Hi Merideth, I have had nearly as much trouble with NetBSD as you have, I'd
like to direct your attention to this page:
http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/macbsd-docs/faq/faq.html and particularly to
this entry: http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/macbsd-docs/faq/faq-4.html#ss4.12 .
Just yesterday, I posted a question regarding that SCSIRead error, and am in
the process of trying to fix it.  I have read other documentation where
things suggest that NetBSD can only handle up to 8 partitions in all
(including HFS partitions), and have had GREAT trouble properly partitioning
my drive for some ungodly reason.  It seems that the installer does not like
drives larger than 1GB either, so that seems to be strike two, also it
specifically says that the installer does not like Quantum Fireball drives
(geez, for me that's actually strike 3, I have a Quantum Fireball 1.25GB
drive dedicated to NetBSD).  Basically, the text says this is a bug in the
installer which, since the latest version of the Installer was completed
circa 1994, its not likely that a fix will be forthcoming.  It is apparently
much more difficult to configure NetBSD than the installer suggests, many
little things come to mind since I have been researching this over the past
3 weeks.  Its a 4+ hr install for me, and I have re-installed NetBSD on my
drives maybe 5 times in 5 different configurations.  I will try to answer
some more questions below.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Merideth Johnston" <merideth@sky.net>
To: "NetBSD list" <port-mac68k@netbsd.org>
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2000 4:34 AM
Subject: partitions


> I'm about ready to pull out _all_ my hair.  I swear, I cannot _find_ what
I
> need to do to configure the partitions to be used by NetBSD.  I have
> searched, and searched, and....  _nothing_ tells me what I need to know in
> order to proceed.  Which is:
>
> 1.  How do I find out how the partitions are labeled within NetBSD?  The
> installer lists them, specifically:
> sd0g: USR partition (for the compilers, games, etc, if I can get them
there...)
> sd0b: SWAP partition
> sd0a: HFS_PART (MacOS, a little over 4 gig, and I don't want it _touched_
> by NetBSD, ever - how do I ensure that?)
> sd0d: USR partition (for my /home, if I can get it put there)
> sd1a: ROOT/USR (the only way I could get the installer to install
> _anything_ was to make one partition for both root & usr, and put it on
the
> zip drive - I could get absolutely nothing else to work. at all. period.
> _Any_ root partition on my large hard drive causes the installer to fail,
> with the message: error on SCSI read (), #5; failed mountfs (), error 22 -
> whatever that means....)
> sd1b: HFS_PART (MacOS, tiny 2meg, required for the Mac to recognize the
> disk.  I intend to use it for any Mac files I want to reference from
NetBSD)

Do you mean while you're actually at the # or $ prompt using NetBSD?  If so,
then type df, and it will show you all of your mounted partitions and
percent free and stuff.  You can also use disklabel sd0 or sd1 for more
information.   Also, you might want to look at what /etc/fstab has listed.


> 2.  How do I configure the swap partition so it can be used?  I get the
> message, swapctl:/dev/sd1b: device not configured.  Therefore, I have no
> swap partition, until _something_ is done.  I don't know what partition it
> _means_ by sd1b, tho I have the bad feeling it is looking for the swap
> partition on the zip disk, and the only thing left there is the HFS
> partition, which the installer refers to as... sd1b.  I don't know how to
> tell it where the correct swap partition _is_, or why it doesn't know
where
> it is, when the installer so obviously did.

I originally had NetBSD installed on a smaller 540 meg drive, and everything
seemed to be playing well, because it seems that aside from the /swap
partition, all other things were on 1 volume (root,usr,var,home).  When next
I repartitioned my HD and made a separate root,usr,var,home,swap, for some
reason I got the same problem.  I think it has something to do with the
SCSIRead error and also the fact that I had the drive partitioned somehow
for more than the drive had space if you could believe that.  It caused all
sorts of nastyness.  I'm still working on that.  The funny thing is that all
of the problems that i've experienced including a missing partitions, two
partitions actually (/var and /home) are well documented, but I could find
little in the way of fixes.  I have since made the /home partition a part of
/usr/home, and the /var volume is the volume that the Installer currently
quits on with the SCSIRead error at the end of the base tarball archive.

> 3.  How do I mount the various usr partitions, and assign them to be used
> by NetBSD?  I need to move stuff off the zip disk, as it is now 75% full,
> and I have not yet done a dang thing but search, and search, and search
> thru the man pages, and all the books from the library, looking for some
> means to manage installing, somewhere _anywhere_ besides the zip disk.
>
> As far as I can tell, this would involve the fstab file, but that requires
> the use of the specific partition designations as seen by NetBSD, and _I
> don't know what they are_, or how to find out what they are, or if they
are
> the same as what the installer says they are.  (if they are the same, why
> doesn't it recognize them already?)  You get the grim picture.
>
> If someone would be so kind, before they fit me with a rather tight jacket
> and haul me away jibbering quotes from UNIX Unleashed...
>
> and bonking my forehead on the keyboard,
>

This one threw me for a loop the first time I installed NetBSD 3 weeks ago.
The document (kinda) clearly says what to do, and it actually is correct and
works:

After booting Install for the first time, do Build Devices under the file
menu (I think), then go to the mini shell and type:

     mkdir /usr
     mkdir /var
     mkdir /home

Assuming you have 3 separate partitions for each, if not, just mkdir for the
partitions that you actually have made separate partitions for.  If you are
unsure where volume/partitions are then type 'disklabel'.  Please note that
if your partitions lie on the second hard drive in the chain, the drive
assignment might be sd1 instead of sd0.  Your root&usr partition on your Zip
drive seem to be sd1.  Pay specific attention to this after you type
disklabel.  Then:

      mount /dev/sd0g /usr   ---- sd0g is always the first /usr partition
      mount /dev/sd0e /var   ---- sd0e is always the second /usr partition
      mount /dev/sd0f  /home ---- sd0f is always the third /usr partition

Then:

       fstab force

Then:

        quit

This, apparently, will tell the Installer to put the files in their
respective partitions.  You are now ready to install the packages that you
want.  Strangely, I use two different partitioners to do the trick, FWB
Harddrive Toolkit to do the initial formatting, and a (patched) Apple HD SC
Toolkit to make the actual partitions.  This is because FWB for some reason
does not partition correctly after the 2 or 3rd partition.  Make sure that
if you are using Apple HD SC, make var and home usr partitions (slice 2 or
3).  And when you use Mkfs, you assign the var and home partitions as usr.

I hope this helps Merideth, if you have any more questions, don't hesitate
to ask.