Subject: Re: -current won't boot on weird laptop
To: Peter Seebach <seebs@plethora.net>
From: Andrew Gillham <gillhaa@ghost.whirlpool.com>
List: port-i386
Date: 01/03/2000 15:49:51
Peter Seebach writes:
> Synopsis:  I'm trying to update my mom's NetBSD box.  It's a Solo 2300.  It's
> been running NetBSD since about 1.2, and is currently on a horrible hybrid
> of 1.4_ALPHA and 1.4.  I was trying to load -current.

We certainly need to make sure this upgrade goes smooth!  Certainly don't
want to read about any problems. :=)

> Behavior:
> 
> INSTALL kernel:  Gets to "root filesystem type is ffs" (referring to the
> memory filesystem), then sits there.  ramdisk.fs has been double-checked, and
> does contain /dev.

Can you hit ctrl-alt-esc and get into ddb?  I'm definitely no expert, but
you should be able to glean some information from the output of either
'trace' or 'ps' once you're in ddb.

> Any other kernel:  Finishes spinny-cursor stuff, and hard-resets machine.

Any chance for you to use a serial console enabled boot and kernel?  That
way you can capture any information that is flashing by just before the
reset.

> I'm probably just not gonna be able to get this today, but any cool ideas
> would be very much appreciated; if I can get one kernel that works, I can
> probably have the whole machine up and running in no time.  ;-)

Nothing really, just a serial console, and anything you can do in ddb.

Anybody else have one of these laptops they can test out?

Worst case it should be possible to do a binary search in the CVS repository
for the change that is breaking this.  e.g. Checkout a date halfway between
1.4.2_ALPHA and the working 1.4 kernel source date, verify a working kernel
or not, and then split the appropriate side.

-Andrew
-- 
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Andrew Gillham                            | This space left blank
gillham@whirlpool.com                     | inadvertently.
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