> 
> Hello,
> 
> I have read at www.netbsd.org and ftp.luth.se that NETBSD supports
> uVAX II hardware. I use a uVAX II 630QB with 2 Disks (2 x ~300MB),
> TK70 tape, 9 MB Memory. The current OS is OpenVMS 6.2.
> 
> Is it possible to install NETBSD on this hardware ?
> I4m on the NETBSD.org/vaxport mailing-list. Is there a FAQ for the
> vax-port, or a special newsgroup available ?
> Where can I get further information ?
> If the NETBSD run4s on this platform, where can i get a bootable tape ?
> (or how to build it (with OpenVMS))
> How to install the tape ?


You can get a pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-not-even-alpha-release from:

[Quoting rick@snowhite.cis.uoguelph.ca]

] In case anyone is interested in trying it out, there is a snapshot of
] binaries for the vax port available via anonymous ftp to
]
] snowhite.cis.uoguelph.ca [131.104.48.1] in pub/vax-port
]
] It should not even be considered Alpha test and is incomplete (no build
] chain binaries), but have fun with it, rick
] ps: Our internet link is not blindingly fast, so be patient:-)


There is a mirror or a somewhat faster link (maybe, depending on your
location) at:

ftp.nijenrode.nl:/pub/people/michel/vax-port/

The mirror includes bootimages and such. Here's how to transform your VMS
box to a BSD box:

1. you need miniroot.fs and root.cpio, plus all the usr.* stuff. For now,
don't worry about the usr.* things.

2. Transfer the miniroot.fs and the cpio.root to your VAX running VMS,
either by FTP, rsh, DECnet (pathworks) or what have you.

3. Get a tape, preferrably blank.

4. Tapedrive is probably MUA0:, so do:

$ INIT MUA0: LABEL

(this looks like overkill, but is very advisable to do if you use a
non-blank tape)

5. Mount the tape foreign:

$ MOUNT MUA0: /FOREIGN

6. Copy the images to the tape:

$ COPY MINIROOT.FS MUA0:
$ COPY ROOT.CPIO MUA0:

[Do not rewind or dismount tape in between!]

7. Type, for the last time in the machine's lifetime:

$ DISMOUNT MUA0: 
	(if you are tidy)
$ @SYS$SYSTEM:SHUTDOWN

and don't forget to replace "[Later]" with "Never" =)

8. Halt the machine with the console and type on the boot
prompt:

>>> B /3 MUA0

and from there on, read the docs included in the snapshot of the vax-port.


Things to know:

- microroot.nfs  will not be of any use unless you already have a VAX
running BSD somewhere on the network. Stuff like ls, cp and such is all
missing from the /bin directory in the microroot.nfs image.

- I beleive on the miniroot.fs there is no kernel named 'vmunix'. Use
'netbsd' instead. Later on, you might want to do a 'ln -s netbsd vmunix'
in the root.

- In single user mode, usr.* is rather unimportant. Once configured, you
may want to untargz the usr.* images on another machine and nfs-mount then
on the vax, or ftp them to the vax and untargz there. Ftp works! *cheer*

- I was not familiar with BSD flavored unix. You  may want to do a
'ln -s pax tar' in /bin, and then pax will behave like tar when called
as tar.

- Don't forget to make full use of your drives; relabel/partition them
once BSD is running by hopping from disk to disk.


This was also sent to the vax-port mailinglist so others may benefit from
the how-to-switch-from-vms-to-bsd procedure that I used.

Michel.