On 2004-08-08 tim@underwoodfamily.org wrote:
> > > I am currently testing/playing with 1.6.2 on my MobilePro
> > 880.  NetBSD
> > > is installed on a PCMCIA hard drive (since all of my CF cards are
> > > 128MB or less).
> > >
> > > In a few months, I expect the price to come down on a 512
> > or 1GB card
> > > dramatically, and I'm wondering what it takes to transfer a working
> > > image from the PCMCIA hard drive to the CF card.
> > >
> > > Anyone done this sort of thing before?
> >
> >   I have not done this directly, but I think it should work:
> > fdisk, disklabel, and newfs, mount and cd to the new card
> > then use this command: tar cplf - / | tar xpf -
>
> Wouldn't a change be required to /etc/fstab as well?

  It shouldn't if you put the new disk in the same slot as the old when
booting it, but otherwise it might (as well as a kernel config change
possibly if you wire down your root device).  Hopefully you have all the
write minimizing options you can live with turned on already.

> >   This assumes you have one file system.
>
> Right now, except for swap, everything is on one filesystem, "root".  I
> know that isn't the proper way, but when I'm playing with it I hate
> running out of space on a filesystem.

  I always use one file system.  IMO, this is almost always the best way
to go, especially for effecively single user systems (mine are really
single user systems; I autologin as root and have no other users with
shells).  It makes no sense to partition what is already a smallish disk
unless there is a very good reason to do so.  You will not want to swap on
a CF card :/.

> I've done this with Linux before, and even changing /etc/fstab, it was
> definitely not happy, and I wound up having to re-install.  Since I have
> to do so much juggling (at this time) to get software on the system, if
> I can I'd rather copy it than re-install.

  I can't think of any reason why it should be unhappy.  NetBSD install
uses tar and boots up fine with only MAKEDEV, rc, and fstab changes (which
should be the same as the old system).  I don't think NetBSD packages have
any disk dependencies.  It should work...

Matthew Orgass
darkstar@city-net.com