Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 18:45:03 -0600 From: Mark Gooderum <mark@jumpweb.com> To: "'freebsd-alpha@freebsd.org'" <freebsd-alpha@freebsd.org> Subject: Install on Multia Problems Message-ID: <50C732FEDE87D211954300A024786203A659@archeron.good.com>
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I'm trying to get FreeBSD loaded on a couple of DEC Multia's. I don't have a good way to get a SCSI CD-ROM hooked up so I'm trying FTP and Hard Disk installs. But I'm running into a couple of different problems. First it took a bit to figure out how to boot things. I actually had to go to the NetBSD web site to find some pointers on SRM (I've gotten Linux and NT loaded on the machines before but that uses the ARC console). The first box I'm working with has a Seagate Elite-9 (external case of course) with 64MB of RAM. NT labels the disk as 8669 cyls w/a 64*32 geometry. If I use the whole disk in FreeBSD setup, it resets the geometry to 255*32 p/cyl. If I boot with the 3.1-RELEASE floppies I have a few problems: * Terminal support is bizarre. * w/ANSI, things look okay but Enter and Spacebar are reversed (spacebar seems to select, Enter works like TAB between fields. I can move through most fields w/ CTRL-N but nothing highlights, so it's hard to tell where you're at. I can get through all the screens but when I get to the networking setup screen for FTP media (ip addr, etc), I can't get out of the screen except w/ 'ESC'. Moving to OK or Cancel neither enter or space works so I can't get the networking configured. * w/VT100 or FreeBSD console, Enter/Space/Tab work right but other things are odd, formatting is crappy b/o unsupported terminal escapes, etc. * CTRL-P at _any_ point in the setup kicks me all the way out of Unix right back to the SRM console. * Disk Labelling/Partitioning Fails, It looks like the FreeBSD table gets written and maybe even the NewFS's succeed. I get a message about unable to create the device node and it says /etc not updated. If I restart the install, the label is there with the sizes and a N(o) on NewFS but there is no mount points. * I can't get any fixit stuff to work. The CD-ROM option prompts for a CD (which I don't currently have available), the Emergency Holographic Shell and Fixit disk options just repaint the screen (plus I don't have 2.88MB floppies for the fixit disk and I don't believe the Multia's have 2.88M floppy drives-at least they don't work if I set them to 2.88M in the ARC console setup). So I can't actually set what's going on. If I boot with any current snapshot floppies (tried 2/4, 2/6 and 3/6) I get to the prompt on terminal type and then it locks up, sort of. No keyboard entry works (although NumLock and CapsLock toggle). Any pointers would be helpful. I'm also still somewhat at a loss with the SRM console. Even if I get everything loaded, how do I get SRM to load FreeBSD when there is a FDISK table? I can think of a few possibilities...some sort of playing with the kernel on a FAT partition and a load command with a fat: option.? Clobber the ARC firmware and put the bootstrap code in Flash? The Linux docs have interesting instructions on how to replace ARC with MILO in most of the Alpha's. As far as I can tell there is no Alpha-specific documentation anywhere other than what bits I scrounged out of the NetBSD web site. Linux is way ahead in this department even though I prefer FreeBSD historically (returning to having some Unix in the shop after about a 18 month NT only hiatus). The RedHat manual has a pretty good description of ARC and it's options...anyone know if there is anything similar floating around for SRM? Feel free to get as technical as you need...my backround is Unix systems programming. My main handicap is I don't have another Unix/FreeBSD box in house short term, so building custom floppies and stuff is a bit hard. Well thanks in advance for any help, -- Mark Gooderum mark@jumpweb.com <mailto:mark@jumpweb.com> To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-alpha" in the body of the message
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