Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!sun-spots-request
From: jto@ousrvr.oulu.fi (Jarkko Oikarinen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun
Subject: SCSI disk and installboot problems...
Keywords: Software
Message-ID: <10110@brazos.Rice.edu>
Date: 20 Jul 90 16:43:58 GMT
Sender: root@rice.edu
Organization: Sun-Spots
Lines: 20
Approved: Sun-Spots@rice.edu
X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 273, message 12
Originator: spots@titan.rice.edu

I recently tried to install a MiniScribe 9380S disk to a standalone
Sun-3/50. I didn't have a portable tape drive so I borrowed a working disk
and connected both disks to Sun via SCSI.

Formatting and partitioning the (new) disk succeeded after some minor
problems with /etc/format.dat. But making the disk bootable using
installboot seemed to be impossible; it always flamed back with a message
'not a superblock'. Why is this ?

The command I used was something like:
'installboot /mnt/boot bootsd /dev/sd4a'
(the root partition of the new disk was mounted to /mnt).

I finally got around the problem by simply dd:ing the root partition from
another disk, but would like to know the reason for installboot's
behaviour.

Thanx in advance.

--Jarkko