaPC 164 family.

I recently discovered that the SRM console firmware for the EB/AlphaPC
164 is included on the firmware update CDROM that accompanies the CSLG
edition of Digital UNIX 3.2G (and presumably other releases, though I
haven't checked & cannot be certain).  It DOES NOT appear on the
Digital FTP site.  I can only assume that the ommision of that
firmware from their ftp site is some sort of primitive form of
copy-protection for Digital UNIX & VMS.

 > Note that the current NetBSD/alpha snapshot is not particularly stable
 > on 21164-based systems.  I hope to be releasing a new snapshot soon
 > that will address those problems.

Cool!

Drew
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