[comp.os.mach] Installation Help Request!!

vjd@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Victoria J. Day) (01/09/90)

box while the alternate disk is in another shoe box. Both are on the same
controller. I am running SUN OS 4.0.3. on both. I can get the alternate
disk to boot under Sun Os, but only with boot options that don't make sense 
and were figured out by process of elimination (one of my favorite methods).
By the way, if you have experienced trying to boot from an alternate disk
on a Sun workstation, please let me know. 


With 4.0.3 on the first disk (first on the controller) and Mach Os on the
second disk, second disk on same controller, I will then have the choice of
booting from either disk and therefore a choice of operating systems.
Doesn't that sound like fun? Well, I am not getting very far on this
and if you will excuse my ignorance, I will attempt to tell you my 
troubles. If you can help me and your information could be useful
to others, please post, otherwise you could just send me email.

  The instructions indicate that I should first copy to the system disk,
the utilities (mkfs is supposed to be the most important). I noticed a
file "stand/diag" which I didn't have as part of version 4.0.3. The
instructions say to boot from this file and format the disk, the partitioning
scheme is different (this is in disktab) . My problem- the system
boots from stand/diag alright but it doesn't see the second disk (says
it's not available. It sees the first disk but if you elect to verify,
it says the label is misplaced. However, when I select the second disk
then verify it, it says "Bad format". So strange. 

 In conclusion, I would think that I should see both of the disks with
the stand/diag I got from the distribution and the messages should make
sense. They don't. Why?

Again, I don't know much about Mach Os, so be gentle.

-Thanks,
        Viki Day (Comp Sys Mgr, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.)

jje@virtech.uucp (Jeremy J. Epstein) (01/09/90)

In article <1766@rex.cs.tulane.edu>, vjd@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Victoria J. Day) writes:
> 
>   The instructions indicate that I should first copy to the system disk,
> the utilities (mkfs is supposed to be the most important). I noticed a
> file "stand/diag" which I didn't have as part of version 4.0.3.

Can't help with your two disk problems, but if you read the installation
instructions carefully it warns you that they're designed to run relative
to SunOS 3.5, not 4.0.3.  Unfortunately, you can't go back and install
SunOS 3.5 and then use Mach (or at least it wouldn't work for me) because
there are some hardware changes for 4.0 which are not backward compatible
with 3.5.

Bottom line: If you've already partitioned your disk under SunOS you
shouldn't need to repartition it for Mach.  Just skip that part and
move on to mkfs.  You'll have to get your disk partition map (there's
a SunOS command, which I don't remember to do that) and then edit it
into /etc/disktab on Mach if your disk isn't supported.  I have a
Micropolis 1558 (Sun 327MB drive) which worked this way.

There are many other differences and pitfalls along the way when installing
Mach from SunOS 4.0...I've forwarded a copy of the details to Jonathan
Chew at CMU, or you can call me!

Good luck!!!
-- 
Jeremy Epstein
TRW Systems Division
2750 Prosperity Avenue
FV10/5010