SunOS 4.0.3 v.s. 3/60 without kbd/monitor

[Rob Healey]

I have a problem, a VERY frustrating one:

First the hardware:

3/60 with 12M memory and NO keyboard or monitor, it's set up to use ttya
as the console. One SCSI disk as sd0.

Now the software:

SunOS 4.0.3. Under SunOS 3.5 the system boots just fine with a terminal on
ttya. Under 4.0.3; BOOOM! The startup sequence claims it can't find a
keyboard and panics BIG TIME. When I add a monitor and keyboard and do a
eeprom console=b&w from 3.5, 4.0.3 will boot and run just fine. I have 3
kernels I've tried and all fail if eeprom console=ttya is in effect. The
generic 4.0.3 kernel dies just after the zs0 is printed out and 2/3 of a
screen of :'s are printed out followed by a hardware reset and then the
sequence repeats. A kernel configured with no monitor or keyboard also
panics in the same spot with the same results.

What gives with 4.0.3 that it can't boot on a 3/60 without a monitor and
keyboard? As I said, 3.5 runs just fine under the exact same
hardware/eeprom setup that causes 4.0.3 to blow up. I compared the 3.5
config file and the 4.0.3 config file and they're the same with additions
in the 4.0.3 file for streams and other baggage.

Where do I look in TFM to find a solution to my problem? I've poured over
eeprom, startup and all the man pages I could find on kernel config but
nothing explains what's going on here. I know the next part of the startup
sequence after the zs0 line is zs1, the keyboard and mouse. I assume 4.0.3
doesn't like the fact that I have a 3/60 but no direct keyboard/mouse
hooked up to it. WHY?

Any help or hints would be GREATLY appreciated,

			-Rob Healey

			rhealey at ub.d.umn.edu
			rob at com2serv.c2s.mn.org