In message <200109010843.EAA01244@w3.bluegrass.net>, "Thomas Mueller" writes:
>from me:
>
>> I was going to ask what was wdc1, but browsed the NetBSD-INSTALL.html which 
>I
>> saved as a DOS-compatible INSTALLN.HTM, and it appeared to be a secondary ha
>rd
>> disk controller.  But I have no such thing installed in the computer, and no
>> such thing shows in CMOS, so I guess I can't disable it.  Apparently Linux a
>nd
>> OpenBSD don't see this phantom secondary hard disk controller, maybe I could
> go
>> through the dmesg again just to be sure?
>
>John Ruschmeyer responded:
>
>>Are you sure there isn't one on, say, your soundcard?
>
>>We're talking a 486 VLB box with a BIOS old enough to have only two
>>drive entries. Given that time frame, this means that the disk
>>controller (a VLB-combo card, I presume may or may not have a second IDE
>>bus. It also means that and IDE bus might exist on the soundcard.
>
>I don't have a soundcard on this old computer!  But I have 486 VLB.  BIOS has
>two drive entries.
>
>from Frederick Bruckman:
>
>>I remember now... I have to use custom kernels for those two machines
>>(wdc1 removed). The motherboard has a second IDE controller with the
>>words "Tape"  stenciled near it, and no jumpers or cmos settings will
>>let either boot with standard kernels. They'd both hang just about
>>where yours does.
>
>>Frederick
>
>When I was trying to figure out the problem with my hard drives, I remember
>hooking the cable to a secondary slot, and getting hdd, or sometimes hdc and
>hdd, when I booted Linux installation diskettes (or LOADLIN).  Maybe that's
>wdc1?  This was not recognized by the BIOS, and DOS would not be able to acces
>s
>hard disks so connected.  But Linux can boot, FreeBSD installation diskettes
>booted after a half-hour of hardware probing, and OpenBSD installation diskett
>e
>booted.
>
Hmm -- I have NetBSD up on a VLB 486, and it also has problems with the 
disks.  Rather, it has intermittent problems, down to the BIOS level.  
Sometimes, even the BIOS claims it can't find any disks, even though there 
are two.  I had attributed that to the size of the second (NetBSD) 
drive.  Other times, it seems ok, though I have to boot NetBSD from a 
floppy.  Figuring out how to have it boot from a hard drive (preferably 
the first (DOS) drive, with auto-boot of the other) is near the top of 
my list.

		--Steve Bellovin, http://www.research.att.com/~smb