On Thu, Apr 13, 2000 at 12:20:54PM -0400, NetBSD Bob wrote:
> > > As NetBSD doesn't support the scsi controller in the 
> > > box, I have tried to install SunOS, but it seems, it 
> > > doesn't even really work there.
> 
> It depends upon which controller you really have.
> The sun3 controllers are supported, and mine run that fine on
> NetBSD and sun2 controllers on sunos.

Hmmm. In my experience SunOS is better than NetBSD at dealing with
flakey/misconfigured hardware/cables/etc.
 
> > > The same controller is in the other sun3 I have been working 
> > > with, but there it at least used to work with SunOS. In this 
> > > system, I don't seem to be able to boot from disks attached 
> > > to the controller (with SunOS), although everything up to 
> > > this point including bad sector list management and formatting 
> > > and putting disklabels on the drive and copying the miniroot 
> > > rom the boot tape to the swap space works. Just to boot the 
> > > miniroot afterwards doesn't...
> > > 
> > > Interestingly, I get different errors from the bootrom prompt, 
> > > depending on what drive I connect.
> 
> Drives on old suns are finicky.  I find quantums do well, but
> some others don't.  Mine currently sport sun0669 drives (Maxtors
> if memory is correct).

I've got a Quantum Lightning half-gig that won't boot. Interestingly,
the Sun 669 drive, which is larger, will boot. I even made sure to 
toggle SCSI parity, and the Quantum won't boot either way.
 
> Drive numbering alternates by twos.  The first controller has
> two drives max, and the second controller has two drives max,
> and the tape has its own controller.  Putting straight scsi
> drives on the bus makes the drives jump by twos on sunos...0, 2, 4, etc.
> That sometimes leads to problems.  If you get no such controller,
> your drive ID's are possibly not what you think they are to the
> system.

The SunOS kernel config file nails down drives by octal in order to
somewhat avoid this kind of mess.
 
> Are you sure your tape drive is actually reading sunos correctly?
> I have very bad problems with the rubber drive wheels decomposing
> on almost all my 60mb tape transports (Wangtek and Archive).

Wow, that's a shame.
-- 
Kevin P. Neal                                http://www.pobox.com/~kpn/

 "Good grief, I've just noticed I've typed in a rant. Sorry chaps!"
                            Keir Finlow Bates, circa 1998