NetBSD/mac68k Meta-FAQ

NetBSD/mac68k Meta-FAQ Introduction What is MacBSD? MacBSD, or NetBSD/mac68k as it is more properly known, is a port of NetBSD to the Apple Macintosh platform. NetBSD is a largely POSIX.1 compliant UNIX-like operating system based on the BSD 4.4 Lite distribution from the University of California, Berkeley. NetBSD comes with its own source code and for the most part is distributed under the Berkeley software license. Other portions are distributed under the GNU General Public License. NetBSD/mac68k currently runs on older model Macintoshes with a 68040 or 68030 processor (or a 68020 with a PMMU). It will boot on machines without an FPU but some software still requires an FPU. Support for 68LC040-based Macs is still in progress. The FAQ This is a list of frequently asked questions or often encountered problems with their corresponding answers and solutions. Please read the FAQ before asking questions on the mailing lists, since your question has probably been asked and answered before. The FAQ is available at: http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/mac68k/faq/ or any of www.NetBSD.org's mirror sites. Operating System Information This document provides technical information about the current state of the NetBSD/mac68k operating system, including working systems and hardware, known bugs, and available software. The INFO-Sheet is available at: http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/mac68k/info/ or any of www.NetBSD.org's mirror sites. HOWTO Documents The HOWTO documents provide information on performing specific tasks under NetBSD/mac68k which would be too lengthy to include in the FAQ. Topics range from such tasks as installing NetBSD/mac68k to setting up SL/IP and PPP connections. Currently available HOWTO's can be found at: http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/howto/ NetBSD/mac68k Meta-FAQ - Obtaining NetBSD/mac68k Anonymous FTP The primary method for obtaining NetBSD/mac68k is by anonymous ftp. The best location for obtaining the 3.1 release of NetBSD/mac68k is probably from NetBSD.org or one of its mirrors: ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-3.1/mac68k/ A list of ftp mirror sites is available via the WWW / anonymous ftp at: http://www.NetBSD.org/mirrors/ ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-current/doc/MIRRORS CD-ROM While one may download release binaries of the latest NetBSD/mac68k release, you can also purchase or create a CD-ROM containing it. A listing of companies offering NetBSD on CD-ROM is available at: http://www.NetBSD.org/sites/cdroms.html A listing of FTP sites which carry NetBSD ISO images is available at: http://www.NetBSD.org/sites/cdroms.html#officialiso FTP archives and WWW resources NetBSD/mac68k related WWW sites Please note that Allen Brigg's machine, puma.bevd.blacksburg.va.us, has undergone a name change to make things a little more convenient. Here are the new names: ftp.macbsd.com www.macbsd.com mail.macbsd.com puma.macbsd.com The NetBSD Project Page: http://www.NetBSD.org/ This is the official Home Page for NetBSD. It contains information about all of the NetBSD ports. MacBSD's Home: http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/ This is MacBSD's official home page. It contains pointers to a wealth of information on port-mac68k. NetBSD's Port-mac68k Page: http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/mac68k/ This is the mac68k port's page on the NetBSD project's webserver. Official information on the state of each release of NetBSD for mac68k can be found here. NetBSD/mac68k User Database http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/spearce/ This is the interface to a searchable database of MacBSD users (i.e. their machines, hardware configurations, etc.) If you are running NetBSD/mac68k in any way, please add yourself to the User Database. The information presented in it might be a little out of date, however. John Wittkoski's HWDIRECT ADB Kernel Info Page: http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/jpw/adb.html Descriptions, details, kernels, and source for those who need to build their own HWDIRECT kernels. Ken Nakata's LC040 FPE Page: http://www.macbsd.com/macbsd/LC040-and-BSD.html Ken has a lot of information here about the bug that plagues the 'LC040-based Macs. Check it out for the status of the work or if you would like to contribute yourself. Some useful ftp sites The NetBSD ftp server: ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/ This is the site for official NetBSD distributions and source, as well as for -current source and user-contributed binaries. A current binary snapshot is also available here at ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/arch/mac68k/new/ Scott Reynold's current kernels and snapshots: ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/arch/mac68k/ A variety of -current GENERIC kernels binary snapshots courtesy of Scott. These snapshots are usually tested enough to be fairly stable. NetBSD-mac68k Binaries: ftp://ftp.macbsd.com/pub/NetBSD/contrib/ This site contains user-contributed binaries compiled for NetBSD/mac68k. Many popular programs are included. Mailing Lists and Newsgroups Mailing Lists The port-mac68k mailing list is maintained by the majordomo mail server at NetBSD.org. If you would like to subscribe to this mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@NetBSD.org with any subject and the message: subscribe port-mac68k The majordomo mail server can do many other things such as unsubscribe, inform you which mailing lists you are subscribed to, and give you detailed help on what functions it can perform. For further help about using majordomo, send e-mail to majordomo@NetBSD.org with any subject and the message: help If the volume of mail produced by the port-mac68k mailing list bothers you and you would prefer to get the list in digest format, you're in luck. Mark Routbort (routbort@neuro.duke.edu) currently has a digest server set up on his machine. Here is what Mark has to say about it:

