impossible to boot after 'successful' install of 6.1.2 i386

["John Refling" <netbsdrat%gmail.com@localhost>]

Impossible to boot after 'successful' install of 6.1.2

Using 6.1.2 i386 install CD and now have this problem on ALL my machines
(laptops, desktops, etc.), DELL, HP, etc.

This is a possible worsening of
http://mail-index.netbsd.org/netbsd-bugs/2012/03/24/msg027356.html which was
re 6.0 Beta.  The problem there seemed to go away by zeroing the disk and
the disklabel a few times before booting the install CD.

So: the installation of 6.1.2 from the CD seems to go well, BUT:

Booting the disk after the CD install gives:

NetBSD MBR boot

NetBSD/x86 ffsv2 Primary Bootstrap

>> NetBSD/x86 BIOS Boot, Rev 5.9 (from NetBSD 6.1.2)

Press return to boot now, any other key to boot menu

booting hd0a:netbsd - starting in 0 seconds.

open netbsd: No such file or directory.

and the same for netbsd.gz, onetbsd, onetbsd.gz, etc...


> ls: No such file or directory
> dev
disk hd0 size 55 GB
  hd0a(unknown) hd0b(unknown) hd0c(unknown) hd0d(unknown) 

Can never get it to boot.

In the install, have tried, "use entire disk", and keep the defaults as
presented, have tried the multiple boot option "edit the MBR partition
table",
and changing the defaults (as per another user), nothing works.

There just seems no way to get 6.1.2 to work on any of my machines!

All worked with 5.2.1.  Had some issues like this with 6.0 beta, but could
eventually get it to work.  Seemed like zeroing the disk before the install
helped.

All these machines run/boot FreeBSD/OpenBSD/XP perfectly.

What I see has changed from 5.2.1 to 6.1.2 is using ffsv1 -> ffsv2.

Also, the starting sector for the boot partition used to be 63, and in 6.1.2
it is 2048.

how to repeat: 

install NetBSD 5.2.1, then 'upgrade' from a working 5.2.1 to 6.1.2, renders
machine unbootable.

John Refling

I *think* I got one machine to work by zeroing *ENTIRE* disk using dd.  I
always zero the first 100MB or so, and that did *NOT* help [using dd
if=/dev/zero of=/dev/wd0d.  Maybe should use /dev/rwd0d?]

Also, thought coming from a previously installed XP disk the NetBSD install
worked, but cannot confirm that.

Under NetBSD 5.2.1, this machine was main server for a year, now under 6.1.2
will not boot at all.

HELP!

THX