*BSD News Article 25288


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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!sgiblab!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!utnut!torn!mcshub!flex1!todd
From: todd@flex.eng.mcmaster.ca (Todd Pfaff)
Subject: problems installing FreeBSD-1.0-RELEASE
Message-ID: <1993Dec23.173138.6026@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Sender: usenet@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca
Nntp-Posting-Host: flex1.eng.mcmaster.ca
Reply-To: todd@flex.eng.mcmaster.ca
Organization: McMaster University
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1993 17:31:38 GMT
Lines: 59

I'm trying to install FreeBSD-1.0-RELEASE on a system with an IDE and SCSI drive
and I'm having some problems.

I should mention that I've been running FreeBSD (including current until my
IDE drive died a couple of days ago) and 386BSD before that, so I'm not a
complete newbie.

Previously, I didn't have to use the FreeBSD-1.0-RELEASE installation floppies
because I upgraded from 386BSD -> FreeBSD-EPSILON -> FreeBSD-RELEASE ->
1.0.2 -> current.  I haven't done a complete from-scratch install since
386BSD-0.1.

I'm having a hell of a time with the FreeBSD installation floppies.  The system
always dies at some point during the installation process, either rebooting
without any message, or something like 'panic: init died' or 'panic: page
fault in kernel mode'.  The farthest I have gotten is to the point of
running 'extract bin' to extract the binary distribution (I'm ftping the
binary distribution to /usr/distrib over ethernet).  Often it dies before
this point.  It's very frustrating when I get this far, it dies and corrupts
my partitions and I have to start all over again.

Here's my current system configuration:

486-DX2/66, 16MB RAM
IDE controller
450MB Seagate IDE drive (configured as drive C)
Adaptec 1542C SCSI controller
300MB Imprimis 94241 SCSI disk (configured as drive D)
3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive (connected to either the IDE or SCSI controller)
WD8003E 8-bit ethernet adapter
ATI mach32 VLB video card

I'm trying to install FreeBSD-1.0-RELEASE to the Imprimis SCSI drive.  I'm
using the entire drive (all cylinders - 1 offset by 1 from start) and I'm
using all the default sizes suggested by the installation process.

I've tried stripping out as much as I can, and I've tried with different IDE
controllers and with and without the IDE controller/disk.  Currently, my
serial/parallel/IDE controller is removed and I'm using an IDE/floppy
controller with the floppy controller disabled and my floppy drive connected
to the Adaptec floppy controller.

All this has worked very well since 386BSD-0.1 up to FreeBSD-current (which
I was running for about a month before my disk died).

I've been at this for two long tiresome days now, and I'm close to giving in.
I can't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to install FreeBSD on this
SCSI drive.  My alternative is to install on the IDE drive, but I really want
to preserve the contents of that drive (it has my /usr/local partition).

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

---
Todd Pfaff                       \  Internet: todd@flex.eng.mcmaster.ca
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering   \    Voice: (905) 525-9140 x22902
McMaster University                \     FAX: (905) 572-7944
Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA  L8S 4L7  \