I've been trying to install NetBSD 1.2.1 GENERIC on my Mac 
for a few days with mixed results.  So I thought maybe somebody 
could enlighten me if they have had similar problems.

Ok, I'm running a IIsi with 33meg of memory, no ethernet, 80meg 
internal, AND an external ZIP drive.  Since my wife also uses this 
computer for some work related stuff, installation on the internal 
hard drive is out of the question.  And since ZIP disks are fairly 
inexpensive, I decided to give it a try.

So I found the instructions on how to install on a ZIP disk (thanks 
should go to Nico and Colin for clear, easy to follow directions) and 
proceded.  The formatting and making of the NetBSD file system was 
really easy.  Installation was also easy, but time consuming.  But 
booting the system has been a chore.  I can boot into single user mode 
quite easily, but getting into multi user mode has been difficult.  

First off, once in single user mode, I tried mounting the filesystem 
using both mount -a and mount -u /.  Oops, it tells me the filesystem 
is not clean, run fsck_ffs manually.  Ok, so I run it, and get all sorts 
of errors (sorry, I left errors at home).  So I fix them all and mark 
the filesystem clean.  I then try to mount the fs again, and it again 
tells me the fs is not clean.  Again I run fsck manually, and I get 
more errors.  Fix the errors, and the fs finally mounts.  

Now here's where the fun begins.  I've tried to 1)Boot into multi-user 
mode directly, and 2)Reboot using the reboot -n command, then start the 
booter from the MacOS.  

In the first case, it usually gets into multi-user 
mode.  But that also leaves me with at least one utility (ls, man, vi, cd, 
etc.) dumping core.  This leads me to believe that the fs is still 
corrupt.  If I shutdown and go into single user mode again, the fs 
is clean sometimes, and other times not.  So start all over with the 
fsck thing...

In the second case (reboot -n after fixing the fs), starting into 
multi-user mode usually fails, 'cause the fsck_ffs -p command says 
the file system isn't clean! Argh!!!  Fix the fs, mount the fs, and 
go into multi-user mode where something usually goes wrong.  The only 
time that it went directly into multi-user mode without failing the 
fsck, it got caught up in an endless login loop.

My gut feeling is that somthing is wrong on the ZIP disk or in the 
ZIP drive, but I'm not sure.  I've read so many different things 
that I don't really know which way is up.  Anyway, if anybody out 
there has any ideas other than "get a new hard drive" I'd be 
glad to hear them.

-Jim
	
The views expressed are mine, and do not represent those 
of JPL or any agents of JPL.
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Jim Kreuziger                        Politics: From the latin poly,  
Jet Propulsion Laboratory            meaning many, and tics, 
phone:  (626) 306-6605 work          meaning bloodsucking parasites.
e-mail: jimk@dareangel.jpl.nasa.gov  
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