> > The Mac never enumerates its devices like the PC does (no C: D: etc, no
> > /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, or anything like that). It also remembers the boot device
> > in its EEPROM (the Startup Disk Control Panel handles this).
>
> Are you sure about that? According to my documentation on installing linux on a G4
> with scsi disks, you need to specify a device enumeration string like the following
> to tell the system where to look for the boot device:
>
> /pci@f2000000/pci-bridge@d/ATTO,ExpressPCIProUL2D@4,1/@6:5
>
> where the '6' is the SCSI ID of the drive, and the '5' is the partition number of the
> boot partition. So if you change SCSI IDs or add a new partition and change the
> partition numbering of the drive, your computer can't boot anymore.
I was talking about a Mac running Mac OS. I've tried change the SCSI ID of the
boot device, but this discussion was about adding devices. On a Mac, I've
always been able to add devices, whether they be on an exiting SCSI or IDE bus,
or on a new bus, and not worry about the machine not booting.
I can't same the same about the PC. Overall, the PC is just much more
sensitive to device changes than Macs are. And I think it's because the Mac
BIOS and OS are just designed to handle this better. The PC BIOS never had any
provision for a third-party boot device to annouce itself.
-- Timur Tabi - ttabi@interactivesi.com Interactive Silicon - http://www.interactivesi.comWhen replying to a mailing-list message, please direct the reply to the mailing list only. Don't send another copy to me. - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/