hi,

The usual reason for this is that you're booting on a machine where
the frame-buffer is not recognized as system console -- typically a
PMAG-C,r PMAG-E, or PMAG-F.  The ioasic machines use the PROM for
output until they find and configure the serial devices; they they
switch from PROM console to using NetBSD drivers for console output.
That means the console output is now going to one of teh RS-232 serial
ports ;).

Usually, when this happens, the  text printed before the copyright
includes:
    No supported console device in slot %d. Switching over to serial console!

right before the
      Using PROM serial output until serial drivers initialized.

Did you see that, but snip it?  If so, how could the message be
improved to explain what's happening?

if not, then I have no idea whats going wrong. COuld you send the
output of
       >> cnfg

as well as the >> cnfg 3      with the SCSI config?


The other potential cause is a PROM revision thats over-writing part o
the kernel while TFTPing or MOP-loading it. that sometimes happens,
the best workaround is to use the smaller nfsnetbsd.ecoff.

hope that helps,
--Jonathan