Plan 9 4th Edition Installation Notes

			    CDROM Install


(Note: Some things have changed since this was first written. Since I
now have DSL, I install over the Internet and have not attempted to
keep this document updated. See the network install notes for more
up-to-date information.)

Preliminaries:

  o Plan9 uses a FAT partition for booting.  Before you boot the
    system for the first time you will have to remove any boot loader
    from the MBR and replace it with a proper MSDOS MBR.  Actually,
    any boot loader that can chain-load DOS will work but save
    yourself a headache on your initial install and go with the
    standard MBR.

  o To replace the MBR on the HD:

      fdisk /mbr (if using MSDOS fdisk)

  o If installing from a CDROM: if the installation program has a
    problem finding the CDROM drive when it is installed as a SLAVE on
    the primary controler then install the drive as the MASTER on the
    secondary EIDE controller. Later, you can move it back to being a
    SLAVE if you desire to do so.


Plan 9 installation:

  o Boot machine using floppy disk.

  o Resolve problems and make adjustments by editing the floppy's
    plan9.ini file.

    Video - Information is probed and written to vgainfo.txt on the
      installation floppy. If your video is not recognized you may be
      able to use this information to add your card to vgadb (vga
      database file) on the floppy.

    Ethernet cards - If your ether-net card is recognized a message
      noting its port, interrupt, and MAC address will be printed to
      the screen when booting.  Some cards are probed OK; others will
      have to be added to the plan9.ini file.  Refer to man pages for
      "plan9.ini".

  o Follow the prompts when rio (the Plan 9 gui) has started.

    partdisk - If the HD is clean and will be 100% dedicated to Plan9
      accept the default partitioning which will be one partition.

    prepdisk - The partition will be subdivided into 3 parts by
      default.

    mountfs - 

    configdist - 

    mountdist - 

    copydist - At this point you will have to give information about
      where to install from--either a local CDROM drive or from the
      internet.

    bootsetup - Always make a floppy boot disk.  HD boots don't always
      work.

    finish - 

    stop - 

  o Now try to boot your system.  Use your floppy if HD boot fail.

    At "root is from (. . .)[. . .]:" prompt just accept the default.

    At "user[. . .];" prompt login as glenda, no password.

  o Now see the configuration notes.