Andrew Brown writes:
> i beg to differ!  i recently stuck a new 5 gig ide drive in my machine
> (it's an old 486dx/50) and wanted to install netbsd, dos, and linux.
> i installed the linux first, after completely setting up the partition
> table with the linux partition as "active" and planned on using lilo
> to choose between linux, netbsd, and dos.  then i went on to install
> netbsd and even though i did not "fuck the machine pretty badly",
> netbsd went right ahead and installed it's own bootblocks in the mbr.

1) Did you have a NetBSD partition set?
2) Did you answer "yes" when it asked you if it could blow way the mbr?

Anyway, fdisk should fix you up at this point.

> i know it doesn't play with the partition table at all (unless there
> isn't one in which case it makes it's own), but fdisk does and it only
> does a poor job at that.  maybe this should be a separate question
> from netbsd when you write a disklabel?  have it confirm that you want
> the netbsd bootblocks in the mbr as opposed to the beginning of
> /dev/[wd]d0a?

Disklabel no longer writes boot blocks under any circumstances.

Perry