Before I say anything, I want to note that this project is user supported,
and I am only speaking for myself.

On Tue, 21 Jul 1998, Mawuli Foli Kuivi wrote:

> Hello,
> I have received my order. I actually do not see as at now any difference
> between what is on the CD and the one on the net. Some of the directory
> which are specified do not exit.

There's not supposed to be any difference. Actually, all the directories
should exist! Oh, the split directories won't (as they're for getting the
distribution onto floppies to get into the machine - the CD's much
easier). But everything you need should be there.

The reason for the CD is convenience. You don't have to spend time (and $$
for some folks) downloading. Plus, if you have problems (say a disk dies),
you can just grab the CD and start fixing things. That's why I bought one
even though the machines which will use it are on the net (and could just
ftp everythign over).

> My main question is about the installation. When you want to use
> "sysinst" to do the installation, do you still have to create the
> bootdisk, and still go through the process of "2. Quick Install" in the
> insatllation notes or 'sysinst' will do everything for you including
> transfering the necessary files to my harddisk?

I'd heard something about the CD being bootable on i386. I'm not sure if
that happened, and even if it had happened, your BIOS would have to
support booting off of CD ROM (which many can't). If you can get the BIOS
to boot the CD, then you don't need the boot floppy. If you can't get the
BIOS to boot the CD after say 5 minutes or two curse words, just build the
floppy. It's fairly quick. Boot that, and all should be well. I think. :-) 

Others will correct me if I'm wrong about the bootability.

You make the boot floppy to get sysinst onto the computer. When the
instructions talk about a "menu" in section 2.3, you are in fact using
sysinst to put everything on the computer.

> I hope to hear from you soon. Why don't you have phone numbers that one
> can reach and ask questions and get answers inmmediately. The email
> stuff can take some time if you should need a reply urgently.

The main reason for this is that NetBSD is not a software house. It's an
operating system supported by many folks on the net, a foundation to help
with legal stuff, and a sales arm (which is new) to help broaden the
availability of the NetBSD operating system. We don't have the commercial
infrastructure (nor the prices) to provide phone support. 

Try the install. If it doesn't work, just post another message with
details.

Take care,

Bill