Resurrecting a Vintage JavaStation: A NetBSD Network Boot Adventure

2025-03-05
Resurrecting a Vintage JavaStation: A NetBSD Network Boot Adventure

Driven by nostalgia for childhood dreams, the author acquired a vintage JavaStation network computer. After a long wait and some initial setbacks, the author discovered the problem was a dead NVRAM battery and a lack of patience. Through serial port debugging and clever network configuration (RARP, TFTP, DHCP, NFS), the author successfully booted NetBSD on the JavaStation, completing a thrilling retro tech resurrection.

Hardware network boot