I am announcing the availability of a new mailing-list for a digest form of port-mac68k, having seen a number of recent requests for such a format (and feeling a bit deluged by the volume of mail on the port-mac68k list myself). This digest will be sent out daily, and is simply a mirror of the regular port-mac68k list, except that it will be sorted by subject and dates (major/minor), have a topics list, and strip out a lot of mail header information - changes which will hopefully improve readability somewhat. To subscribe, send mail to "majordomo@routbort.neuro.duke.edu" with the text "subscribe port-mac68k-digest" in the body of the message. mailto:majordomo@routbort.neuro.duke.edu (As usual, any traffic to the mailing list should be sent to port-mac68k@NetBSD.org, mail sent to port-mac68k@routbort.neuro.duke.edu will just be forwarded there.) Past volumes (as of March 15th, 1997) will be available for anonymous ftp at: ftp://routbort.neuro.duke.edu/pub/port-mac68k-digest

The NetBSD/mac68k mailing list (port-mac68k) used to be two separate mailing lists called macbsd-general and macbsd-development. Both the macbsd-general and macbsd-development mailing lists are archived on several sites. If you are new to the mailing lists, we suggest that you browse over the archives for the last month or two before asking questions on a list, such as, "I have a <insert machine name here>. Will NetBSD/mac68k work on this machine?" Here is the location of the mailing list archives on the NetBSD Project's ftp server: ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/mailing-lists/macbsd-general ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/mailing-lists/macbsd-development ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/mailing-lists/port-mac68k Most NetBSD mirrors also carry the mailing list archives. For a complete list, check out the NetBSD Project's Obtaining NetBSD page. Newsgroups Two newsgroups of interest are: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.announce comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc However, most of the useful information about NetBSD/mac68k is obtained through the mailing lists. Recommended reading Unix and BSD information The following books are recommended as sources of information about UNIX operating systems: UNIX System Administration Handbook EviNemeth GarthSnyder ScottSeebass Prentice-Hall 2 1994 Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment W. RichardStevens The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System Marshall KirkMcKusick KeithBostic Michael J.Karels John S.Quarterman Addison Wesley 1996 Unix Internals The New Frontiers UreshVahalia Macintosh information The following books are good sources of information on Macintosh hardware and devices: Guide to the Macintosh Family Hardware Apple Computer, Inc Addison-Wesley 2 1990 Designing Cards and Drivers for the Macintosh Family Apple Computer, Inc Addison-Wesley 3 1992 Other useful FAQs FAQ Title NetBSD Mailing List FAQ FAQ Maintainer cgd@agate.berkeley.edu (Chris G. Demetriou) Newsgroup comp.os.386bsd.announce FAQ Title comp.os.386bsd BNR/2 derived BSD for PCs Archive-name 386bsd-faq (parts 1-10) FAQ Maintainer burgess@cynjut.infonet.net (Dave Burgess) Newsgroup comp.os.386bsd.announce Archive-name aux-faq (parts 1-4) FAQ Maintainer jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov (Jim Jagielski) Newsgroup comp.unix.aux There is a list of each port's FAQ available in the NetBSD Documentation section of www.NetBSD.org. Keeping up with -current NetBSD-current is a daily snapshot of the NetBSD development source tree. Because it is "work in progress," it may not be particularly well tested, and it may not even compile. People developing drivers and other system-level software for NetBSD are encouraged to run NetBSD-current, as are people who want to be on the bleeding edge of NetBSD development. If you're just using NetBSD for day-to-day work, you should probably be running a formal release of NetBSD instead. NetBSD-current is available via anonymous FTP and CVS. Current sources can be found in the NetBSD-current area directly off the "root" of the NetBSD area on FTP mirrors. Legalese The general structure of this document is based on the Linux Meta-FAQ by Michael K. Johnson (johnsonm@nigel.vnet.net). Much of the material it contains comes from the original NetBSD/mac68k FAQ by David Holcomb (holcomb@acm.vt.edu). Non-mac68k specific information concerning NetBSD was obtained from the NetBSD project page, located at: http://www.NetBSD.org Although I try to verify that the information contained within this document is correct, I accept no responsibility for loss or damage caused by the use of the information contained within this document. This document is © 1995-2001 by Colin Wood with portions © 1993-1994 by the Alice Group.