Howdy,

Since I don't have access to an OF 2.4 machine, I need y'all to give me
some feedback on this.

In particular, I need to know answers to the following questions:

Can you netboot using your internal ethernet (I ask since OF 1.0.5 can't)?

Run the following command in OF:
	dev enet .properties
Does the local-mac-address variable match with what MacOS says is your MAC
address (found in TCP/IP control panel, Advanced User Mode, Info button)?
Which MAC address does your system use when netbooting?

Can you boot from a hybrid ISO/HFS CD-ROM (again, OF 1.0.5 can't)?

Can you boot from a pure ISO 9660 CD-ROM (OF 3 can't)?

Do your OF settings get cleared when you boot into MacOS (they do in OF 1.0.5)?

Does floppy really not work in OF?  Even with System Disk patches?

Can you give me some examples of the OF device you use to boot from CD-ROM?

What are the default values of real-base and load-base in OF 2.4?

Do you need to set real-base to F00000 to load a > 3 MB kernel?

Do you need to set load-base to load ofwboot.xcf?

Has anyone used Drive Setup to partition their disk for sharing HFS and FFS
partitions?  Is it true you can boot ofwboot.xcf from an HFS partition,
then load the kernel from a FFS partition?

Thanks!

  -- MW

     Bootable media in Open Firmware 2.4

     1.   Discussion of what's available

          There are five methods of opening a file in OF 2.4:  from an MS-DOS
          filesystem, from an HFS or HFS+ filesystem, over ethernet, from an
          ISO 9660 (CD-ROM) filesystem, or from `partition zero'.  In all cas-
          es except `partition zero', your system must open the `ofwboot.xcf'
          bootloader to load the kernel.  The `partition zero' method loads a
          primary bootloader called `bootxx' which then loads an `ofwboot'
          bootloader, which then loads the kernel.  The `ofwboot' bootloader
          is functionally identical to `ofwboot.xcf'.

          Unfortunately, the Open Firmware 2.4 driver for floppy disks seems
          broken.

          We can almost immediately discount use of the MS-DOS filesystem, as
          neither the ofwboot.xcf bootloader or the kernel can read files di-
          rectly from it.

          We can also discount use of HFS(+).  Even though you could load
          `ofwboot.xcf' from an HFS(+) partition, you would not be able to
          load the kernel from it.

          As for ethernet, you can run your entire system diskless or netboot
          only the files necessary to boot (i.e. the bootloader and the in-
          stallation kernel), but you must have root access on another UNIX
          machine on your subnet.

          If you do not have access to a DHCP server running NFS, then you
          must load ofwboot[.xcf] either from an ISO 9660 (CD-ROM) disk or
          from `partition zero'.

          Once ofwboot[.xcf] has loaded, it can open a kernel from only three
          sources:  over ethernet (NFS), from a NetBSD filesystem (FFS), or
          from a CD-ROM filesystem (ISO 9660).

          When you are first installing NetBSD you will not have any NetBSD
          filesystems on your machine.  This leaves one option: ISO 9660.

          If you will be running your system diskless (i.e. entirely over NFS,
          not using any local hard drives), then you do not need to run the
          installer although you may still do so.

          You must run the installer to place NetBSD on a hard drive on your
          macppc system.

     2.   The two common installation techniques (and one not)

          o   Create an ISO 9660 CD-ROM.  Place ofwboot.xcf and the installa-
              tion kernel at the top level of the CD.  You may, while you're
              at it, also place the NetBSD 1.5_FOO distribution sets on the
              disk.  You will have OF load ofwboot.xcf from the disk, and it
              will then load the installation kernel.  If you do not have ac-
              cess to a CD-R burner, then you must

          o   Boot over the ethernet.  You will need to set up the DHCP daemon
              in BOOTP compatable mode, the TFTP daemon, and the NFS daemons
              on your netboot server.  You will tell OF to boot over ethernet,
              and it will send a BOOTP request, which will tell OF what your
              system's IP address is, and where its bootloader can be down-
              loaded via TFTP.  Once OF has downloaded the bootloader via
              TFTP, it will then load the installation kernel via an NFS con-
              nection.

          o   If all else fails, write the floppy disk image If0 0If1 1If2
              2If3 You will need to find a spare bootable drive (i.e. SCSI or
              IDE).  You'll use some tool to write the floppy disk image to
              your spare drive, and boot from that drive.  The floppy image
              has a `partition zero' bootloader which ultimately loads the in-
              stallation kernel.

     3.   Partitioning the drive NetBSD will be installed on

          You have two options.  You may use the NetBSD installer to partition
          your drive and make it bootable (with a `partition zero' bootload-
          er), in which case you cannot share this drive with MacOS (i.e. have
          any HFS partitions on it).  Alternatively, you may share this drive
          with MacOS, in which case you must put `ofwboot.xcf' on an HFS(+)
          partition to make the drive bootable.

          Unfortunately, the partitioning tools for NetBSD are not advanced
          enough to create an HFS(+) filesystem.  Therefore, if you wish to
          share this drive with MacOS, you will need to use the MacOS Drive
          Setup tool (versions 1.9.1 and later are known to work) to divide
          the hard drive you will be using for NetBSD into the following par-
          titions.
          o   HFS(+) must be large enough to hold the bootloader, over 100 KB.
          o   A/UX Root; must be at least 20 MB.  Alternatively, you may de-
              cide to use one partition for your entire NetBSD installation,
              in which case it should be at least 200 MB.
          o   A/UX Swap; any size.  The recommenation is 1.5 times your RAM,
              although this is not strictly necessary for machines with a lot
              of RAM.
          o   A/UX User, A/UX Free1, A/UX Free2, A/UX Free3; use these for any
              additional partitions you may want to use under NetBSD

     Open Firmware 2.4 System Preparation

     1.   Getting to the OF prompt (easy, using MacOS)

          Launch the MacOS System Disk tool.  Click on `Power User (Open
          Firmware)' then click on the `Advanced Options' button.  Now, click
          on the checkbox that says `Stop Boot at Open Firmware prompt' and
          hit `OK'.  Click the `Save' button and reboot your system.  Now, you
          should see the OF command prompt:
                0 >

     2.   Getting to the OF prompt (without using MacOS)

          If you don't have MacOS, then you need to hold down a special key
          combination when your system boots.  After the chime starts, but be-
          fore it stops, hold down the `Command', `Option', `o', and `f' keys
          (the `Command' key looks like a four-leaf clover or an open apple,
          and the `Option' key may look like a two-way switch with four
          straight line segments).

          Now, you should see the OF command prompt:
                0 >

          Note:  You must install the patches from System Disk before your
                 beige G3 will boot NetBSD

     3.   Setting OF up to boot NetBSD

          Double-check that your system is indeed OF version 2.4:
                0 > dev /openprom
                0 > .properties
          If it is not, then skip to the appropriate section for your version
          of OF and do not run the following two commands.  If your system is
          OF 2.4, then you must set some OF variables before NetBSD can boot.
                0 > setenv load-base 600000
                0 > setenv real-base F00000
                0 > reset-all
          The last command reboots your machine so that the real-base setting
          takes effect.

          If you will be netbooting your system, you can look up your MAC ad-
          dress.
                0 > dev enet .properties
                [...]
                local-mac-address CCCCCCCC CCCC
                [...]

          For future reference, when you want to boot into MacOS, type:
                0 > bye

          Note:  All of your Open Firmware settings will be erased if you boot
                 into MacOS.  You will need to re-enter them before booting
                 NetBSD again