384 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
384 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
===============
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Troubleshooting
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===============
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Table of Contents:
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Repairing an Existing FreeBSD Installation
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Common Installation Problems, Q&A
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Common Hardware Problems, Q&A
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Repairing an Existing FreeBSD Installation
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------------------------------------------
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FreeBSD releases 2.2.1 and later feature a "Fixit" option in the top
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menu of the boot floppy. To use it, you will also need either a
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fixit.flp image floppy, generated in the same fashion as the boot
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floppy, or the 2nd CDROM from Walnut Creek CDROM's FreeBSD
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distribution.
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To invoke fixit, simply boot the kern.flp floppy, choose the "Fixit"
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item and insert the fixit floppy or CDROM when asked. You will then
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be placed into a shell with a wide variety of commands available (in
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the /stand and /mnt2/stand directories) for checking, repairing and
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examining file systems and their contents. Some UNIX administration
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experience *is* required to use the fixit option!
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Common Installation Problems, Q&A
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---------------------------------
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Q: I go to boot from the hard disk for the first time after installing
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FreeBSD, the kernel loads and probes my hardware, but stops with
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messages like:
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changing root device to wd1s1a
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panic: cannot mount root
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What is wrong? What can I do?
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Q: What is this 'bios_drive:interface(unit,partition)kernel_name' thing
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that is displayed with the boot help?
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A: There is a longstanding problem in the case where the boot disk is
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not the first disk in the system. The BIOS uses a different numbering
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scheme to FreeBSD, and working out which numbers correspond to which
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is difficult to get right.
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In the case where the boot disk is not the first disk in the system,
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FreeBSD can need some help finding it. There are two common situations
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here, and in both of these cases, you need to tell FreeBSD where the
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root filesystem is. You do this by specifying the BIOS disk number,
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the disk type and the FreeBSD disk number for that type.
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The first situation is where you have two IDE disks, each configured as
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the master on their respective IDE busses, and wish to boot FreeBSD from
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the second disk. The BIOS sees these as disk 0 and disk 1, while
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FreeBSD sees them as wd0 and wd2.
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FreeBSD is on BIOS disk 1, of type 'wd' and the FreeBSD disk number
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is 2, so you would say:
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1:wd(2,a)kernel
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Note that if you have a slave on the primary bus, the above is not
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necessary (and is effectively wrong).
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The second situation involves booting from a SCSI disk when you have
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one or more IDE disks in the system. In this case, the FreeBSD disk
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number is lower than the BIOS disk number. If you have two IDE disks
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as well as the SCSI disk, the SCSI disk is BIOS disk 2, type 'da' and
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FreeBSD disk number 0, so you would say:
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2:da(0,a)kernel
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To tell FreeBSD that you want to boot from BIOS disk 2, which is
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the first SCSI disk in the system. If you only had one IDE disk,
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you would use '1:' instead.
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Once you have determined the correct values to use, you can put the
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command exactly as you would have typed it in the /boot.config file
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using a standard text editor.
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Unless instructed otherwise, FreeBSD will use the contents of this
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file as the default response to the 'boot:' prompt.
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Q: I go to boot from the hard disk for the first time after installing
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FreeBSD, but the Boot Manager prompt just prints `F?' at the boot menu
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each time but the boot won't go any further.
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A: The hard disk geometry was set incorrectly in the Partition editor when
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you installed FreeBSD. Go back into the partition editor and specify
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the actual geometry of your hard disk. You must reinstall FreeBSD
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again from the beginning with the correct geometry.
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If you are failing entirely in figuring out the correct geometry for
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your machine, here's a tip: Install a small DOS partition at the
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beginning of the disk and install FreeBSD after that. The install
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program will see the DOS partition and try to infer the correct
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geometry from it, which usually works.
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The following tip is no longer recommended, but is left here
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for reference:
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If you are setting up a truly dedicated FreeBSD server or work-
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station where you don't care for (future) compatibility with DOS,
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Linux or another operating system, you've also got the option to use
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the entire disk (`A' in the partition editor), selecting the
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non-standard option where FreeBSD occupies the entire disk from
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the very first to the very last sector. This will leave all geometry
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considerations aside, but is somewhat limiting unless you're never
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going to run anything other than FreeBSD on a disk.
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Known Hardware Problems, Q & A
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------------------------------
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Q: mcd0 keeps thinking that it has found a device and this stops my Intel
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EtherExpress card from working.
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A: Use the UserConfig utility (see HARDWARE.TXT) and disable the probing of
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the mcd0 and mcd1 devices. Generally speaking, you should only leave
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the devices that you will be using enabled in your kernel.
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Q: FreeBSD claims to support the 3Com PCMCIA card, but my card isn't
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recognized when it's plugged into my laptop.
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A: There are a couple of possible problems. First of all, FreeBSD does
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not support multi-function cards, so if you have a combo
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ethernet/modem card (such as the 3C562), it won't work. The
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default driver for the 3C589 card was written just like all of the
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other drivers in FreeBSD, and depend on the card's own configuration
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data stored in NVRAM to work. You must correctly configure FreeBSD's
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driver to match the IRQ, port, and IOMEM stored in NVRAM.
