Re: Help about installing NetBSD on a VAXstation 4000/90 (Cougar)

[Dave McGuire <mcguire%neurotica.com@localhost>]

On 05/03/2018 10:57 AM, Silas wrote:
>>  Where are you located?  I'm in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.  If you can get
>> the machine (or easier, the board) to me, I can probably fix or replace
>> that switch for you, if that's not something you want to dig into.
> 
> I'm in Brazil.  Overseas shipping is really expensive, almost impossible
> :-(

  Ouch, yes. :-(

  Well, if you want to try the hardware repair route, I have a friend in
Brazil who I'm sure can handle it, he is brilliant, and he has a strong
appreciation for vintage computing too.  He lives in Sao Paulo...I know
Brazil is a big country, but shipping to him would be a lot cheaper than
shipping to me no matter how far away you may be from there. ;)  Let me
know if you'd like me to put you in touch with him.

> I can try to do something like that myself, but I have poor hardware
> fixing skills.  I'll probably ask one of my electronic colleagues for
> help.  Anyway, I'll probably first try to a software workaround,
> probably changing the NetBSD kernel.  Since OpenBSD seemed to boot fine,
> I'm in hope of making it work with NetBSD.

  Yes, that might be easier.  My only worry for that approach is that
the switch may be read by the firmware and it may do something to lock
the system into that mode that the kernel cannot un-do.  I don't really
know how that switch is read, or by what code.

               -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA