Re: Data Access Exception when trying to Boot installed NetBSD of hard drive

[Georg Brein <georg.brein%unibas.ch@localhost>]

I had the same (or similar) problem back in 2007 on
my SparcStation 2 (ROM Rev. 2.2) while installing NetBSD
4.0 RC1 (see NetBSD bug report #37080):

The second stage boot loader from 4.0 RC1 failed
with a Data Access Exception. As a quick fix I
substituted the second stage boot loader from NetBSD
3.1 which worked flawlessly with the 4.0 RC1
installation.

The proper fix (which took a little longer to implement
since I had to acquire an EPROM burner) was to upgrade
to ROM Rev. 2.9 (AFAIK the latest for the SparcStation 2)
which allowed the 4.0 RC1 (and later) second stage
boot loaders to function.

Of course this is old history; I don't know if the
3.1 boot loader quick fix is still feasible with a
current NetBSD release, but it seems likely, since
the current boot loader still has the same version (1.15)
as the 4.0 RC1 boot loader back in 2007 which
indicates little change in this area of NetBSD (incidentally,
the boot loader for NetBSD 3.1 has version 1.15 as well; I
guess there was either a change in some included/linked
code or in the compiler used between NetBSD 3.1 and
NetBSD 4.0 RC1 leading to different binaries from the
same source code).

The latest ROM revision for the IPX seems to be 2.9
as well (but unfortunately I don't know where to get
the relevant IPX specific ROM image).

Regards,
Georg Brein

Am 12.10.2014 um 20:34 schrieb Adrian Christiansen:

> Hi guys!,
> 
> I'm relatively new to SUN machines and I just finished installing
> NetBSD onto my SPARCstation IPX. Followed the instructions in
> INSTALL.html and netbooted the install. Then I just followed the
> installation thru, using the entire disk and making a root partition
> at a: in the disklabel.
> 
> After that all completed I'm now stuck here in OpenBoot 2:
> 
> ok boot disk3:a netbsd
> Boot device: /sbus/esp@0,800000/sd@0,0:a   File and args: netbsd
>>> NetBSD/sparc Secondary Boot, Revision 1.15
> Booting netbsd
> Data Access Exception
> ok
> 
> There's a / spiny thing for a brief moment, the ROM revision is 2.3.
> 
> 
> Honestly I don't really know where to go from here?