Re: bootloader issue

[Izumi Tsutsui <tsutsui%ceres.dti.ne.jp@localhost>]

David Ross wrote:

> Also, in response to "Could it be so simple issue that bootloader does not 
> find kernel ?"
> ..I don't think we even get to that point yet.  I don't even see the banner 
> from the second stage bootloader.  I just see "Halting..."

According to sources in sys/arch/atari/stand,
atari uses three stage bootstraps.

The primary one is /usr/mdec/std/xxboot (sdboot, wdboot, fdboot etc).
The secondary one is /usr/mdec/std/bootxx.
The tertiary one is /usr/mdec/std/boot.atari. (srcdir is stand/bootxxx)

Usually the primary is installed into sector(s) where the firmware
automatically loads at boot by its design, and it loads the secondary.

The primary one likely has to be small due to firmware restriction,
so that sector numbers where the secondary one is stored will be
hardcoded into the installed primary binary by installboot.

On most ports, the secondary one loads a kernel, but on atari
the secondary one loads the tertiary, /boot.atari.
The tertiary one acutually loads a kernel.

I don't know why atari has the tertiary one, but maybe it is
to make it possible to replace /boot.atari without installboot.
(i.e. re-recording block numbers into the primary)

> When I ran installboot from 1.6.1 on top of the HEAD install, I could get to 
> the second stage bootloader. But the second stage bootloader crashed, I

Exact messages might help. ("crash" is too ambiguous...)

> think probably trying to load /boot.atari, the third stage, which was still 
> the version from HEAD.  I wanted to try replacing that one with the 
> /boot.atari from a working 1.6.1 install, I just haven't had time yet.

If the secondary shows its banner, the old installboot does its job,
but newer one still could have some problem.
Could you try the latest installboot with "-v" option?

There might also be something wrong in bootxx, but
I'm afraid we have to put some debug printfs to track it.
---
Izumi Tsutsui