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Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1996 18:22:41 +1100
From: Bruce Evans <bde@zeta.org.au>
Message-Id: <199612130722.SAA24286@godzilla.zeta.org.au>
To: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG, j@uriah.heep.sax.de
Subject: Re: 2.1.5-R  kernel root on sd0 fails
Cc: lada@ws2301.gud.siemens.co.at
Sender: owner-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
X-Loop: FreeBSD.org
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>> > 1:sd(0,a)/kernel
>> 
>> Sure, I know that.  But it requires manual intervention on *every* boot.
>
>...in the same boat with this solution.
>
>``nextboot'' is the projected solution to your problem, but Julian
>Elischer apparently failed to document how to set it up, and to
>advocate for its use.  You might give it a try, perhaps you can figure
>out how it works?  (Don't ask me though, i don't have disks where i
>could spare sector 2 for the nextboot information.)

It has a man page and should be easy to set up by compiling biosboot
with the option for it.  However, I project nuking it.  I'm allergic to
magic spare sectors.  They are worse than magic builtin sectors (like
the label sector which is sometimes in the middle of the bootstrap).

>> OTOH, your statement implies that the kernel root device configuration
>> option is actually broken.  I'll take a look in the config sources, then.
>
>No, it ain't broken.  The root device is _intended_ to be
>automatically changed to the device where the system has been booted
>from...

It would be nice if the entries in /etc/fstab for the boot device were
automatically changed.  I keep a backup root file system on a removable
(zip) drive and the drive number is often wrong when I need it.

Bruce