--- Kees Stravers <kees.stravers@iae.nl> wrote:
> In my experience, boot.fs nowadays is not compressed
> and meant to be 
> written to a CDROM (as if it were an ISO file) to
> boot VAXstations from. 
> You then install by getting the rest of the needed
> files via FTP. If you 
> write it to a tape it won't work because there are
> drivers missing.

Hmm, so - we know the boot loader itself is working,
since it can bootstrap and load the boot program from
the tape - but it can't load the kernel? Is there a
way of recompiling the bootstrap/kernel with support
for reading from tape? I mean, it _used_ to work,
right?

> The last time I installed a MicroVAX II from tape
> was with NetBSD 1.4.3.
>
ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-archive/NetBSD-1.4.3/vax/installation/bootfs

As soon as I get a chance (I'm at work now). I'll try
to download and write that to tape, and see if it
works. At least that way I'll know my hardware is
operating properly.

> This is what I installed my first MicroVAX
> with. The images are 
> still on my old site:
> 
> http://www.vaxarchive.org/swdist/bsd/10a/index.html
> 
> In case you are able to get a RQDX disk controller
> and an RX50 floppy 
> drive you can try those to get the vax to boot.

I can steal an RQDX3 out of PDP-11 I have here, and
rig up some floppies. I will probably have to go with
3 1/2" drives, since an RX50 only holds like 400k, and
I don't think the RQDX3 can handle 1.2mb 5 1/4" disks
- but I seem to remember that HD 3 1/2" disks would
work, called RX33 or something.

> Good luck with your experiments!

Thanks! Hopefully I can sort out all these booting
difficulties. There has to be a way to boot a Vax
without ethernet and install 3.1 from local media.

-Ian