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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!spool.mu.edu!uunet!news.encore.com!idequesa From: idequesa@encore.com (Ivan Dequesada) Subject: Re: Compaq's incompatability. Can't boot dist.fs. Organization: Encore Computer Corporation Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1992 17:14:25 GMT Message-ID: <BywFw1.2z7@encore.com> References: <Byoso4.MMB@encore.com> Keywords: can not boot Sender: news@encore.com (Usenet readnews user id) Nntp-Posting-Host: houligan.encore.com Lines: 29 idequesa@encore.com (Ivan Dequesada) writes: >BSD's early switch to protected mode, and initialization at the register >level, causes Compaq systems (Systempro, Deskpro 386/20e, 486 EISAs, etc) >to loop-back into the BIOS-POST over & over in an infinite loop. I >believe TI's TM4000 has a similar problem. This problem does not excist >in LINUX's dist.fs because Linux does not switch to protected mode until >much later in the initilization process, and probably uses some BIOS >calls instead of register level video initialization. >My thanks to Dr Holger Veit of the University of Duisburg for pointing >out the differences between Linux and 386BSD as it pertains to the >boot sequence. There are 2 files, compaq.fixit and compaq.boot that are suppose to fix this problem. They can be found via anonymous ftp on wotan.compaq.com directory pub/386BSD. I have not yet tested them. However, there are a lot of differences between these files and dist.fs & fixit.fs and there are to instruction to clarify if these are to be used with rawrite, or if they are binary images for BSD 0.1's dist.fs/fixit.fs ...etc. If someone is able to boot this diskettes on a Compaq, please let me know. Thanks (idequesa@encore.com)