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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mira.net.au!vic.news.telstra.net!act.news.telstra.net!psgrain!iafrica.com!uct.ac.za!quagga.ru.ac.za!howland.erols.net!EU.net!news-peer.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!news.uoregon.edu!symiserver2.symantec.com!usenet From: tedm@agora.rdrop.com Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Installation CD difficulty Date: 14 Sep 1996 16:17:03 GMT Organization: Symantec Corporation Lines: 54 Message-ID: <51elpv$t3q@symiserver2.symantec.com> References: <323A13B0.71FC@artsci.wustl.edu> Reply-To: tedm@agora.rdrop.com NNTP-Posting-Host: 198.6.34.1 X-Newsreader: IBM NewsReader/2 v1.2.5 In <323A13B0.71FC@artsci.wustl.edu>, "S." <sdbrown@artsci.wustl.edu> writes: >I'm running into problems installing FreeBSD off of CD. The [description of problem deleted] Hi, Unfortunately, it is very difficult to guess what might be the problem here because you haven't included make, model and year. ;-) I have a couple little quicky things you could try doing before starting a real troubleshooting and diagnosis session, but I give them about a 10% chance of working. First, check the CMOS settings for your 486, and make sure that all memory caches are turned off. Next, make sure that the ISA bus speed is set to 8Mhz, and that the main clock speed is set _exactly_ at 33Mhz. Some BIOSes allow you to play around with the timings, just to gain that extra 5% performance. Also, make sure that your memory timing is very generous. If that fails you will have to do the following if your serious about an answer from this group: 1) Open the case up and note ALL manufacturers names and model numbers for all components in the machine. For example, "a 486/66" is not good, a "gateway 486/66" is not that good but a tiny little bit better, a "gateway 486/66 Micronics MB" is a little better but not quite there, while a "gateway 486/66DX, Micronic MB model 12345678-98765 rev F" is just right. 2) Make sure that everything is securely plugged in together, with industry standard cables, and reseat all SIMMS. For example, some manufacturers like to use IDE cables, and plug a single drive into the cable "middle" connector, instead of the "end". While this at first glance would seem to be OK, (after all they are plugged in parallel" this creates an "electrically floppy" end of the transmission line that isin't terminated properly. If you ever studied RF transmission lines in radio theory, you will understand. I've seen all kinds of weird stuff with floppy tape drives, as a matter of fact. 3) With IDE cdroms, other werdities happen. Some setups will only work if the IDE cd is jumperes as the "slave" while the disk is the "master" while other setups will only work if the IDE cd is the "master" and the disk is the "slave" WIn 31 has a bug in the 32-bit disk drivers where you have to put any IDE cdrom on a separate IDE interface, this is primarially responsible for the growth of motherboards with dual IDE controller ports on them, so you can practically guarantee that the IDE cdrom will be on it's own controller. Some setups, particularly OS/2 will NOT work unless the CDROM is on the SAME IDE controller as the disk drive. Before giving up on your CD, try all 3 configurations above. (CD on same controller as master, and slave, CD on separate controller) Ted