On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 01:57:45 -0800, Daniel C. Sinclair
<daniel.c.sinclair@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone.
> 
> I have been trying to netboot the NetBSD 2.0 GENERIC kernel and have
> had no success.
> 
> If I compress it with 'gzip --best' the Cube2 prints this:
> 
> Decompressing -invalid compressed forma
> 
> The 'forma' isn't a typo. Compressed with 'gzip -2' is better but
> still not working:
> 
> Decompressing -/
> 
> It freezes up then, but at least it doesn't think the kernel is invalid.
> 
> I read in the Cobalt FAQ that the kernel must be gzipped and no larger
> than 1000000 bytes (approx.).  The generic kernel is larger than that
> so I'm guessing that's the problem.  What I'm wondering is why the
> Cobalt generic kernel, which should be bootable on any machine for
> installs and emergencies, can't be netbooted at all.  It works fine
> once installed on the Cube's harddrive but only if the /usr/mdec/boot
> boot-loader is used.
> 
> Having to build a custom kernel so that I can install seems backwards.

(I'm speaking without seeing the GENERIC conf file for a while)

There was some stuff in the kernel that probably didn't need to be
there. I think there was some agreement that this was the case. If it
didnt' get taken out, it might be worth submitting a pr and a diff for
a fix.

There are a few machines that have built in scsi, and some other
stuff, but probably don't need it for boot. If the firmware behaves
like this and it can be prevented by removing this stuff, then that
probably needs to be fixed.

Andy