On Tue, Nov 30, 1999 at 08:07:26AM -0800, Andy wrote:
> I installed NetBSD 1.4.1 on an external 2 GB  Seagate ( the  machine is
> Beige G3 266)
> now at startup it always asks me for root device. This is before rc script
> is run.
> The messages I see:
> wswcons: wskbd0 glued to wdisplay0 ( console)
> boot device: <unknown>
> root device: - I enter sd0a
> dump device: (default sd0b) - <enter>
> file system( default generic)) - <enter>
> root on sd0a dumps on sd0b
> 
> .... blah blah, boot continues as advertised.
> 
> One thing I find strange is that it refrers to my disk SCSI ID 4 as sd0 .
> Shouldn't it be sd4 ?

Nope. sd? ids are assigned by order of drives in the chain. I'll
presume your disk is on the external chain, which gets scanned before
the internal chain, which is why it gets sd0.

This seems a bit more logical as far as allocation of ids goes (first
drive gets 0, second 1, so forth), but it is a bit counter-intuitive
when used with the bass-ackwards way SCSI ids work.

As far as having to tell it the root device at startup, you can pin
this down in a custom kernel config... but it should just assume the
correct thing based on something you set when installing (but I don't
remember what)... anyone else?

       ~ g r @ eclipsed.net