>xd1 at xdc0 drive 1: ready
>xd1: no disk label

>assassin# disklabel -r xd1
>disklabel: /dev/rxd1c: Input/output error
>with a console error message of:
>xd1c: read 1/0/0: Illegal cylinder address

>       Any ideas? I suspect this is more of a SMDism than a Sparcism,
>but I'm lost as to what I can do next, or how I can tell where the
>problem is.

hi-

	yes, this is an SMD'ism.   basically, i never got around to
testing running disklabel on a new SMD disk under BSD because of the
lack of a SMD disk "format" program.    i have found that you really
need to scan an SMD disk pretty throughly with SunOS "format" before
you put a filesystem on it or you will regret it later (especially when
you consider the age of the SMD drives I use!!).   SunOS "format" handles
the setting up of the spare sectors on the drive, the bad144 table, and
filling in the "pcyl" field of the disklabel.    Since you pretty much
have to run SunOS "format" anyway, i go on and do all partitioning with 
it as well.

	it would be possible to write a SMD disk format program for BSD,
but it isn't a glamorous job.   If anyone is interested in taking it on
let me know (I've got all the needed docs and have a rough idea of how
to do it).    

	In the mean time, I advise having a minimal diskless SunOS 
setup available so that you can run "format" in case your disk needs some 
"help".

chuck