Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Mon, 30 Mar 2015, Paul Goyette wrote: I'm just going to get some parts and build a new box. It's too much work to figure this beast out. :) Well, that approach works! I've now got a "virgin" NetBSD-7.99.8 amd64 system running. Next step, get it connected to the network so I can start installing some packages and make the machine actually useful. :) - | Paul Goyette | PGP Key fingerprint: | E-mail addresses: | | (Retired)| FA29 0E3B 35AF E8AE 6651 | paul at whooppee.com| | Network Engineer | 0786 F758 55DE 53BA 7731 | pgoyette at juniper.net | | Kernel Developer | | pgoyette at netbsd.org | -
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Sun, 29 Mar 2015, Bob Nestor wrote: Just another thought on this problem. There is a BIOS update that Gateway published last month. Don't know what it contains, but it may help. Also the manual indicates that before one can boot a recovery backup on a USB the F12 Boot Menu must be enabled in the BIOS. I wonder if this is the option that is prohibiting the booting of NetBSD and any system that doesn't follow some WIndows magic. I already have the F12 option enabled. It only provides a menu if there are at least two "valid" boot devices. (It also provides a menu if there is a CD drive present, but no media inserted and no other "valid" boot device.) With the F12 option disabled, it gives the standard BIOS complaint "Please select the correct device ..." even with a NetBSD install CD inserted in the CD drive. I'm just going to get some parts and build a new box. It's too much work to figure this beast out. :) - | Paul Goyette | PGP Key fingerprint: | E-mail addresses: | | (Retired)| FA29 0E3B 35AF E8AE 6651 | paul at whooppee.com| | Network Engineer | 0786 F758 55DE 53BA 7731 | pgoyette at juniper.net | | Kernel Developer | | pgoyette at netbsd.org | -
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
Just another thought on this problem. There is a BIOS update that Gateway published last month. Don't know what it contains, but it may help. Also the manual indicates that before one can boot a recovery backup on a USB the F12 Boot Menu must be enabled in the BIOS. I wonder if this is the option that is prohibiting the booting of NetBSD and any system that doesn't follow some WIndows magic.
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Sun, 29 Mar 2015, David Brownlee wrote: Also FWIW, this does not seem to be a UEFI machine. The BIOS seems to work just like all the old BIOSs from before, with text windows and arrow-key cursor selections - no GUI, no mouse. I've seem UEFI boot machines which do not appear to have anything other than a text BIOS screen, so may be worth double checking for a 'legacy' or similar boot BIOS option... Yeah, I looked but no "Legacy" option or anything similar. I've just about given up. Found a local distributor that has all of the components I need for a clean build in a new box. It will have an Intel i5-4640, so not quite as energy efficient as I would like, but at least it should boot. :) - | Paul Goyette | PGP Key fingerprint: | E-mail addresses: | | (Retired)| FA29 0E3B 35AF E8AE 6651 | paul at whooppee.com| | Network Engineer | 0786 F758 55DE 53BA 7731 | pgoyette at juniper.net | | Kernel Developer | | pgoyette at netbsd.org | -
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On 28 March 2015 at 01:04, Paul Goyette wrote:
> On Fri, 27 Mar 2015, g...@duzan.org wrote:
>
>> You can always start with the NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-install.img.gz or
>> NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-live-sd0root.img.gz image, which boot off USB fine.
>
> Hmmm, I don't seem to find that file on nyftp's daily builds...
>
> FWIW, I just tried to boot a cleanly-burned FreeDOS 1.1 install image, and
> it fails to boot on the Gateway box, too. It seems that when there is only
> one device with a (what the BIOS considers to be) "valid" boot block, you
> cannot even use F12 to request the Boot Device Menu; it just boots the only
> "valid" device.
>
> Also FWIW, this does not seem to be a UEFI machine. The BIOS seems to work
> just like all the old BIOSs from before, with text windows and arrow-key
> cursor selections - no GUI, no mouse.
I've seem UEFI boot machines which do not appear to have anything
other than a text BIOS screen, so may be worth double checking for a
'legacy' or similar boot BIOS option...
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On 03/27 22:49, g...@duzan.org wrote: > I don't know if the live images are up for ftp anywhere They're not currently. Soren
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Fri, 27 Mar 2015, g...@duzan.org wrote:
=> On Fri, 27 Mar 2015, g...@duzan.org wrote:
=>
=>> You can always start with the NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-install.img.gz or
=>> NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-live-sd0root.img.gz image, which boot off USB fine.
=>
=> Hmmm, I don't seem to find that file on nyftp's daily builds...
They are a bit hidden. Instead of the {ver}/{arch} directory, look for
the {ver}/images directory. I see current install images for i386 and
amd64 in
http://nyftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/HEAD/201503271920Z/images/ and
7.0_BETA ones in
http://nyftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/netbsd-7/201503272230Z/images/
Ah - I will have to go look.
. I don't know if the live images are up for ftp anywhere; I build mine
from source. It is a simple matter of "build.sh -U tools release
live-image" from a src tree, plus some patience. Add the "-x" flag if
you want to build xsrc, too, and I prefer the "-r" flag to start things
off clean.
