Re: Configure Base System "by Hand"?

[Eric Delaunay <delaunay@lix.polytechnique.fr>]

Andreas Jaehnigen wrote:
> Hi everybody,
> 
> I'm wondering if (how) I can configure my base system by hand....
> Can anybody explain to me what must be done?
> I know, I should do this with "dbootstrap" (e.g.)- but the
> tft-image refuses to boot here (?!)
> 
> "Got Error packet: Error Code 2 Message: Access Violation receive failed"

Did you try the other netboot method based on nfsroot ?
Replace your tftpboot image with the linux kernel (eg. linux-a.out) and sets up
a NFS server on the same workstation that is running the tftp daemon.
Put the contents of root.tar.gz under /tftpboot, make a symlink from
debian-sparc-root to <your IP address in quad dotted form>, and export
/tftpboot/debian-sparc-root to your client with root access.
Then try to boot your client.
NB: if you want to put the contents of root.tar.gz somewhere else you will have
to pass options to the kernel command line to tell it where it resides (sorry I
can't help you much on this topic as I never tried it).

> And if I boot up now, the system stops with:
> 
> "WARNING! You're trying to run an unconfigured base system!"
> 
> Any hints?? Thank you very much!

dbootstrap is doing the following steps to configure the base system:
1. write a new /etc/fstab (/, swap, proc + any other mounted partition)
2. install the keymap you have chosen
3. configure timezone (create symlink from /usr/share/zoneinfo/<somewhere> to
   /etc/localtime, write the timezone in /etc/timezone and set GMT into
   /etc/default/rcS.new)
4. create /dev/cdrom symlink
5. update /etc/inittab to enable serial console if one is connected to the host.

Finally, you will have to remove /sbin/unconfigured.sh

Notes:
1. dbootstrap installs a temporary /etc/inittab, renaming the one in base
   system to /etc/inittab.real.  It is used to do autologin to the root account
   but I guess you can skip this step.
2. the configuration script is the file .bash_profile from root account which
   is replaced by .bash_profile.real after the script was started.
3. if you don't provide a default keymap, the configuration script will give
   you another chance to configure the keyboard therefore you can ignore step 2
   above.
4. I'm pretty sure you can also ignore step 3 if you reinstall the timezones
   package latter (its postinst surely will ask you to configure timezone
   again).

Hope this helps you.
Regards.

-- 
 Eric Delaunay                 | "La guerre justifie l'existence des militaires.
 delaunay@lix.polytechnique.fr | En les supprimant." Henri Jeanson (1900-1970)