Installing OPENSTEP 4.2 on Proxmox 8.x (Floppy + QMP Guide)
Hi,
I managed to successfully install OPENSTEP 4.2 (Intel) installation boot diskette image. on Proxmox 8.2.2. I also managed to “swap” the diskette. This one was a bit hard to solve, since there is absolutely no chance you could do this via the gui, but instead you need to open an additional ssh console to give in some additional commands, in order to get it right. This document captures the exact working setup, including the tricky floppy disk swapping via QMP.
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Prerequisites:
First upload the following into your local store under iso Images via Proxmox web gui:
Openstep-4.2-intel-User.iso
4.2_Install_Disk.img
4.2_Driver_Disk.img
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VM Configuration
On my system it has the
VM-ID 300
- CPU: kvm64
- RAM: 256 MB
- Disk: IDE (ide0)
- CD-ROM: IDE (ide1) with OpenStep ISO
- BIOS: SeaBIOS
- ACPI: disabled
- Ballooning: disabled
- Network: rtl8139
So far what I configure. The problem is that OpenStep 4.2 installation doesn’t seem to like my Hardrive – since I get a lot of secNum, cyl, drhd and status errors when it tries to write on that hardisk – but this another story...
So for getting the installation boot diskette image run we need to perform a Floppy Setup first:
Using theWebconsole on very top:
I edited the VM's conf-file, so in my case 300.conf (My VM's ID is 300)
/etc/pve/qemu-server/300.conf
After some try and error I managed to add this correctly:
Code:
args: -blockdev driver=file,node-name=fd0,filename=/var/lib/vz/template/iso/4.2_Install_Disk.img -device floppy,drive=fd0
Big thanks to
mfederanko!!! Your advice was very helpful
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Then I Started the VM using the command: qm start 300 in that same console
It started reading the 4.2_Install_Disk.img diskette image succesfully and a some point it wanted me to insert the driver diskette....
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Floppy Swap Problem
So, I had to swap the floppy without stopping the VM. For that I used my second ssh console
I assumed I could do this using qm monitor. Unfortunately, I wasn't. I tied to
- change fd0
- change floppy0
All fail with “Device not found”.
My guess is:
- fd0 = backend name
- actual device has no exposed name
- only QOM path exists
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Working Solution (QMP):
Code:
printf '%s\n' '{"execute":"qmp_capabilities"}' '{"execute":"blockdev-change-medium","arguments":{"id":"/machine/peripheral-anon/device[1]","filename":"/var/lib/vz/template/iso/4.2_Driver_Disk.img","format":"raw"}}' | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/qemu-server/300.qmp
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Driver selection:
Based on a procedure I found on the net to install an OpenStep 4.2 VirtualBox VM, you wanna look for
“Primary/Secondary (Dual) EIDE/ATAPI Device Controller (4.01)” for the CD/DVD-Drive.
7 → 7 → 7 → 5 →
Actually, this part of the installation is a confusing because it seems you are asked again – but no everything is fine, just select the same driver again “
Primary/Secondary (Dual) EIDE/ATAPI Device Controller (4.01)” for the HDD.
7 → 7 → 7 → 5 →1
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The installation continues:
At this point, the screen switches to graphical mode and the installation continues.
However, I encountered problems with the HDD very soon afterwards. As mentioned, I get lots of secNum, cyl, drhd and status errors when it tries to write to the HDD. I guess I have to test some Proxmox HDD configuration options in combination with driver installation options on the driver diskette image.
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Conclusions so far:
qm monitor is insufficient for floppy swapping in this setup.
QMP with blockdev-change-medium is required.
My solution is very poor and not user-friendly. The QM monitor quirk and the confusion between the backend and the actual device seem to be alternative features. The option to select a floppy disk is definitely missing. The Proxmox team should consider implementing this feature, if it has not already been done in later Proxmox releases. Question: How many old interesting (retro) operating systems absolutely need to be installed with a diskette first?
However, I think there is most likely a non-zero probability that I missed a standard procedure explaining how to do this. Please please please let me know!
