[SunRescue] How to boot a Sun3

[BSD Bob]

> Hi,
> I managed to tapeboot my Sun3/60 with netbsd-1.4 but it doesn't go past
> the kernel... e.i it gets to detecting the drive gives me an error message
> about the blocksize not being correct and then gives me a message about
> no /dev/console and stops... When I try to install SunOS 4.1.1 on the box
> it gives me "Invalid page bus error" what is the problem ? Anyway hoow
> could I manage to get an os on the system... Or do I have to hack the
> system by creating the bootlayout on the disc from an other system and
> preping the disc ?

Tape boot of sunos should work fine.  The invalid page bus error sometimes
happens to me on 3/160, 3/110, 4/260 class machines.  It usually clears
on a manual pushbutton reset and a reinstall of the tape to rewind it
followed by a fresh boot of the tape.  Sometimes just a second boot
with no reset will clear it.

No /dev/console might mean that the install script is off and devices
were not made correctly, so no console device is found.  That has 
happened to me on booting netbsd tapes.  I don't have the proper
fix for it, yet.  You might try booting off the serial port instead
of the video port, if that happens, and you have a spare terminal.
That would allow you to boot differently, perhaps.

If you have access to an earlier tape set, try that for NetBSD or first
install sunos then boot netbsd by booting off a miniroot in swap.

Try sunos again, and if that happens, boot a second time to clear it.
I sense something in ram is not properly zeroed or initialized and
that might cause the boot to abort.  A second boot or a reset clears
that byte and away it goes.  You might try setting the ram test to
match the exact ram your machine has.or change it from its current
value to a null or 1 meg or something like that and see if that
does any differently.

Sometimes, if you boot the wrong architecture tape on a machine, errors
something like that will occur.  Check to make sure you are not booting
sun3 vs sun3x or viceversa.

That is all I can think of, offhand.

Bob