Hi,

I'm installing NetBSD 1.4.2 on a SPARCclassic, which used to run Red
Hat Linux.  I've created a disklabel, and successfully run the
install.sh script from a diskless boot.  However, when I try to boot
the machine from its hard disk, I get this error:


Boot device: /iommu/sbus/espdma@4,8400000/esp@4,8800000/sd@3,0   File and args:

bootxx: short read
Program terminated
Type  help  for more information
ok


I tried recompiling and reinstalling bootxx (from the 1.4.2 release
sources) with DEBUG defined.  That showed that the short read occurs
as the twelfth block - the first indirect block - is read.  It seems
(to me) that installboot is writing invalid block numbers to bootxx.

The output from installboot shows that it finds some very odd-looking
block numbers:


zeta# /usr/mdec/installboot -v -a sun4m /mnt/boot /usr/mdec/bootxx /dev/rsd0a
boot: /mnt/boot
proto: /usr/mdec/bootxx
device: /dev/rsd0a
architecture: sun4m
/usr/mdec/bootxx: entry point 0x340000
/usr/mdec/bootxx: a.out header left on
proto bootblock size 7680
room for 256 filesystem blocks at 0x341930
/mnt/boot: block numbers: 4576 4584 4592 4600 4608 4616 4624 4632 4640 4648 4656
 4664
/mnt/boot: block numbers (indirect): -1606008816 -2142896128 -2142879736 5536481
38
zeta#


Can anyone give me any suggestions?


David Sieborger
drs@rucus.ru.ac.za