Subject: RE: Sys Install Program
To: Prasad V Nuli <pnuli@mediaone.net>
From: Tim Rightnour <root@garbled.net>
List: tech-install
Date: 08/01/2000 12:01:28
On 01-Aug-00 Prasad V Nuli wrote:
> What is the special swicth to use to create a ecoff type of executable. I
> want to make sysinst program of type ecoff as that is format ARC BIOS on
> Mips Recoginzes.
> 
> Is there any way I can include a flag into the make file to create the ecoff
> type.

I'm not sure I understand this question..  perhaps there is a misunderstanding
about how sysinst works.

Sysinst is a binary, like any other binary for a given architecture.  It's
functionally no different from /bin/cp.  The way it works however, is that
during the build of the install image (look at src/distrib/) a kernel with a
ramdisk is built, and the image of a small filesystem containing sysinst and
other binaries is actually written into the kernel.

Thus..  a sysinst floppy works like so:

bootloader->kernel->mount md0 image as root->execute sysinst.

The appropriate magic to make that happen is in the distrib makefiles for
building the floppy sets. (look at crunchgen to see how some of it is done)

---
Tim Rightnour <root@garbled.net>
NetBSD: Free multi-architecture OS http://www.netbsd.org/
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