Subject: NetBSD/HP300 newbie q's
To: None <port-hp300@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Tom Guptill <tgpt@pas.rochester.edu>
List: port-hp300
Date: 07/24/1997 11:03:45
Well, since I'm finally getting around to playing with NetBSD, I have a few
questions for y'all.  I have the following motley collection of equipment:


HP9000/300
	8mb RAM
	MC68030
	MC68882 coprocessor
	HP98286 coprocessor
	HP98644 RS232
	HP98642 RS232 MUX
	HP98625 HPIB disk controller
	HP9133 floppy and hard disk box
	HP98786A monitor  (w/keyb & mouse)
	HP9122C	dual-floppy box
	HP-BASIC boot floppies. :)

HP9123 dual-floppy box (I have 4-5 of these)


HP9000/835 (currently running HPUX 7.0.0A)
	8mb RAM
	ethernet
	3 HPIB disk controllers
	HP7959B hard disk
	2 RS232 MUX cards (8 ports each)

Plus several HP150/II terminals.

My first question is:  Is there any work being done on a PA-RISC port?  I've
grown rather attached to the old '835 - it makes a lovely end table, and it
has served us well as a backup mail server on more than one occasion. 
However, the version of HPUX on it is ancient, we don't feel it's worth
upgrading, and it would be really nice to have a more modern OS, so I'm
inclined to yank the disk from the 835 and add it to the 300.  

I'm wondering how to go about doing an install.  The 300 doesn't have
ethernet, and we don't have an HPIB tape drive (these are the only two HP
boxes we own).  Can I boot from a floppy and install over RS232? :)  Is
there somebody in the Rochester area (or within shipping range?) that I
could send a disk to?  Since I have no tape drive, once I blow away HPUX on
the 835's disk, there's no turning back.

I'd also be interested in getting my hands on a netcard for this machine -
I'd really like to be able to use it as an Xterm.  Anyone have a spare one
lying around that they'd be willing to part with?  (I could trade you off
some of my lovely parts colletion. :) )

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help you can give me.  I'm installing
NetBSD/VAX on our GPX2 today, and I'd love to get more of these ancient
machines up and doing something (marginally) useful. :)

- Tom

-- 
Tom Guptill                     Department of Physics and Astronomy
UNIX SA                         University of Rochester  Rochester, NY USA
t o m @ t a c o . n e t         HEPNet:  tgpt@urhep
t g p t @ p a s . r o c h e s t e r . e d u