[parisc-linux] Trouble accessing BOOT_ADMIN

[Peter Teunissen]

Hi,



I've just obtained a nice B132L+, and want to reinstall debian HPPA  
on it. But I can't access BOOT_ADMIN; I can't see the message saying  
'To terminate search, press and hold the ESCAPE key'. The screen  
stays black until it boots into the existing linux install and i can  
see the little penguin. I tried holding or tapping the ESC key at  
several stages but I can't stop the boot sequence.

 From reading a hppa-boot howto I learned that the BCH probably uses  
another console. I'm somewhat puzzled at how to move on. I can't  
access the BOOT_ADMIN so I can't change the console it uses. It might  
be using the serial interface, but I don't have the cables needed to  
connect it to another system running a terminal emulator.

Is there a way to reset the BOOT_ADMIN to default settings, making it  
use the graphical console I could access with the standard keyboard  
and monitor? Something like the way you can reset a wintel box by  
removing dip switches and powercycling it?


TIA


Peter