I just got for free a Digital Server 5000 series model
5305. In looking around for a free OS that I could
install, it seems as if NetBSD is the best option for
the alpha platform.

I'm a little confused right now as to how to get
NetBSD installed, so I would appreciate some help and
direction.

1. I can't find my alpha server listed in any of the
lists that mention compatable hardware. Does this mean
that not even NetBSD will work on this machine? (On
the HP site it mentions that you can install tru64Unix
or OpenVMS on it, so I'm assuming you can have a free
Unix on there too.)

2. It asks for Windows NT at boot, so I'm assuming
this is a bios issue. Yet, I only found information
about the SRM Console on www.alphalinux.org. It
mentioned that I need to upgrad the SRM firmware
before attempting to install. Is this true? Are there
different steps that I need to follow to install
NetBSD and using the SRM Console?

3. It has a floppy drive and a CD-ROM drive, so can I
use the CD-ROM image to install NetBSD like I do when
I install Ubuntu Linux on an i386?

4. Does anyone know if X11 works on this model alpha?

Please give me any advice you have in getting this up
and running. If it just is not worth the effort, let
me know, and I won't waste my time. I am relatively
new to Linux, but have enjoyed working with that OS,
so I hope to expand my OS education/hobby with NetBSD
using the alpha port.

Steve
mowestusa@yahoo.com


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