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Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ddsw1!not-for-mail From: karl@genesis.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger) Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Subject: New NETBSD user wants to know how to do bad block scan Date: 14 May 1993 23:48:59 -0500 Organization: MCSNet, Chicago, IL Lines: 36 Distribution: world Message-ID: <1t1snr$8lf@genesis.MCS.COM> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.mcs.com Hi folks, I got the system to load - sort of. Turns out that old WD hard disk controllers (MFM style) don't work with NetBSD -- that was what was generating the panic traps during installation. However, now I have another question. I am running an RLL drive now, or trying to. It has defects, and doesn't know how to automatically forward sectors. There appears to be no procedure during the disk setup which scans the disk and reassigns bad sectors. Unfortunately, one of them appears in the first 30 or so cylinders, and when the kernel is copied there and then the machine reboots it will not load due to the resulting disk error. I have not been able to remap this sector successfully, as I can't get the system loaded far enough to attempt manual reassignment of the offending block. Any ideas? Does NetBSD assume that you have a disk which appears to be defect-free to the operating system? It certainly appears that way! Do I need to change to another disk controller and/or disk technology? If so, that's disappointing. This would mean that any grown error on the disk which the drive doesn't automatically forward could be fatal to the system as a whole. There's no mention of a procedure to do this in the installation instructions. Any help appreciated. -- Karl Denninger (karl@genesis.MCS.COM) | You can never please everyone except Modem Access: [+1 312 248-0900] | by bankrupting yourself. Voice & FAX: [+1 312 248-8649] | Internet in Chicago; a MCSNET first!