Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!graphon!mystic!raf
From: raf@mystic.graphon.com (Rafael Espanol)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: boot proms for packet driver cards
Message-ID: <420@graphon.graphon.com>
Date: 6 May 91 18:55:30 GMT
Sender: news@graphon.graphon.com
Reply-To: raf@graphon.com (Rafael Espanol)
Organization: GraphOn Corp., San Jose, CA.
Lines: 34



I have experienced a problems with boot proms in the ethernet adapter, which
I got for booting diskless PCs off the network. The original proms worked 
well with '286 based machines. These were obtained for diskless boot up 
using bootp/tftp.Normally the proms display their commercial message and 
then issue bootp requests to the host. I captured a sequence of 4 requests 
(normal). The host, which ,if configured correctly, will answer
these requests with bootp responses and then a tftp file transfer to the
PC enables it to boot up a ram-disk image (drive A:) which contains the
proper software to mount (via pc-nfs) a virtual drive( eg. drive P:).




Putting the proms/ethernet adapters into '386sx machines yields the
following error message:

 'drive not ready error...etc'. 


Does anybody out there recall having this problem before? I would 
apprecicate ,very much, any pointers to what the problem is 
(hair pulling is the next step). My thought is that it is related 
to the '386sx ( instructions or bus ???? ) but
cannot be sure. 


Note: the ethernet adapter is a wd8003 with twisted pair port.


Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
                                             Raf, raf@mystic.graphon.com
'I am a surfer who programs or a programmed surfer?'