Re: How do I build a custom installer?

[Havard Eidnes <he%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

> I have installed NetBSD/macppc on my Mac using the netbsd ISO. I can
> boot off the cd using ofwboot.xcf and "netbsd".
>
> However, I'd like to modify the "netbsd" kernel options.

Which kernel?  The one you boot from once the system is
installed, or the kernel you boot from the CD-ROM, to get into
the installer?

> I've successfully modified regular kernels just fine.
>
> However, I've not been able to figure out how to do this for the installer.
>
> To make my installer kernel, I lightly modified GENERIC_MD and built it.
>
> When I boot, the system boots normally at first, then complains "no
> file system for md0".

That's because of these options in GENERIC_MD, which is "GENERIC
but with the root file system on a memory disk", and that memory
disk area in the kernel image naturally needs to be populated for
"useful stuff to happen":

# Enable the hooks used for initializing the ram-disk.
options         MEMORY_DISK_HOOKS
options         MEMORY_DISK_IS_ROOT     # Force root on ram-disk
options         MEMORY_DISK_ROOT_SIZE=5760      # 2880 KiB
options         MEMORY_DISK_RBFLAGS=RB_SINGLE   # boot in single-user mode

If you are instead modifying the kernel to boot from your host's
disk drive after initial installation, let me suggest that a
better starting-point might be the GENERIC config file (or
include it and use config directives to delete or modify devices
or options).

> I noticed that the ISO installer file includes /bin, /etc, /sbin, and
> several other files that aren't a kernel. ( I presume this is on the
> memory disk, but not sure how it gets there, or if it's part of the
> kernel build somehow ...)

That's placed there by the "make a bootable image" Makefile setup
in the distrib/macppc/ file tree, and you get that built via the
method which Greg Troxel pointed you to.

Regards,

- Håvard