Re: IBM 600E laptop installation

[Hiten Pandya <hmp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Matthew Dillon wrote:

> :When did we significantly change from the FreeBSD boot loader, and does it
> :intersect with this time frame?  I suppose I can install 1.0A and update,
> :though it'll take a looong time on an older laptop like this.
>
>     It was between 1.0A and 1.2, but when I'm not sure.   The problem is
>     that the BIOS lies about what memory is available.  The boot loader
>     tries to use the memory, and things blow up.  Trying to figure out
>     what memory the boot loader can or cannot use is a hit-or-miss 
>     proposition.  What will work on one computer will not work on another.
>     The problem is compounded by FreeBSD's original boot loader design,
>     the 'BTX' junk, which tries to create a generic operating environment
>     (including changing the vector table) for the various boot loader
>     stages.  The forth code doesn't help matters, either.  It just makes
>     things even less understandable.
>
> 					-Matt

	Can we not just adopt some other boot loader which doesn't make
	such pathetic predictions ?  Somehow, the idea of heuristical
	decisions at boot stage are really not pleasing. :-)

				-Hiten
				hmp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx