On 16.05.02, 11:09:03, Pierre-Philipp Braun wrote:
> Bernd, thank you
> 
> 	My aim is not to repair my system (it's has just been installed) but to 
> boot it in multiuser mode:
> (boot1.fs and boot2.fs includes the rescue stuff too)
> When i boot with floppies i mount/chroot the system but since 
> /etc/rc.conf is on Harddrive, multiusermode isn't activated.
> 
> 	My (stange) hardware:
> 40Go Harddrive on compaq 486 DX/2 50Mhz, no bios interface (no compaq 
> partition on hd)

Hm, interesting. I also have some Compaq machines without BIOS
interface. They are happily running NetBSD, though, and all the
hardware seems to work fine ...

> Only bsd and linux kernels, when loaded, are able to recognize my 40Go 
> harddrive (not windows), that's why the boot precess won't recognize it too.

I suspect that your problem is that the NetBSD partition starts after
cylinder 1024 and that therefore the BIOS (on which the bootloader
relies) cannot load the kernel.

Whatever the setup, on such old machines you must have the NetBSD
partition with the kernel within the first 1024 cylinders of the hard
disk. I do not know if there are any solutions to get around this. And
I do not think that newer BIOSes are available for such a machine.

If you do need windows and there's no important stuff that cannot be
backed up, splitting the Windows partition is often the easiest way,
having one, smaller partition below cylinder 1024, and then whatever
space you need for NetBSD, and then, if needed, another Windows
partition. Seperating the NetBSD partitions on the disk is also
possible, but not quite that easy. It would either involve multiple
NetBSD-Partitions in the DOS partition table, or a BSD disklabel that
contains partitions outside the NetBSD DOS partition, which might get
you into trouble if you change the DOS partition table later.

I hope I'm making sense.

> 
> I would really like that old machine to boot netbsd (and my titaniumG4 
> too! .. see macppc mailing-list)
> 
> 
> Any advice would be appreciated
> Thanks
> 

-- 
Bernd Sieker

NetBSD - the power to suave.
		-- Julian Assange