Building from source is not an option - it's a chicken/egg thing! This
is/will be my only usable NetBSD box. (I have another box, but it is a
more appropriately used as a space heater - more than 300W due to
dual-12-core AMD processors and multiple RAIDframe sets! - so not viable
here in the Philippines for more than a few minutes of use.)
I actually managed to boot up the space heater for a short time, and
copied its boot drive. Then I managed to install the grub2 package
(along with dependencies). Rebooting on the space heater did indeed get
me into grub2 (with a long list of boot options), and selecting the
right kernel resulted in a successful boot. HOWEVER, when I moved that
same hard drive to the Gateway box, it still does not recognize the
drive as a valid bootable media. :(
It's beginning to look like I'll need to find a local components store
(we don't have any Fry's Electronics here!) and start a new build from
scratch.
-
| Paul Goyette | PGP Key fingerprint: | E-mail addresses: |
| (Retired)| FA29 0E3B 35AF E8AE 6651 | paul at whooppee.com|
| Network Engineer | 0786 F758 55DE 53BA 7731 | pgoyette at juniper.net |
| Kernel Developer | | pgoyette at netbsd.org |
-
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
=> On Fri, 27 Mar 2015, g...@duzan.org wrote:
=>
=>> You can always start with the NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-install.img.gz or
=>> NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-live-sd0root.img.gz image, which boot off USB fine.
=>
=> Hmmm, I don't seem to find that file on nyftp's daily builds...
They are a bit hidden. Instead of the {ver}/{arch} directory, look for
the {ver}/images directory. I see current install images for i386 and
amd64 in
http://nyftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/HEAD/201503271920Z/images/ and
7.0_BETA ones in
http://nyftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/netbsd-7/201503272230Z/images/
. I don't know if the live images are up for ftp anywhere; I build mine
from source. It is a simple matter of "build.sh -U tools release
live-image" from a src tree, plus some patience. Add the "-x" flag if
you want to build xsrc, too, and I prefer the "-r" flag to start things
off clean.
Good luck...
Gary Duzan
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Fri, 27 Mar 2015, g...@duzan.org wrote:
You can always start with the NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-install.img.gz or
NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-live-sd0root.img.gz image, which boot off USB fine.
Hmmm, I don't seem to find that file on nyftp's daily builds...
FWIW, I just tried to boot a cleanly-burned FreeDOS 1.1 install image,
and it fails to boot on the Gateway box, too. It seems that when there
is only one device with a (what the BIOS considers to be) "valid" boot
block, you cannot even use F12 to request the Boot Device Menu; it just
boots the only "valid" device.
Also FWIW, this does not seem to be a UEFI machine. The BIOS seems to
work just like all the old BIOSs from before, with text windows and
arrow-key cursor selections - no GUI, no mouse.
-
| Paul Goyette | PGP Key fingerprint: | E-mail addresses: |
| (Retired)| FA29 0E3B 35AF E8AE 6651 | paul at whooppee.com|
| Network Engineer | 0786 F758 55DE 53BA 7731 | pgoyette at juniper.net |
| Kernel Developer | | pgoyette at netbsd.org |
-
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
=>
=> Paul Goyette writes:
=>
=>> Any suggestions on how to create such a USB stick? Just take the
=>> boot.iso file and dd(1) ?
=>
=> Generally, I do fdisk/newfs/installboot so the usb stick is like a
=> disk. But it's hard to tell what works on your bios. I am unclear on
=> the concept of ISO9660 filesystem on a umass device.
=>
You can always start with the NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-install.img.gz or
NetBSD-{ver}-amd64-live-sd0root.img.gz image, which boot off USB fine.
Gary Duzan
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
Paul Goyette writes: > Any suggestions on how to create such a USB stick? Just take the > boot.iso file and dd(1) ? Generally, I do fdisk/newfs/installboot so the usb stick is like a disk. But it's hard to tell what works on your bios. I am unclear on the concept of ISO9660 filesystem on a umass device. pgpkZcXe3JYCv.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Fri, 27 Mar 2015, David Laight wrote: 8< snip >8 3) Is there some other way of getting this beast booted into NetBSD? Boot from USB? you might find the bios will boot a cd image written to a usb memory stick. Any suggestions on how to create such a USB stick? Just take the boot.iso file and dd(1) ? - | Paul Goyette | PGP Key fingerprint: | E-mail addresses: | | (Retired)| FA29 0E3B 35AF E8AE 6651 | paul at whooppee.com| | Network Engineer | 0786 F758 55DE 53BA 7731 | pgoyette at juniper.net | | Kernel Developer | | pgoyette at netbsd.org | -
Re: Help needed with a stubborn Gateway box!
On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 08:44:07PM +0800, Paul Goyette wrote: > > So, any suggestions on how to proceed? > > 1) Is my plan to use the ubuntu-installed copy of grub to boot the > NetBSD boot.iso media successful? > > 2) Is my plan to leave the ubuntu-installed copy of grub on the disk > (rather than writing new boot blocks) going to work? ubuntu will have installed grub2. AFAICT grub2 is only of any use if you want to do exactly what 'they' expect you to do with it. Which basically assumes you are running linux. > 3) Is there some other way of getting this beast booted into NetBSD? Boot from USB? you might find the bios will boot a cd image written to a usb memory stick. David -- David Laight: da...@l8s.co.uk
