F. Caulier wrote:

...

quoted text
> I read in the FAQ that there's a possibility to

> install OpenBSD from harddisk through bsd.rd, so I

> downloaded the latest (4.3-RELEASE) bsd.rd, put it on

> a small separate partition in a directory named /boot,

> modified the Grub menu and tried to boot that.

>

> It didn't work out, here's what I get:

> panic: /boot too old: upgrade!

yep, GRUB doesn't know how to load OpenBSD.  It may have

once, but apparently no one has maintained that.
> The operating system has halted.

quoted text
> Please press any key to reboot

[snip]
> In the FAQ, section 4.11 it says: [0]

quoted text
> ... if you have a running older version of OpenBSD,

> ...

>

> Does this probably mean that the install method with

> bsd.rd is only possible if there's already an OpenBSD

> system existing on the harddisk?

yep.  You put it on the OpenBSD partition and use the

OpenBSD boot loader to load it instead of the normal

kernel.
> If that's correct, is there any other suitable

quoted text
> installation method using a install-image on a

> harddisk?

>

> Currently I don't have any more ideas, beside the

> following:

> I could install OpenBSD on an other (totally

> different) computer using the standard CD-ROM install

> method, after that I'd copy the hole system to an

> USB-HDD which in turn I would plug to my subnotebook.

> There I'd copy the hole system to a temporary

> partition, download the latest (4.3) bsd.rd again,

> edit the Grub menu and retry to boot the bsd.rd.

oh, the pain.

Hint: grub is not an answer to your question.  The people

who write grub don't care much about OpenBSD, and OpenBSD

developers don't have a lot of use for GRUB.  Anything it

can do, we can do other ways better and easier.  As far

as booting OpenBSD, all grub can do is replace a <500 byte

program...with clumsy monster.
People sometimes ask questions like this, usually posing

it as if it were OpenBSD that is not installable on the

system...yet, as you describe it, from a blank disk, no OS

would be.  Obviously, that's not the case, so the first

guide you should use is "how would I install the intended

OS on this system?"  Odds are, OpenBSD installs in the

exact same way.
However, assuming something like "with a special external

CDROM drive I don't own, and am not willing to spend the

money to get", I'd just pull the disk out of this machine,

plug it (with appropriate adapters) into whatever else you

have that is self-sufficient, and install there, and move

the disk back to the laptop.  OpenBSD (with minor tweaking

for the network adapter) will then Just Work.  (not true

of the "intended OS", and possibly not going to work with

the OS GRUB was intended for, either).  Note: you could

probably even use an external USB enclosure attached to a

machine that can't even boot from USB (load, yes. Test,

no).
IF you happen to have a 3Com network adapter in that thing,

3Com has a PXE boot floppy available, which can turn almost

any 3Com network adapter into a PXE device.  'Course, once

you get it to boot off a floppy, might as well just do as

Ted suggested and install OpenBSD from that...
Nick.