On Nov 4, 1:09pm, Mouse wrote:
}
}> I am performing a fresh install NetBSD 4 (*) [...] SS10 [...], I
}> thought of making a small boot partition.
}
} Reasonable enough. I routinely do that.
}
}> I have thus a root partition and a small 20MB root partition which I
}> put at the beginning of the disk.
}
} I assume at least one of those "root"s should be "boot". That's what I
} do; for example, one of my machines has a mount table showing
}
} Filesystem 1024-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
} /dev/sd0d 33900347 29922214 2283115 92% /
} /dev/sd0a 63471 14814 45483 24% /kernels
} kernfs 1 1 0 100% /kern
} procfs 4 4 0 100% /proc
}
} /kernels holds boot, netbsd, and a handful of old versions of netbsd;
} the old versions are of no use in routine operation, but are very
} useful when I'm booting new kernels (which I do semi-regularly) which
} don't always work right.
}
}> What is the "boot" file? at first, I was about to mount my boot
}> partition into /boot as used on linux, but that would have been a
}> problem.
}
} /boot is the second-stage bootloader.
}
} [snip information about how a sparc boots]
}
}> I tried to copy "netbsd" and "boot" into the other partition and boot
}> from it, but it doesn't work.
}
} This should work _provided_ the partition containing them is all within
} the first gig of the disk, and you (re)run installboot to set the
} correct block numbers in the first-stage bootstrap, and you either (a)
} build a kernel "config root on" your actual root partition, (b) boot
} with -a so you can manually supply the root device, or (c) set up an
} autoconfigured-as-root RAIDframe unit to steal root away from what it
} would otherwise default to.
(d) adjust OFW variables to point to the correct partition by
default.
}> Fdisk writes the boot sectors on a "whole disk".
}
} Fdisk? fdisk? On NetBSD/sparc, I wouldn't expect there to even _be_
} an fdisk. (My own NetBSD/sparc machines are at 1.4T, which is what I
I would expect it to be there for manipulating disks that came
from a PC. However, as noted, it should never be used on a disk
intended to be bootable by a sparc based machine.