Forest Bond wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> 
> New to the list here.  Nice to meet you.
> 
Hi :).

> I recently acquired an NEC MobilePro780, and promptly made an effort to 
> replace the Windows CE bit.  I managed to get it booting NetBSD 3.0 
> using pbsdboot.exe with CF root.  It works great as long as I'm plugged 
> in!
> 
> Unfortunately, if I put the thing to sleep and close the lid, the 
> battery dies, and all state information is lost within just a few hours.  
> I am forced back into Windows CE, and have to boot freshly into NetBSD.  
> This is no fun at all.
> 
This is an unfortunate side effect of the not-so-great suspend mode 
NetBSD puts the MobilePro into.

> I guess I have a few questions:
> 
> 1. When I have to reboot into NetBSD, the installation routine starts, 
> and creates /dev/* all over again.  I'd like to just create the device 
> nodes right in my filesystem on CF, so they don't have to be regenerated 
> at boot time.  What triggers this routine, and how can I prevent it?
> 
Sounds like you're booting the sysinst kernel instead of the system 
kernel.  What path to your kernel do you have listed in pbsdboot?  It 
should point to /netbsd or to a copy of /netbsd on an MS-DOS partition. 
  Hopefully that fixes the /dev/ issue as well.

> 2. I'm assuming that more tailored power management is what permits 
> Windows CE to retain its state information for such a dramatically 
> extended period of time.  As far as anyone is aware, is there any way to 
> improve NetBSD's power management?  I should think state would be 
> persistent for at least 6-10 hours with the unit in standby mode...
> 
Sad, ain't it?  I'm unaware of any of the internals of power management, 
I just wish it worked better :).

> 3. Has anyone had any luck replaceing the built in boot ROM's on their 
> handhelds?  Without this, every time my battery does finally die, I will 
> have to go through the Windows CE setup dialogs (which takes a couple of 
> minutes, and gets old fast) and then boot NetBSD from Windows CE.  This 
> is no fun at all.
> 
I've never heard of anyone even attempting this.  BUT, a *great* tip for 
when you have to go through this is to hold down the shift key as 
Windows CE boots.  It will skip the touchscreen configuration and other 
equally annoying things.

> Anyone have any suggestions?  Running SSH from Windows CE is a 
> dispicable habit that I would like to discontinue.
> 
I didn't even know you could do this.  What app do you use?  No reason...

> Thanks in advance for your input.
> 
> -Forest

You're welcome, hope it helps a bit :).

-Brian