From owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG  Fri Oct 26 23:15:41 2007
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Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:48:10 -0500
From: "Matthew D. Fuller" <fullermd@over-yonder.net>
To: Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org>
Message-ID: <20071026224810.GN50315@over-yonder.net>
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Cc: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org, Thomas Ching <tching@arraynetworks.net>
Subject: Re: boot loader
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On Fri, Oct 26, 2007 at 01:47:04PM -0700 I heard the voice of
Doug Barton, and lo! it spake thus:
> 
> You could theoretically install onto a local system, tar it up, then
> unpack it in the unused partition on your remote machine, yes.
> However in order to set the new slice bootable you'd have to then
> use the disk editor, and if you get even one thing the tiniest bit
> wrong, you've bricked it.

Actually, you may be able to talk the 4.x loader into loading and
booting off the created 6.x partition.  That would save disk editing.
Still, you only get one shot at it without console access.  But you
said you have a serial port, so you could stuff a serial console on
it, which gives you lots more safety.  I moved a couple 4.x machines
to 6.x remotely with just a serial console, and I think I only ended
up needing to use the serial console on one machine where I didn't
properly nudge the loader to look in the right place.  Sure was glad
to have it there, though.


-- 
Matthew Fuller     (MF4839)   |  fullermd@over-yonder.net
Systems/Network Administrator |  http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/
           On the Internet, nobody can hear you scream.