In message <200311180657.BAA02277@Sparkle.Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>, der Mouse wr
ites:
>> I have no theories on the keyboard stuff [...].  But given the
>> problems with disklabel, partitioning, and the failure when building
>> on another machine, might there be a BIOS geometry problem?
>
>There very well may be for all I know.  How can I tell?

I'll let others who understand disk geometry issues better than I do 
give an authoritative answer.  (I find disk geometry to be the 
second-worst part of installing NetBSD, exceeded only by generating
an Xconfig file....)  The two thoughts that occur to me are checking 
the BIOS parameters for the drive on both machines, and seeing what 
disklabel says on both machines (for the ailing one, using a floppy or 
CD boot, of course).


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