Kevin.

The boot prom does not have enough smarts to run the QIC-150 drive and start
the second level boot "taproot",
but it does manage to get the device boot loaded before it gives up.  When
you boot the second time the device-boot is already in memory and the boot
prom is not at the dead-start boot, so it runs the device-boot immediately.
This program, of course, talks QIC-150 so all is well in  Mudville.

At one time I had to use this "feature" to boot from a embedded scsi disc.
The PROM would only boot from an MD21 controller.  The PROM would not talk
to the embedded scsi drive.  The ESDI drive was damaged, but I could the
ufsboot from it.  I the told it to take the root from sd6, the scsi drive,
and all was well

There are three boots n the boot process, the PROM boot, the device=boot,
and the kernel boot. Most (some?) of the time when the boot fails. the
device-boot program is loaded and subsequent boots will start with that one,
unless you change devices.

I don't how to predict it, but when you find a sequence that works, it seems
to be absolutely reliable.

Best
James E. Taylor

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <kpneal@pobox.com>
To: <Robertdkeys@aol.com>
Cc: <jtaylor@preciscom.net>; <jwbirdsa@hotmail.com>; <port-sun3@NetBSD.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 4:48 PM
Subject: Re: How many drives can a sun3 scsi bus really support?


> On Sun, Nov 02, 2003 at 10:11:05PM -0500, Robertdkeys@aol.com wrote:
> > This kind of trouble caused me to wring my type 3 keyboards in the
> > air, one time, and chuck out a truckload of sun3 vme crates.  But,
> > when I ran across this lonely, forgotten 3/60, I got bit by that sunbug,
> > again.....(:+}}..... (as it turns out this particular 3/60 had the good
3.0.1
> > prom in it so I can run the luncbox 150mb tape drives, which is nice).
>
> I have an old 3/200 motherboard. This board is so old it won't work with
> the 16MB memory boards for the sun 4/200. I think the serial number is
> around 1000 or so.
>
> Anyway, this board will boot from an Archive Viper 150 the *second* time
> I try it. The first time always fails. Weird. I'm told it isn't supposed
> to ever work, but it does.
> -- 
> Kevin P. Neal                                http://www.pobox.com/~kpn/
>       'Concerns about "rights" and "ownership" of domains are
inappropriate.
>  It is appropriate to be concerned about "responsibilities" and "service"
>  to the community.' -- RFC 1591, page 4: March 1994
>