*BSD News Article 65429


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
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From: kls@argus.SLAC.Stanford.EDU (Karl L. Swartz)
Subject: Re: "device not configured" during install
Message-ID: <Dpn1I8.AuM@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: news@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
References: <DpLz5D.G64@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU>
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 08:42:06 GMT
Lines: 32

In article <DpLz5D.G64@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU>,
Karl L. Swartz <kls@argus.SLAC.Stanford.EDU> wrote:
>However, when the system tries to write to the disk, it pops up a
>window saying it can't swap to /dev/sd0s1b because the device is not
>configured.  When it tries to run newfs, the disk chatters a bit and
>then another window pops up, telling me that newfs failed and I think
>it again says something about a device not being configured.

I fiddled with it further tonight and came up with some clues, but I
can't figure out what they're trying to tell me.

The disk *is* writable -- if I go to the FixIt disk I can even newfs
/dev/rsd0a and then mount it.  No problems.  If I try to partition it
from the boot floppy, though, I get the error about swap space and
then the newfs failed (exit 1).  Furthermore, if I then try to go to
the FixIt disk again, it complains about not being able to create a
handful of files and/or symlinks because there's no space, and drops
me into a shell which needs to have 'stty sane' done before use.  A
'df -i' reports 0 inodes free on the root filesystem; when going
directly into FixIt without first trying to configure the disk from
the menus there are 10 inodes free.

It seems that for some reason, trying to configure this disk sucks up
all the inodes in the root MFS, and then fails when it tries to grab
even more.  The questions now are why, and more interesting, how do I
install FreeBSD on this machine under these circumstances?

-- 
Karl Swartz		|INet	kls@unixhub.slac.stanford.edu
SLAC Computing Services	|	   or kls@chicago.com
1-415/926-3630		|UUCP	uunet!lll-winken!unixhub!kls  -or-  ditka!kls
(SLAC and the US Dept. of Energy don't necessarily agree with my opinions.)