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Unfortunately, the only program capable of reading them is the
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3COM supplied DOS program. This program must be run on a absolutely
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clean system (no other drivers must be running), and the program will
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whine about CARD-Services not being found, but it will continue.
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This is necessary to read the NVRAM values. You want to know the
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IRQ, port, and IOMEM values (the latter is called the CIS tuple by
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3COM). The first two can be set in the program, the third is
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un-settable, and can only be read. Once you have these values, set
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them in UserConfig and your card will be recognized.
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Q: FreeBSD finds my PCMCIA network card, but no packets appear to
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be sent even though it claims to be working.
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A: Many PCMCIA cards have the ability to use either the 10-Base2 (BNC)
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or 10-BaseT connectors for connecting to the network. The driver is
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unable to 'auto-select' the correct connector, so you must tell it
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which connector to use. In order to switch between the two
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connectors, the link flags must be set. Depending on the model of
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the card, '-link0 link1' or 'link0 -link1' will choose the correct
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network connector. You can set these in sysinstall by using the
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'Extra options to ifconfig:' field in the network setup screen.
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Q: The system finds my ed network card, but I keep getting device
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timeout errors.
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A: Your card is probably on a different IRQ from what is specified in the
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kernel configuration. The ed driver does not use the `soft' configuration
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by default (values entered using EZSETUP in DOS), but it will use the
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software configuration if you specify `?' in the IRQ field of your kernel
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config file.
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Either move the jumper on the card to a hard configuration setting
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(altering the kernel settings if necessary), or specify the IRQ as
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`-1' in UserConfig or `?' in your kernel config file. This will
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tell the kernel to use the soft configuration.
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Another possibility is that your card is at IRQ 9, which is shared
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by IRQ 2 and frequently a cause of problems (especially when you
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have a VGA card using IRQ 2! :). You should not use IRQ 2 or 9 if at
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all possible.
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Q: I have a Matsushita/Panasonic drive but it isn't recognized by the
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system.
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A: Make certain that the I/O port that the matcd driver is set to is
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correct for the host interface card you have. (Some SoundBlaster DOS
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drivers report a hardware I/O port address for the CD-ROM interface
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that is 0x10 lower than it really is.)
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If you are unable to determine the settings for the card by examining
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the board or documentation, you can use UserConfig to change the 'port'
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address (I/O port) to -1 and start the system. This setting causes the
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driver to look at a number of I/O ports that various manufacturers
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use for their Matsushita/Panasonic/Creative CD-ROM interfaces.
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Once the driver locates the address, you should run UserConfig again
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and specify the correct address. Leaving the 'port' parameter set to -1
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increases the amount of time that it takes the system to boot, and
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this could interfere with other devices.
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The double-speed Matsushita CR-562 and CR-563 are the only drives
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that are supported.
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Q: I booted the install floppy on my IBM ThinkPad (tm) laptop, and the
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keyboard is all messed up.
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A: Older IBM laptops use a non-standard keyboard controller, so you must
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tell the keyboard driver (atkbd0) to go into a special mode which works
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on the ThinkPads. Change the atkbd0 'Flags' to 0x4 in UserConfig and
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it should work fine. (Look in the Input Menu for 'Keyboard'.)
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Q: When I try to boot the install floppy, I see the following message
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and nothing seems to be happening. I cannot enter anything from
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the keyboard either.
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Keyboard: no
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A: Due to lack of space, full support for old XT/AT (84-key) keyboards
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is no longer available in the bootblocks. Some notebook computers may
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also have this type of keyboard. If you are still using this kind of
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hardware, you will see the above message appears when you boot from
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the CD-ROM or an install floppy.
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As soon as you see this message, hit the space bar, and you will see
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the prompt:
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>> FreeBSD/i386 BOOT
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Default: x:xx(x,x)/boot/loader
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boot:
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Then enter `-Dh', and things should proceed normally.
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Q: I have a Matsushita/Panasonic CR-522, a Matsushita/Panasonic CR-523 or
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a TEAC CD55a drive, but it is not recognized even when the correct I/O
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port is set.
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A: These CD-ROM drives are currently not supported by FreeBSD. The command
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sets for these drives are not compatible with the double-speed CR-562
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and CR-563 drives.
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The single-speed CR-522 and CR-523 drives can be identified by their
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use of a CD-caddy.
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Q: I'm trying to install from a tape drive but all I get is something like:
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sa0(aha0:1:0) NOT READY csi 40,0,0,0
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on the screen. Help!
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A: There's a limitation in the current sysinstall that the tape MUST
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be in the drive while sysinstall is started or it won't be detected.
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Try again with the tape in the drive the whole time.
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Q: I've installed FreeBSD onto my system, but it hangs when booting from
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the hard drive with the message: ``Changing root to /dev/da0a''.
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A: This problem may occur in a system with a 3com 3c509 Ethernet adaptor.
