> > > to get autoboot, you set the variable auto_action
...
> > There is presumably some difference between boot and restart,
> > but I haven't found it.
...
> I seem to recall that this _should_ work like:
> 
> halt		always halts at SRM prompt (poweron, OS halt, OS reboot)
> boot		always boots the OS (poweron, OS halt, OS reboot)
> restart		boots the OS at poweron or OS reboot, halts at OS halt.

Well, on my machine at least, set auto_action restart results in it
rebooting on halt as well.  Does anyone have any clue where I could
find any kind of reference for the SRM console?  I dug around DEC's
web and ftp sites to little avail for a cople of hours earlier today.

Meantime, I have a whole other problem.  I got the machine autobooting
and had to run off to deal with other stuff for several hours.  I left
it sitting at the boot prompt with basically no configuration except
setting up rc.conf, mygate, myname, etc. Haven't set the clock, haven't
entered a root password, nothing.  Here's what I found when I got back
(line wrapping altered for readibility):

NetBSD/alpa (descartes) (console)

login: Jan  2 03:16:31 descartes sendmail[1229]: NOQUEUE: SYSERR(root): hash 
map "Alias0": unsafe map file /etc/aliases: No such file or directory
Jan  2 03:16:33 descartes sendmail[1235]: NOQUEUE: SYSERR(root): hash map 
"Alias0": unsafe map file /etc/aliases: No such file or directory
Jan  2 03:16:33 descartes sendmail[1235]: NOQUEUE: SYSERR(root): hash map 
"Alias0": unsafe map file /etc/aliases: No such file or directory
ncr0:0: ERROR (a0:0) (0-0-0) (8/13) @ (script 2c:80080000)
ncr0: script cmd = 80080000
ncr0: regdump: da 10 80 13 47 08 00 1f 35 08 80 af 80 00 07 02.
ncr0: restart (fatal error).
sd0(ncr:0:0:0) COMMAND FAILED (9 ff) @0xfffffe004a568c00.
sd0(ncr:0:0:0) COMMAND FAILED (9 ff) @0xfffffe004a569000.
ncr0: timeout ccb=0xfffffe004a568c00 (skip)
ncr0: timeout ccb=0xfffffe004a569000 (skip)
ncr0: timeout ccb=0xfffffe004a569400 (skip)
ncr0: timeout ccb=0xfffffe004a569800 (skip)

I have no idea what to make of this --- I'm learning unix system administration
by the seat of my pants here.  Pointers appreciated...

---Alex
-----------
Carl Alexander      Course VI (special student)   SIPB (prospective)   MITSFS
xela@mit.edu        Mitgaard ("honorary mold")    LSC (sysadmin; night worker)
http://www.mit.edu/~xela
-----------
(define (hosed alex)
  (+ (real-job alex) (6.001 alex) (trying-to-have-a-life alex)))