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Can't boot a NetBSD install USB (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/netbsd@lemmy.sdf.org
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Please bear with me as I am a NetBSD noob.

I am booting NetBSD from a USB, but I can never get past the root device prompt? It shows pk0, pk1, pk2, halt, reboot, and a few other options. I've left the USB for a few minutes and nothing has happened. Does the installer start on its own? Usually Linux installers go straight to the install (or in the case of Arch, an install prompt). I've reflashed the USB once to no avail.

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[–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

did you download the right file? for the right architecture?

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    Yes, I used amd64 IIRC.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 child)

    so this: https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-11.0/images/NetBSD-11.0-amd64-install.img.gz

    did you gunzip it before you dd'd it to the usb? :')

    when you boot into the usb, all you should be getting is

    • "press 1 to install netbsd"
    • "press 2 to drop into a shell"

    or something like that, i don't remember exactly

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    • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    Under normal circumstances, yes, the installer should start on its own.

    My first thought is, as I've seen quite a few people do this on Mastodon (and I've done this myself once by accident!), if you had flashed it to a partition rather than the whole disk? (i.e. on Linux flashing to /dev/sdb1 rather than /dev/sdb)

    I've also flashed amd64 install media for a machine that would run the i386 port of NetBSD, so pmjv's question is also worth looking into.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    I flashed it to /dev/sda (my USB) and not a partition in DD, so that can't be it. If it matters, I used a block size of 1M the second time and didn't specify the first time. Something I have observed is with a few Linux installers in the past is that sometimes when the boot gets stuck I have to unplug and replug the USB for it to detect it and finish booting. Maybe that's related?

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