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The ep0 device driver appears to be sensitive to probes for other
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devices that also use address 0x300. Boot your FreeBSD system by power
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cycling the machine (turn off and on). At the ``Boot:'' prompt specify
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the ``-c''. This will invoke UserConfig (see Section 1. above). Use
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the ``disable'' command to disable the device probes for all devices
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at address 0x300 except the ep0 driver. On exit, your machine should
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successfully boot FreeBSD.
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Q: My system can not find my Intel EtherExpress 16 card.
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A: You must set your Intel EtherExpress 16 card to be memory mapped at
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address 0xD0000, and set the amount of mapped memory to 32K using
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the Intel supplied softset.exe program.
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Q: When installing on an EISA HP Netserver, my on-board AIC-7xxx
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SCSI controller isn't detected.
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A: This is a known problem, and will hopefully be fixed in the future.
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In order to get your system installed at all, boot with the -c
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option into UserConfig, but _don't_ use the pretty visual mode but
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the plain old CLI mode. Type
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eisa 12
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quit
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there at the prompt. (Instead of `quit', you might also type
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`visual', and continue the rest of the configuration session in
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visual mode.) While it's recommended to compile a custom kernel,
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dset(8) now also understands to save this value.
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Refer to the FAQ topic 3.16 for an explanation of the problem, and
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for how to continue. Remember that you can find the FAQ on your
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local system in /usr/share/doc/FAQ, provided you have installed the
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`doc' distribution.
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Q: I have a Panasonic AL-N1 or Rios Chandler Pentium machine and I find
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that the system hangs before ever getting into the installation
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now.
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A: Your machine doesn't like the new i586_copyout and i586_copyin code
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for some reason. To disable this, boot the installation boot floppy
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and when it comes to the very first menu (the choice to drop into
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kernel UserConfig mode or not) choose the command-line interface
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("expert mode") version and type the following at it:
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flags npx0 1
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Then proceed normally to boot. This will be saved into your kernel,
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so you only need to do it once.
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Q: I have this CMD640 IDE controller that is said to be broken.
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A: Yes, it is. FreeBSD does not support this controller except through
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the legacy 'wdc' driver.
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Q: On a Compaq Aero notebook, I get the message "No floppy devices found!
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Please check ..." when trying to install from floppy.
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A: With Compaq being always a little different from other systems, they
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do not announce their floppy drive in the CMOS RAM of an Aero notebook.
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Therefore, the floppy disk driver assumes there is no drive configured.
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Go to the UserConfig screen, and set the Flags value of the fdc0 device
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to 0x1. This pretends the existence of the first floppy drive (as a
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1.44 MB drive) to the driver without asking the CMOS at all.
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Q: When I go to boot my Intel AL440LX ("Atlanta") -based system from the
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hard disk the first time, it stops with a "Read Error" message.
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A: There appears to be a bug in the BIOS on at least some of these boards,
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this bug results in the FreeBSD bootloader thinking that it is booting
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from a floppy disk.
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This is only a problem if you are not using the BootEasy boot manager.
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Slice the disk in 'compatible' mode and install BootEasy during the
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FreeBSD installation to avoid the bug, or upgrade the BIOS (see Intel's
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website for details).
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Q: When installing on an Dell Poweredge XE, Dell proprietary RAID controller
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DSA (Dell SCSI Array) isn't recognized.
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A: Configure DSA to use AHA-1540 emulation using EISA configuration utility.
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After that FreeBSD detects DSA as Adaptec AHA-1540 SCSI controller, with
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irq 11 and port 340. Under emulation mode system will use DSA RAID disks,
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but you cannot use DSA specific features such as watching RAID health.
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Q: My Ethernet adapter is detected as an AMD PCnet-FAST (or similar) but
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it doesn't work. (Eg. onboard Ethernet on IBM Netfinity 5xxx or 7xxx)
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A: The 'lnc' driver is currently faulty, and will often not work correctly
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with the PCnet-FAST and PCnet-FAST+. You need to install a different
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Ethernet adapter.
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Q: I have an IBM EtherJet PCI card, it is detected by the 'fxp' driver
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correctly, but the lights on the card don't come on and it doesn't
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connect to the network.
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A: We don't understand why this happens. Neither do IBM (we asked them).
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The card is a standard Intel EtherExpress Pro/100 with an IBM label
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on it, and these cards normally work just fine. You may see these
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symptoms only in some IBM Netfinity servers. The only solution is to
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install a different Ethernet adapter.
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Q: When I configure the network during installation on an IBM Netfinity
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3500, the system freezes.
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A: There is a problem with the onboard Ethernet in the Netfinity 3500
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which we have not been able to identify at this time. It may be
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related to the SMP features of the system being misconfigured. You
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will have to install another Ethernet adapter and avoid attempting
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to configure the onboard adapter at any time.
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Q: When I install onto a drive managed by a Mylex PCI RAID controller,
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the system fails to boot (eg. with a "read error" message).
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A: There is a bug in the Mylex driver which results in it ignoring
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the '8GB' geometry mode setting in the BIOS. Use the 2GB mode
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instead.
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[ Please send hardware tips for this Q&A section to jkh@freebsd.org ]
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