Re: Upgrading userland => kernel with same module API version does not boot

[Elad Efrat <elad%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

Joachim König wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I made a build yesterday and as the kernel module API version
> did not change (5.99.11) I only installed userland without
> building and installing a new kernel. Installing userland also
> installed (overwrote) the kernel modules in /stand.
>
> After booting, the kernel could not mount root, it does not
> seem to have/find the ffs module but does not explain why.
> Booting with "-a" it only offers "generic" for the root fs type.
>
> Rebuilding my kernel and booting that, the system boots as before.
> My old kernel was from  2009-05-04, e.g. beginning of mai,
> and UPDATING has no remarks after that date.
>
> Is this behaviour expected? Do I have to install a new kernel
> every time I want to install an updated userland even if the
> kernel module API did not change?

Don't take this as an authoritative reply, but:

I recently decided to refresh my environment, and found out a lot
of stuff had changed (I used to be able to build a new kernel, copy
it to /, and boot it).

The problem you're seeing I fixed after applying Andrew's advice in
http://mail-index.netbsd.org/current-users/2008/11/21/msg006167.html
(copy the newly built boot from wherever it is to /).

Other than that, I find it... annoying having to build userland when
all I want to test are changes to the kernel. I'm not sure if it's me
who doesn't know how to make build.sh build just the modules or a
shortcoming of build.sh, but I couldn't find a way to do that, at least
as easy/fast as I used to.

-e.