Another question. I know I need to write the boot file to the usb drive thus: # dd if=install66.fs of=/dev/da0 bs=1M conv=sync But can I just use plain old "cp base66.tgz /mnt" etc for the other files?
On Fri, Nov 29, 2019 at 1:26 AM Clay Daniels <[email protected]> wrote: > Nick, thanks for straightening me out about what is actually going on here > with the install. I see that there is now a fresh snapshot with today's > date, not the one I downloaded and ran yesterday. This might tend to keep > one busy. I'm not sure I would not be better off doing what Bruno & Marc > suggested and run sysupgrade. Thanks to them for the advice. > > If I do decide to put the filesets on the the install thumbdrive, I see a > total of 26 files in the directory. Obviously some are not necessary like > the floppy or both the .fs & .iso (just one needed), nor the test > instructions, etc. > So which files do I REALLY need on my usb thumbdrive to get a complete > install, x included? > > Please excuse the "top-posting". That's the only way my darn google mail > does reply's. Kind of irritating, to me and the reader too. > > Clay > > > > > On Thu, Nov 28, 2019 at 12:34 PM Nick Holland <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> On 2019-11-27 21:29, Edgar Pettijohn wrote: >> > On Wed, Nov 27, 2019 at 08:05:30PM -0600, Clay Daniels wrote: >> >> I have successfully installed OpenBSD 6.6 release and would like to >> give >> >> the Current Snapshots a try. I went to a mirror, and to: >> >> >> >> Index of /pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/amd64/ >> >> >> >> I saw install66.fs (probably for usb memstick) and install66.iso >> (surely >> >> for a cd/dvd) at ~450Mb. I picked the install66.fs, wrote it to a usb >> >> thumbdrive, and it starts the install. When i get into the install it >> asks >> >> where are the file sets? Humm, maybe it gets these online and it tries >> to >> >> do this but no luck. It was late last night, and I checked to see if >> it had >> >> written anything to my disk, which it had not, and went to bed. This >> >> evening I'm looking a bit deeper at the snapshot directory and I >> suspect I >> >> need to provide the install with base66.tzg at ~239Mb. >> >> NO! >> >> [snip misleading stuff] >> > I noticed this also, but hadn't had time to figure out if I had messed >> up or >> > the installer had. As a general rule I assume its me that messed up. >> Its odd >> > if you mount the install66.fs you can see the pub/amd64 directory, but >> during >> > installation it can't seem to find the directory regardless of what I >> have >> > tried. >> > >> > Edgar >> >> First of all...nothing at all to do about snapshots -- the OpenBSD >> installation process has remained amazingly stable over the last 20 >> years. >> New options here and there, but overall, very similar. Unless something >> changed in the last few days, installing a snapshot is identical to >> installing 6.6. >> >> The installXX.iso and installXX.fs are complete, stand-alone installation >> kits. Everything you need is on them. You can boot from them, and all >> the installation files are right there. Look Ma! No network needed! >> ...well...unfortunately there is the issue of firmware files, which are >> legally not feasible to put on the install media, so you will need network >> for most machines eventually. But let's ignore that for now. :) >> >> Once the system has booted on the install kernel, you have three devices >> you are working with: >> 1) the install kernel's internal "RAM disk" that is part of bsd.rd which >> you booted from, >> 2) your target disk >> 3) the USB drive with the install files on it. >> >> The reason you can't see the install files on the USB stick from the >> install kernel is they aren't mounted. You didn't boot from the entire >> USB stick, you booted from ONE TINY LITTLE bsd.rd file, that just happened >> to be sitting on the big USB stick...but as far as bsd.rd is concerned, >> the USB stick isn't part of the booted environment (yet). >> >> You aren't booting from a "Live Media". You are booting from a tiny >> kernel >> with a built in file system that's sitting on the same inert file system >> as >> the install files. >> >> Read that over and over until you understand what I'm saying, not what you >> are assuming is going on. It's really important to understand. It's very >> different from many Linux installation processes -- you are running off a >> file only 10MB in size which is now completely in RAM. That file JUST >> HAPPENED to come from a USB stick that's much bigger. >> >> So, when it comes to answering where your install files are, they are on >> a disk, but it's NOT a mounted disk. It's on your USB drive that's not >> mounted now, and won't be after installation, but could be useful shortly. >> >> Your next problem is...WHICH disk? On a minimal system, it would be the >> next sd device after your install disk -- assuming you are installing to >> sd0, your USB stick might be sd1. HOWEVER, if you have a flash media >> reader >> on your system, who knows where it is. One trick would be to unplug your >> USB drive and plug it back in and look at the white-on-blue console >> message >> that come up at you. Yes, you are unpluging your boot device, sounds bad, >> but read what I wrote earlier, it's no longer using that -- the boot has >> completed, and it's running from RAM now, it's completely ignoring that >> USB drive. So let's say you do this and you see it's sd4. Tell the >> installer the files are coming from a file system not currently mounted >> and when it asks, tell it "sd4" >> >> Nick. >> >>
