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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: NetBSD 386 Install probs
From: yankee@netlink.cts.com (Brian Smith)
Reply-To: yankee@netlink.cts.com
Message-ID: <De067B1w165w@netlink.cts.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 93 20:11:48 PDT
Organization: NetLink Online Communications, San Diego CA
Lines: 95
MSP> I seem to be having problems with installation of Unix
MSP> (NETBSD-386 actually) on my PC.
MSP>
MSP> The install program will allow me to specify the offset in
MSP> sectors from the start of hard disk - C:\ where I want the
MSP> unix partition to start. The reason I want it to start from a
MSP> offset is I have OS2's boot manager occupying the first 1meg
MSP> of disk space on drive C: - Drive D: has been partitioned
MSP> with HPFS and occupies the whole 120meg disk. Drive C: is a
MSP> 85meg disk.
***************************************
Discussion has been edited for brevity.
***************************************
- I can fit the BASE distribution files on my HD ( 45megs )
- and that includes some utilities. I had hoped to set my PC up
- as a part time USENET site.
- Well I decided to try this tactic.. I used OS2 FDISK and
created bootmanager at the start of my 85 meg disk. I created
a partition of 80megs ( thats all that OS2 said was left )
then I installed NETBSD starting at OFFSET 10000 (= #of 512
byte sectors from start of HD = ) that way I couldnt possibly
overwrite my BOOTMANAGER area as UNIX would START installing
itself at the 80meg point. (This left a total of 156600 512
byte sectors on my drive for UNIX)
The Installation program didnt say anything this time about
overwriting a dos fat area or any other file sys for that
matter. The end result of all this is that I successfully got
bootmanager on my HD and UNIX on the remaining 80megs. However
I still cant get BOOTMANAGERs menu to display. I tried what u
suggested below and that didnt work either, originally it
showed UNIX as being startable at the same time as BOOTMANAGER
After much fiddiling I ended up deleting the UNIX 24meg part
and using bootmanagers menu "added" a 24 meg partition
starting in the beginning of freespace ( where A5 file sys had
resided) and set it to BOOTABLE. I exited FDISK and rebooted.
UNIX is still coming up as the default, BOOTMANAGER refuses to
show its face! So I again rebooted OS2 from floppies and
called up FDISK - this is what it looks like now...
DRIVE C:
NAME STATUS ACCESS FS TYPE MBYTES
Startable :Primary BOOT MANAGER 1
UNIX Bootable :Primary Type A5 24
none :Pri/log FreeSpace 56
----------------------------------------------------------------
DRIVE D:
OS2 Bootable :Primary HPFS 120
----------------------------------------------------------------
I dont know what to do...
It looks at least to OS2's Fdisk that everything is in order.
I would think that if I had somehow corrupted BOOTMANAGER it
would have locked up my PC entirely.
Is there a key combo that would force a bootmanager start, or
something to access the bootstrap loader in ROM and allow me
to specify the starting address ( old Zenith 100's would allow
this ) of the code i wanted to run.
MSP> Why does the disk only format to 81megs? Could this be the
MSP> reason BOOTMANAGER keeps being overwriten? The install program
MSP> writes to absolute sectors...?
I am using Net BSD BASE 08 distribution set from floppies. My
pc is a "clone" AMD 386/40 CPU with 8 megs ram. I have 2 hard
drives/ 2 1.44meg floppies/ svga display.
It works fine with OS2 2.1, DOS 5.0, no hardware probs... It
also runs NetBSD 386 fine once it gets installed. However I
dont want to dedicate one of my PC's to UNIX full time. My old
XT just cant cut it anymore!
Thanks
I read this newsgroup usually daily, but would prefer replies
be sent to one of my EMAIL accounts.
yankee@netlink.cts.com
yankee@nix.com
yankee@netrun.cts.com
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