From f45da0d6cda640b0908113070c4e0b0a9b6f2ec4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2024 18:08:26 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] website: review NetBSD page index and convert to GNU Boot point of view. As the page is quite similar to the OpenBSD page, it should contain similar changes. Signed-off-by: Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli --- website/pages/docs/bsd/netbsd.md | 54 +++++++++++++++++++++++--------- 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-) diff --git a/website/pages/docs/bsd/netbsd.md b/website/pages/docs/bsd/netbsd.md index a7eee1e..d97715c 100644 --- a/website/pages/docs/bsd/netbsd.md +++ b/website/pages/docs/bsd/netbsd.md @@ -1,13 +1,38 @@ --- title: How to install NetBSD on x86 GNU GRUB payload -x-unreviewed: true ... -GRUB supports booting NetBSD kernels directly. However, you're better off -simply using the SeaBIOS payload; BSD works well with BIOS or UEFI setups. +This guide was written for NetBSD at a time where Libreboot was still +fully free. -GRUB is acceptable for booting unencrypted BSD installations. However, -encrypted BSD installations will probably require the use of SeaBIOS/Tianocore. +NetBSD is not a fully free softrware operating system / distribution +and so the GNU Boot project can't force its contributors to test GNU +Boot with NetBSD. + +Because of that this page is only meant for people already Using +NetBSD. See the [BSD index page](index.md) for more details about how +GNU Boot deals with this issue and the way forward to a better support +for BSD systems in GNU Boot. + +According to the Libreboot project at the time, GRUB supported booting +NetBSD kernels directly. However, they told that you were better off +simply using the SeaBIOS payload; They also told that BSD worked well +with BIOS or UEFI setups. + +They also warned that while GRUB was acceptable for booting +unencrypted BSD installations, encrypted BSD installations probably +required the use of SeaBIOS/Tianocore. + +In addition, GNU boot may also remove support for booting encrypted +BSD systems in the GRUB images it provides at some point, in order to +make GRUB smaller to fit computer with a very small boot flash size +(512 KiB) like the Intel D945GCLF, and unify the documentation, but +also because it can't currently test that due to the lack of fully +free BSD systems that are easily installable. + +So if you already use NetBSD with encrypted partitions, and that want +to continue using it on a computer running GNU Boot, you should use +GNU Boot images with SeaBIOS. Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD) --------------------------------- @@ -107,7 +132,7 @@ Press C in GRUB to access the command line: grub> knetbsd -r wd0a (ahci0,netbsd1)/netbsd grub> boot -NetBSD will start booting. Yay! +NetBSD will start booting. Configuring Grub ---------------- @@ -115,11 +140,11 @@ Configuring Grub If you don't want to drop to the GRUB command line and type in a command to boot NetBSD every time, you can create a GRUB configuration that's aware of your NetBSD installation and that will automatically be -used by libreboot. +used by GNU Boot. On your NetBSD root partition, create the `/grub` directory and add -the file `libreboot_grub.cfg` to it. Inside the -`libreboot_grub.cfg` add these lines: +the file `gnuboot_grub.cfg` to it. Inside the +`gnuboot_grub.cfg` add these lines: default=0 timeout=3 @@ -135,11 +160,12 @@ seconds NetBSD will boot, or you can hit enter to boot. Troubleshooting =============== -Most of these issues occur when using Libreboot with coreboot's 'text -mode' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. This mode is useful for -booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for NetBSD -it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer -because it doesn't exist. +According to the Libreboot project at a time when it was still fully +free, most of the issues occur when using coreboot's 'text mode' +instead of the coreboot framebuffer. This mode is useful for booting +payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for NetBSD, +accodring to Libreboot at the time, it can be problematic when they +are trying to switch to a framebuffer because it doesn't exist. won't boot...something about file not found ---------------------------------------------