Very Computer

We are using and Adaptec AHA-2940UW card in a Pentium system, booting
QNX 4.25 from a 1G SCSI hard disk.  The system installed and runs
correctly.  After adding an experimental PCI card, the PCI BIOS moved
the IO address for the SCSI card from 0xE400 to 0xE000.  The
Fsys.aha7scsi driver signs on and reports that it can't find any
adapters.

I can boot the system from the boot floppy created during installation,
and it finds the SCSI adapter with or without the other PCI card
present.

==> How is the boot floppy boot image different from the image on the
hard disk?  How can I get the hard disk .boot image to search for the
SCSI adapter the way the floppy image does?

I have tried to create a new .boot image using the method described in
the online installation docs.  I created a new build file using
install.1 as a starting point.  I modified the lines containing
Fsys.aha7scsi to Fsys.aha8scsi to try the other driver.  I tried both
the buildqnx method and the make b= method to create the image, copied
the image to /.boot and created a new /etc/config/sysinit.1 file
corresponding to the new .boot image.  When the system boots from the
hard disk, it says the new image contains Fsys.aha7scsi, and not
Fsys.aha8scsi.  I interpret this to mean the Fsys.aha8scsi driver is not
in the new boot image.  Both Fsys.aha7scsi and Fsys.aha8scsi are present
in /bin.

==> What are the undocumented steps in creating a new boot image?

I have used the same process, modifying the parameters to Fsys.aha7scsi
in the build file, with the same results (Fsys.aha7scsi doesn't find any
adapters).

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ted Hildum

After some further experimentation, I can get a boot image to load if I copy
it to /.altboot instead of /.boot.  I am not requesting an alternate OS boot
during startup.

The Fsys.aha8scsi driver works fine on the system, with or without the
experimental PCI card installed.

How does the boot loader know where to look for the /.boot image?  Since
/.altboot was created by cp'ing /.boot to /.altboot, does /.altboot live at
the disk coordinates formerly used by /.boot?

Ted Hildum

Is it possible that your newer /.boot image is larger than your old one and
the new .boot image is NOT entirely within the first 1024 (0-1023)
cylinders?

The .boot image MUST be ENTIRELY withiun the first 1024 cylinders.

Quote:> After some further experimentation, I can get a boot image to load if I
copy
> it to /.altboot instead of /.boot.  I am not requesting an alternate OS
boot
> during startup.

> The Fsys.aha8scsi driver works fine on the system, with or without the
> experimental PCI card installed.

> How does the boot loader know where to look for the /.boot image?  Since
> /.altboot was created by cp'ing /.boot to /.altboot, does /.altboot live
at
> the disk coordinates formerly used by /.boot?

> Ted Hildum

The disk has only 1005 cylindars, so it must be.

Does the loader read the root directory to find .boot, or does it know the disk
coordinates of .boot by some other means?

Ted Hildum

Quote:> Is it possible that your newer /.boot image is larger than your old one and
> the new .boot image is NOT entirely within the first 1024 (0-1023)
> cylinders?

> The .boot image MUST be ENTIRELY withiun the first 1024 cylinders.