[SunRescue] Booting sparc2 from bsd floppy

[User Bobkeys BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

> Hello All,
> 
>  Trying to boot a sparc2 from a openbsd floppy.
> 
>  I switched to the 'n' command prompt. Type boot floppy and get the
> following errors:
> 
> cant read label
> cant open sun disk label package
> cant open boot device
> 
>   Tried multiple boot disks, am I doing something wrong?

1.  How were the disks written?  I have had problems writing from
    Gatesware.  It always works writing via dd from a *nix.  Format
    the floppy first, then dd the image.

2.  Are you sure the floppy drive is working?  Check for dust buildup
    in the mechanism, particularly around the head positioning leadscrew
    and around the head slide stops.  If it can't seek to track 0 because
    of dust buildup, it won't read.  Unfortunately, there is no good way
    to check this except for pulling the cover, and pulling the drive,
    and pulling the lid off the drive for a lookiesee.  IFF your floppy
    drive has any dust buildup that you can see by looking inside the
    floppy slot, you really should do an R&R and full manual clean.
    Sometimes even old hard leadscrew grease will prevent the seek
    to track zero.  If there is any excess leadscrew grease that has
    hardened on either end of the leadscrew, remove it.  Relube with
    a light silicon oil, very sparingly.

It probably is not the floppy, per se, but most likely the floppy drive,
in my experiences.  I just wrote a pair of floppies (2.8 release and
2.8+ snapshot), and both worked fine on my SS1.  The SS2 is not that
different from the SS1.

I have had to set both the diag and the boot pointers to the floppy
on an initial install if the nvram chip is down.  Also, make sure
when it is trying to boot the floppy it actually spins up the floppy.

In the nvram, make sure sunmoncompat is off and password is off.
There may be one other setting to set.  See the install.txt file.

That is all I can think of, offhand.

Bob