Re. http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-i386/2002/06/02/0006.html

I have an NE2000 PCIMCIA 10/100 card in my laptop.  If memory serves, ne1
and ne2 both get mentioned in dmesg, but only one is actually configured
(why ne0 never, ever shows up is a mystery).

On a cold boot, the card really gets bound to ne2.  It literally
alternates from ne2 to ne1 and back again on successive warm boots.  WHen
the system seems satisfied that the card is at ne1, it is absolutely
unusable.  When it's at ne2, I can ifconfig it more or less normally.
(Though I can't set the MTU on the card.  You wouldn't think that that
would be a problem, but there are times when I want to set the MTU on my
local net, due to ipf/ipnat problems on my NetBSD gateway.)


It's still not clear what you need the install floppies for.  Since you
know that NetBSD doesn't like your NE2000 card, I assume that you have
already installed NetBSD.  You should only need the install floppies when
you first installed the system (or if you want to wipe your disk and start
over for some reason).

If you just want to install one of the precompiled, semi-generic kernels
(in place of the usual GENERIC kernel), you can just download the kernel
and copy it to /netbsd.new.  Then boot, and at the 5-second countdown,
hit the space bar to get manual control over the boot, and type ``boot
netbsd.new''.

If you need to build a new kernel, you still don't need the install
floppies.  Just download the sources and extract them.


(Also, what FAQ are you looking at?  You said the i386 FAQ, but I just
searched http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/i386/faq.html in my web-browser, but
coudln't find anything about NE2000.  In addition to clarifying what it is
you are doing, I'd actually like to see this, since your message reminds
me that my laptop's ethernet card is a little odd.  I normally don't think
about it because I cold-boot it, use it, and then shut it down; it almost
never warm-boots so the problem is normally out of sight for me.  But,
once in a great while, I *do* warm boot it.  (This whole exchange also
reminds me that I should check the NetBSD bug database...(^&))


  ``I probably don't know what I'm talking about.'' --rauch@math.rice.edu