Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 18:07:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Annelise Anderson <andrsn@andrsn.stanford.edu> To: Denis DeLaRoca <denis@acacia.cts.ucla.edu> Cc: Michael Haro <mharo@area51.fremont.ca.us>, freebsd-mobile@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Sony VAIO C1 Picturebook Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.990605175940.14275A-100000@andrsn.stanford.edu> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9906051618540.4861-100000@acacia.cts.ucla.edu>
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What a superb summary of the options and problems! Actually my CX1 is on order, but hasn't arrived yet. Then I will have to get a Sony cdrom, which I didn't order yet. The option not mentioned is to build a single boot floppy that has pccard (not PAO) support, which I will try to do. But probably not for a couple weeks after the USENIX conference. (I have already created a two-floppy boot set with pccard support, but I suspected the second floppy wouldn't work. I will let you know if perchance it does.) Sony will not tell me if they will release a US/English version of the C1/S; however, Sony tells me they will have a new set of offerings in October. My guess is it will include the C1/S. Annelise On Sat, 5 Jun 1999, Denis DeLaRoca wrote: > > On Sun, 30 May 1999, Annelise Anderson wrote: > > > I'm talking about the C1 in comparison to the 505. The screen > > is fine with me. I just can't figure out how to install > > FreeBSD on it, since I can't boot floppies (usb floppy is > > not yet supported). A parallel port usb is supported and I > > could connect to another machine that way, but I still can't > > boot install floppies. > > Why don't you browse the Laptop Compatibility pages for FreeBSD at > > > http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/~dkulp/fbsd/laptop.html > > for further info. > > I am sure that you can boot from the USB floppy since it is the C1X BIOS > that is handling the floppy during the reboot process. Tatsumi Hosokowa in > Japan (http://www.jp.FreeBSD.org/PAO/) has done most if not all of the > work for the FreeBSD Mobile Support Package, and his PA0 release 2.2.8 > boot floppy should allow you to do a full install of FreeBSD 2.2.8 on the > C1X -- and come up with a system fully enabled for pcmcia support. > > With FreeBSD 3.x, the single boot floppy has become now two floppies. And > the question and problem with the C1X USB floppy drive is whether one can > handle the 2 floppy sequence -- one boots with the kern floppy and when > that is done it requests that you insert the 2nd mfsroot floppy and hit > enter. For laptops, Linux install has a two floppy sequence also (the 2nd > floppy being the pcmcia support) but it fails as the floppy change is not > detected successfully on the USB-based floppy... so the question is > whether the FreeBSD 3.x install fail similarly or actually successfully > detects the floppy change and is able to proceed. > > The other option for the install is via bootable CD. For the C1X, Sony > sells an IDE portable CD-ROM drive. The bootable Redhat 5.2 Linux CD > boots fine from this CD-ROM drive... and wo would the bootable FreeBSD > CD-ROM from Walnut Creek. I am sure. There shouldn't be anything special > about the Sony drive but there is... they tinkered with the powerup > sequence and only the Sony drive is properly recognized to be able to boot > from it -- reportedly, you can't boot from similar Panasonic IDE drives > for example. For FreeBSD, Hosokowa's PA0 boot floppy would conceivable > come up with pcmcia scsi support to be able to use a SCSI CD-ROM drive for > the install... The Sony IDE CD-ROM drive is expensive, about $300, but it > does allow for booting from CD and may prove the most expedient way to > install FreeBSD. > > Annelise, since you already have one of these machines could you find out > if the 2-floppy boot sequence works on the C1X's USB floppy? > > As for the C1S model of the Picturebook, do you know if Sony intends to > release it in the US at some point? > > -- Denis > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-mobile" in the body of the message
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