Re: netboot different behavior on ROM 01 and 03 GS

[Ivan X <ivanxqz@yahoo.com>]

On 1/2/11 10:15 PM, "Geoff Body" <gbody4@bigpond.com> wrote:

> I think you will find that IIGS is set for booting ProDos from
> Network.  The Network CDEV allows you to set either Prodos or GS/OS.
> If you have a GS/OS boot disk with the Network CDEV installed you can
> set it to GS/OS.

This was exactly correct! I was unaware of that CDEV. I booted from the
network floppy, changed it, and all was well. I have now finally seen a IIgs
network boot! Hooray, and thanks to Peter and Geoff and Steven and all
others here who helped me make sense of it...

Current status of things:

Netatalk 2.1.5 (compiled from source, with randnum authentication and
netboot) runs very nicely in Ubuntu Server 10.10 under VirtualBox 4.0.0, as
long as its virtual network interface is set to bridge mode using a wired
ethernet interface on the host machine (a USB-Ethernet adapter works too).
One day I'll package this up as a ready-to-go turnkey appliance. I'm also
writing a new, and better organized, cheat sheet on how to build it
yourself.

I've written a handy bash script to easily generate customized ATINIT files
in the correct place on your shared volume. If anyone wants this, holler.

I've also figured out a way, entirely within Linux, to download and extract
the last version of the Boot Blocks (GS 3.0 and IIe 1.5) from the
DiskDoubler-compressed self-extracting "IIgs Disk 7" image on Apple's
download page. I have a script which does this automatically. There might be
no real point since others have posted easier places to get them, but still,
it's nice to have an official source and do it all within the server OS.

Every LocalTalk-to-Ethernet transceiver I've tried is still flawed in one
way or another (and I've not yet obtained the fabled GatorBox CS). Here's
the rundown:

Dayna EtherPrint (and mini EtherPrint): Works every time netbooting a //e or
IIgs, and can log in to a share from the //e Workstation Card disk. Problem:
AppleShare CDEV doesn't work. You click Open, the network activity arrows
blink for a second, and then the wristwatch turns into an ugly square
blotch; and though the mouse moves around with a blotch pointer, the machine
is effectively frozen at this point. So if you netboot, you can access the
network volume you netbooted from, but no other; and if you want to boot
from local drive and then access your network share once booted, no go.

Farallon EtherWave/EtherMac/iPrint: Works perfectly for //e, both during
netboot and login when booted from another disk. IIgs (at least my ROM 03)
is more problematic: It can netboot, and the AppleShare CDEV works just
fine, but the unit just stops operating 2-3 minutes after boot, and that's
that.

AsanteTalk: Made by Satan. When it works, the behavior is entirely the same
as the EtherPrint: //e great, IIgs netboot works too, IIgs AppleShare =
blotch. And once the AsanteTalk is working, it will stay working as long as
it remains powered. However, it almost never works when you power it on, and
there's no deterministic sequence I've been able to divine to coax it back
to working. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying you won't know
what you did this particular time that made it happen. It hates you.