It sounds like you need a kernel with the disconnect fix.
	Download one of the new 1.4.1 kernels from

ftp.netbsd.org:/pub/NetBSD/arch/vax/snapshot/1.4.1-pre/binary/kernels

		David/absolute

                  -=-  Resentment is a renewable resource  -=-

On Fri, 30 Jul 1999, paul yaskowski wrote:

> * Anders Magnusson (ragge@ludd.luth.se) [07.30.99 11:36]:
> > Good question. Can you access any blocks on the disk, with dd for example?
> > 
> 
> Well, the times that I am able to newfs it, I can mount and write files
> to the drive.  At one time, I even made the drive bootable.  But when I
> was untarring the base.tgz, after a while the kernel panic'd.
> 
> vax# dd if=/dev/sd0c
> ^C23+0 records in
> 22+0 records out
> 11264 bytes transferred in 13 secs (866 bytes/sec)
> 
> I can do that fine, no errors.  I don't know if that's what you mean.
> 
> > -- Ragge
> 
> -- 
>  paul yaskowski [a paradigm of a paramount failure]
>